Endeavour Mining Corp says it has poured first gold from the Ity CIL project in Côte d’Ivoire, ahead of schedule and under budget.

The first pour yielded around 1,800 oz of gold, while some 135,160 t of ore has been processed since being first introduced into the CIL processing plant on February 20.

The initial estimated budget was $412 million, with first gold pour coming four months ahead of the previous schedule.

Endeavour said commercial production was expected to be declared early in the June quarter with performance trial testing soon to commence, as the crushing, milling and CIL circuits have quickly attained a stable nameplate capacity of 4 Mt/y.

Following the performance tests already conducted, Endeavour launched optimisation and de-bottlenecking work which is expected to increase the plant nameplate capacity by 1 Mt/y to 5 Mt/y, at a minimal cost of $10-15 million.

The volumetric upsize work mainly comprises an upgrade in pipes and pumps, and a second 50-t oxygen plant with no additional mining fleet required. “These plant upgrades are expected to be completed during scheduled plant maintenance shut-downs throughout the next six months,” the company said.

Sébastien de Montessus, President and CEO, said: “As we approach commercial production, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of our in-house construction team for successfully delivering the Ity CIL project ahead of schedule and under-budget, with an exceptional safety record of over 8.5 million hours without a lost time injury.

“This first gold pour and the remarkably quick ramp-up period is a transformational event for Endeavour as the Ity CIL project will quickly contribute to group’s cash generation potential.

“Given its current 15-year mine life and strong exploration potential, our ability to increase the plant size by 1 Mt/y to 5 Mt/y for minimal additional capex represents a very compelling investment and is in line with our focus on capital allocation efficiency and return on capital employed criteria. With this upgrade, Ity has the potential to produce circa 300,000 oz of gold per annum at a low all-in sustaining cost (AISC).”

The Ity CIL project capex spend is tracking under-budget compared to the initial guidance of $412 million.

“As construction is tracking ahead of schedule and below budget, Endeavour decided to conduct additional works such as the construction of a fuel farm, building exploration facilities, and an additional $7 million of crop compensation and resettlement related to prospective exploration grounds,” Endeavour said. “Due to these additional works, and the $10-15 million required for the above-stated plant upgrade to 5 Mt/y, the total project capex spend is expected to amount to circa-$420 million.”

An $11 million exploration programme totalling around 71,000 m of drilling has been planned for 2019, with the aim of delineating additional resources at the Le Plaque target, and testing other targets such as Floleu, Daapleu SW and Samuel.

As previously guided, Ity is expected to produce 160,000-200,000 oz in 2019 at an AISC of $525-590/oz, with the bottom-end of production guidance corresponding to the 4 Mt/y nameplate capacity while the top-end factors in upsides such as an earlier start date, an expedited ramp-up and the plant producing above its nameplate.