Côte d’Ivoire: Endeavour increases reserves at its Ity gold mine
In the wake of its latest drilling, gold operator Endeavour Mining announced a significant review of gold reserves at its Ivorian site in Ity.
After the start of production in 2018 of its Ity gold mine expansion program, called CIL (based on Carbon In Leach ore processing technology, Livixiation en cuves), Canadian Endeavour Mining continues to see its Ivorian operations ramp up. In a press release issued on Monday, July 8, the company reported a significant upward revision of the high-grade gold reserves of its « Le Plaque » mineral deposit, located within the perimeter of its flagship site in Ity. According to the data provided by the firm, the deposit now has an estimated potential of 476,000 ounces of gold, compared to 85,000 ounces previously indicated. As a result, measured gold reserves at the Ity mine site as a whole increased by 11% to 4,037 million ounces, with a significantly higher average grade at Le Plaque (3.20 grams of gold per tonne compared to an average of 1.54 grams per tonne at the rest of the site). Mentioned in the aforementioned information note, Patrick Bouisset, Executive Vice-President in charge of exploration and growth in mining, stated that he was « […] very satisfied with the estimate of the resources not yet exploited at Le Plaque, because it confirms the strong potential we see at Ity « .
Another good point made by Endeavour Mining is the low extraction costs: the company estimates the latter at $15 per ounce at Le Plaque. The firm has also confirmed that drilling will continue in the second half of 2019.
This news reaffirms the overall good health of the mining sector in Côte d’Ivoire: according to the regulatory authorities, the sector recorded a turnover of 582.3 billion CFA francs (995 million dollars) in 2018, compared to 539 billion CFA francs (921 million dollars) in 2017. As for gold production, according to the Ivorian government’s estimates, it is expected to be around 30 tonnes by 2020 (compared to 24.5 tonnes in 2018).