Endeavour Mining says wet commissioning activities are now underway at the Sabodala-Massawa Expansion project (BIOX® Expansion) in Senegal.
The BIOX Expansion project is on budget, with construction now 91% complete, and the first gold pour is expected on schedule, in early May.
The BIOX process, which has been in commercial operation for over 30 years, was developed for the pre-treatment of refractory concentrates ahead of conventional cyanide leaching for gold recovery.
Ian Cockerill, CEO, said: “We are extremely pleased with our progress as we start wet commissioning of the BIOX Expansion project. Importantly, we have achieved this milestone with no lost-time injuries having worked more than three million man hours, which is a testament to the strong safety culture that is a hallmark of our in-house construction teams.
At completion, Sabodala-Massawa will become a true top tier asset with 2024 production of up to 400,000 oz at an industry leading AISC of less than $850/oz, with costs expected to improve further in the coming years, embedding the mine firmly in the lowest cost quartile.
“This year, Endeavour is well positioned to transition from a phase of investment in organic growth, to a more cash flow generative phase in the second half of the year. This inflection point will allow us to focus our efforts on increasing our shareholder returns while de-levering our balance sheet, as we continue to execute on our strategy.”
Wet commissioning of the BIOX Expansion was delivered in less than 23 months after construction was launched in April 2022. During construction activities, up to 1,300 employees and contractors were on site, 82% of whom were Senegalese nationals, successfully completing over three million man-hours with zero lost time injuries.
The addition of the 1.2 Mt/y BIOX Expansion, with an initial capital cost of $290 million, is expected to add 194,000 oz/y of incremental production over the first five years, lifting Sabodala-Massawa to top-tier status with expected production of 360-400,000 oz at an AISC of between $750-850/oz in FY 2024, increasing to above 400,000 oz from 2025.