Endeavor Mining, announced the success of the first gold pour from the BIOX® expansion project at Sabodala-Massawa in Senegal on April 18, 2024. This project, completed on time and on budget, recorded no incident leading to loss of working time.
Ian Cockerill, CEO of Endeavor, announced the news: “We are proud to have completed our first gold pour at the Sabodala-Massawa BIOX® expansion after more than 3.5 million man hours worked without incident leading to loss of working time. »
Since commissioning began on February 27, 2024, approximately 50,000 tonnes of ore have been processed, with the first gold pour from the gravity circuit completed on April 18, 2024, producing approximately 112 ounces of gold. The first gold pour from the BIOX® circuit took place on April 28, 2024, producing approximately 612 ounces of gold. The BIOX® expansion is expected to reach commercial production at the end of the second quarter of 2024 and ramp up to its stable nameplate capacity of 1.2 Mtpa in the third quarter of 2024.
In addition to the Sabodala-Massawa expansion, Endeavor is also focused on delivering the Lafigué project in the coming weeks, a full quarter ahead of schedule. Cockerill added: “The successful launch of the Sabodala-Massawa expansion and Lafigué project will improve the quality of our portfolio, adding low-cost production and extending mine life visibility. »
The Sabodala-Massawa exploration program aims to convert existing resources into reserves and delineate additional refractory and non-refractory resources. The exploration program, costing $21.0 million for approximately 126,000 meters of drilling, also targets the recent acquisition of the Niamaya exploration permit, increasing the size of the Sabodala exploration package- Massawa from 43 km² to 1,272 km².
Endeavor owns a 90% stake in the Sabodala-Massawa mine, with the remainder held by the government of Senegal. The mine, located about 630 km east-southeast of Dakar, the capital of Senegal, is part of the highly prospective Birimian greenstone belt.
