- West African Resources (WAF) has announced construction is complete and final commissioning is underway for the Sanbrado Gold Project in Burkina Faso
- The first ore began milling on March 7 with the first gold expected within four weeks
- The processing plant, tailings storage facility and power station are also up-and-running, meaning the project is nearly fully operational
- Open-pit mining has ramped up — it’s now operational day and night in both the M5 and M1 South pits
- Underground mining is on track to produce stoping ore by Q3 2020
- The mine is estimated to have a 10-year lifetime with probable total reserves around 1.7 million ounces
- West African Resources is trading flat at 62 cents a share
West African Resources (WAF) has completed all construction activities and has started processing ore through the milling and extraction circuits its Sanbrado Gold Project, Burkina Faso.
The first ore began milling on March 7 with the first gold expected within four weeks.
The processing plant, tailings storage facility and power station are also up-and-running, meaning the project is nearly fully operational from gold-in-ground to bullion.
The final steps — desorption and gold room circuits — are undergoing commissioning in preparation for a maiden gold pour within the next four weeks.
West African Executive Chairman Richard Hyde commented: “This is a major milestone for West African Resources and testament to the quality of our team and contractors.
“Commissioning activities will continue over the next four weeks with the first gold pour on track for early Q2 2020.
“We look forward to keeping investors updated throughout this exciting transition period for the company.”
African Mining Services — a subsidiary of fellow ASX-listed Perenti Global — is taking care of the open-pit mining operations at the project.
Mining activities have ramped up to include both the M5 and M1 South pits, with day and night shifts starting in the past week.
Currently, over 360,000 tonnes of oxide ore at an average grade of 1.5 grams per tonne of gold are stockpiled and ready for milling.
Underground mining development is also progressing on schedule with contractor Byrnecut Offshore digging in.
The primary ventilation shaft has been completed, and the fan system is currently being installed.
Byrnecut remains on track for a late March arrival of its first development ore.
The first stoping ore — the actual mining target — is forecast for Q3 2020.
The mine is estimated to have a 10-year lifetime and produce around 217,000 ounces of gold per year for the first five years, with probable total reserves around 1.7 million ounces.
West African Resources is trading flat at 62 cents a share as at 1:11 pm AEDT.