- Gold explorer West African Resources (WAF) says mining in Burkina Faso is tracking along as normal despite COVID-19 restrictions
- The company has been made exempt from certain travel restrictions, meaning the supply and delivery of key consumables it unaffected
- Further, mining and processing activities are completely unaffected with staff still working onsite
- Importantly, some strong health measures and an isolation block have been set up by the company to stop the spread of the virus
- West African Resources shares are down just over a per cent at midday, currently worth 44 cents each
Burkina Faso gold explorer West African Resources (WAF) is still mining, processing, and pouring gold in the face of COVID-19 chaos.
The company told shareholders today despite some severe government restrictions in place across Burkina Faso, mining activities and gold production are so far unaffected.
Currently, there have been 222 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Burkina Faso, of which 12 people have died. Of course, with a population of roughly 20 million people, this is a relatively small number of cases.
Nevertheless, the Burkina Faso government is following in the footsteps of other African countries by doing its best to curtail the spread of the virus before things can get worse.
Among these measures is a country-wide curfew between 7 pm and 5 am and the closure of all land and air borders.
WAF rolling with the punches
Fortunately for WAF, its freight operations have been made exempt from the regulations, so its supply and delivery of key consumables have not been impacted.
Further, mining across the Sanbrado Gold Project is tracking along as normal.
“There has been no impact to mining at Sanbrado to date,” WAF said in an announcement to shareholders today.
This includes underground mining. While WAF has locked down the site and adjusted rostering to limit travel and movement, the company insists that it’s otherwise business as usual.
Importantly, WAF has prepared an isolation block on-site for any suspected COVID-19 cases, equipped with qualified medical personnel and supplies.
Processing and pouring
WAF’s process plant was opened for business on March 8 and the first ore was processed soon after.
Then on March 18, the company poured its first 23.9 kilograms of gold, with another 70.1 kilograms to follow just over a week later.
According to WAF, the information compiled for the metallurgical balance suggests a plant recovery of 92.2 per cent. With the plant now fully commissioned, WAF expects regular weekly gold pours from here on out.
The company warned shareholders, however, that though things seem to be tracking along smoothly for now, it’s not necessarily in the clear just yet.
“While we have responded well to the challenges presented to the company so far, our performance cannot be guaranteed over the longer term,” WAF said.
The company said it will do its best to keep staff safe and gold flowing, but will update shareholders with new information as it becomes available.
It’s been a rocky start to the week for WAF shares, with several trips between green and red already. At midday AEDT, shares are down a slight 1.14 per cent and worth 44 cents each.