Name of the Project
Assafou-Dibibango gold project.

Location
Tanda-Iguela property, Côte d’Ivoire.

Project Owner/s
Multinational mining company Endeavour Mining.

Project Description
A prefeasibility study (PFS) has confirmed Assafou’s potential to become a Tier 1 asset for Endeavour. 

The mineralisation of the Assafou deposit extends from surface to depths of more than 300 m and is amenable to conventional openpit mining. Ore will be processed using a five-million-tonne-a-year processing plant. Over the 14.5-year life-of-mine (LoM), the plant will be fed with about 89% fresh ore and 11% oxide and transitional ore. Average production is estimated at 
329 000 t/y over the first ten years of production. Average production over the LoM is estimated at 265 000 t/y for 3.9-million ounces of gold. 

The mine planning, resource and cost estimation for the PFS is based on a contract mining operation with a maximum mining capacity of 62.5-million tonnes a year. Mining capacity is expected to exceed processing capacity to accumulate stockpiles to allow for high-grade material to be preferentially processed early in the mine life. During the precommercial production period, about 36.5-million tonnes of prestripping is expected to support an accelerated ramp-up of the production profile.

Diesel excavators and trucks will be used for loading and haulage, with a contractor fleet expected to comprise 300-t- and 200-t-class face excavators to load 140-t-capacity dump trucks for waste mining, and 200-t-class excavators to load 140-t-capacity dump trucks for ore mining.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
At a gold price of $2 000/oz, the project has a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $2.15-billion and an internal rate of return of 34%, with a payback of 3.3 years.

Capital Expenditure
$734-million, based on a five-million-tonne-a-year nameplate capacity with a similar processing plant configuration as the nearby Lafigué mine.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) is under way and is expected to be completed between late 2025 and early 2026. 

The DFS will review opportunities to reduce the impact of prestripping at the deposit through supplementing the ore feed with near-surface ore from the Pala Trend 3 deposit, located 1 km away from Assafou.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
No details provided.

Contact Details for Project Information
Endeavour Mining, tel +44 203 011 2723 or email info@endeavourmining.com.