The president of mining group Montage Gold has announced that a gold deposit has been discovered in northwest Ivory Coast, constituting the country’s largest discovery to date and potentially Africa’s third deposit. West.
The announcement of this discovery comes a few months after the start of production of a major oil and gas deposit. This deposit should enter production from 2027. According to the Montage Gold mining group, it is the 3th largest gold mine in West Africa.
The president of the Canadian group Montage Gold, Martino de Ciccio, met on May 2, 2024, the Ivorian head of state, Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan, to inform him of “the discovery of a major world-class gold deposit in the departments of Kani and Dianra”, located in the district of Woroba.
The “Koné project” is located in the departments of Kani and Dianra, in the northwest. The resources of this gold deposit are estimated at 155.5 tonnes of gold. It is an ore which has a content of 0.72g of gold per tonne. The annual production capacity is estimated at 11 million tonnes for an operating life of 20 years.
In the opinion of a mining expert, it is a “major deposit”. This specialist places this discovery in a broader sub-regional geological context: there are already two significant gold deposits in Burkina Faso and one in Guinea. “This discovery in Ivory Coast will make the country attractive and attract other companies,” continues this expert.
For now, the site must first be secure. A factory must be installed. According to the Montage Gold group, nearly 4,500 direct and indirect jobs should be created.
Remember that in November 2023, the Ivorian Minister of Mines, Oil and Energy, Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly, estimated national gold production in 2024 at 55 tonnes, compared to 41.8 tonnes in 2021. A figure already in increase compared to previous years.
Moctar FICUU / VivAfrik
