Endeavour Mining has achieved commercial production at both its Sabodala-Massawa Biox expansion in Senegal and its Lafigué mine in Côte d’Ivoire.  

The company stated that both gold projects have been completed on budget and within the two-year schedule, with the full ramp-up to nameplate capacity under way. 

Gold from the Sabodala-Massawa open-pit mine goes through a Biox circuit, a process that destroys sulphide minerals and exposes the gold for subsequent cyanidation to increase recovery.  

Endeavour’s Biox Expansion completed its first gold pour in April, with commercial production at Sabodala-Massawa achieved on 1 August. 

During July and August combined, 160 kilotonnes (kt) of ore was processed at a grade of 2.8 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold at Sabodala-Massawa. Processing rates exceeded 2,580 tonnes per day (tpd) and metallurgical recoveries were above 72%.  

Mining activities have now advanced into fresh ore in the Massawa Central Zone, as Endeavour aims for higher grades and recovery rates for the remainder of 2024. 

Endeavour owns a 90% stake in the Sabodala-Massawa mine, with the remaining 10% owned by the Government of Senegal. 

Lafigué mine 

The Lafigué processing plant in Côte d’Ivoire achieved its first gold pour on 28 June 2024 and commercial production was achieved on 1 August. 

During August, 241kt of ore was processed at a grade of 1.8g/t gold. Processing rates exceeded 7,700tpd, with average gold recovery rates surpassing 95%. 

Endeavour is targeting the discovery of 1.2–1.8 million ounces of gold across the Lafigué mining permit by 2025. To date, 600,000oz has been discovered. 

The company has an 80% stake in the Lafigué mine, with 10% owned by the Ivorian Government and 10% owned by SODEMI, a state-owned mining company.  

Endeavour CEO Ian Cockerill commented: “We will now transition the team to focus on our asset-level optimisation initiatives and technical studies, ahead of our next growth phase, with the construction of the potential tier-one Assafou project from 2026.” 

Assafou, also in Côte d’Ivoire, has an indicated resource of 4.5moz of gold. A project pre-feasibility study is under way and is expected to be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2024.