Name of the Project
Doropo gold project.

Location
Côte d'Ivoire, between the Comoè National Park and the international border with Burkina Faso.

Project Owner/s
Centamin.

Project Description
Results from the prefeasibility study (PFS) have demonstrated an economically robust project.

The project comprises 1 847 km² and covers 13 gold deposits – Souwa, Nokpa, Chegue Main, Chegue South, Tchouahinin, Kekeda, Han, Enioda, Hinda, Nare, Kilosegui, Attire and Vako, with total mineral reserves of 40.55-million tonnes grading 1.44 g/t gold. Measured and indicated resources are estimated at 51.51-million tonnes grading 1.52 g/t gold and inferred resources at 13.67-million tonnes grading 1.14 g/t gold. The mine plan proposes the conventional openpit mining of a sequence of shallow pits.

Mineral processing will be undertaken through a 4-million-tonne- to 5.5-million-tonne-a-year semiautogenous grinding mill, ball mill and crusher circuit, and conventional carbon-in-leach circuit for an average life-of-mine gold recovery of 92%.

The PFS envisages average gold production of 173 000 oz/y over the ten-year life-of-mine, with an average of 210 000 oz in the first five years.

Potential Job Creation
None stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $330-million and an internal rate of return of 26%, with a payback of 2.3 years.

Capital Expenditure
$349-million, inclusive of a 10% contingency.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Centamin has allocated $23-million towards the group exploration budget, including $14-million to complete the Doropo definitive feasibility study (DFS), and an environmental- and social-impact assessment (ESIA), permitting and financing assessment.

Work at the project is progressing, notably with submission of the draft ESIA report to government for approval and permitting.

The ESIA will, alongside the DFS, form the basis for the mining licence application in mid-2024.

DFS work has included preliminary whittle shell selection and ongoing cost estimates using the mining contractor submissions, metallurgical testwork and infrastructure and flowsheet design finalisation, as well as the completion of hydrology, sterilisation and geotechnical drilling.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Centamin, tel +44 1534 828700 or email info@centamin.com.