The government of Guinea has approved ASX-listed Predictive Discovery’s environment- and social-impact assessment on the Bankan gold project.

Having issued a certificate of environmental compliance, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development in Guinea has paved the way for Predictive to apply for a mining licence.

The company says the approval of this assessment involved two years of close engagement with the Ministry and associated agencies, particularly as the project is located on the periphery of the Upper Niger National Park.

It also involved extensive social, biophysical and biodiversity baseline studies conducted from 2022.

As part of its application for a mining licence, Predictive has undertaken to relinquish all of the portion of the Bankan permits that are located within the buffer zone of the park, such that no mining activity will be carried out within the buffer zone.

The buffer zone demarcates the protected area closest to the core conservation area of the park.

Fortunately, Predictive confirms, all the planned deposits and area for development of the Bankan project lie outside of the buffer zone, which means there is no impact to the company’s prefeasibility study on the project published in April 2024.

In support of its broader conservation efforts during the development phase of Bankan, Predictive will launch a reforestation programme at the outer limit of the proposed mining licence area, closest to the buffer zone of the national park.

Commenting on the environmental approval for the project, Predictive MD Andrew Pardey says it marks a critical step in granting of all the necessary permits required to build Bankan into a Tier 1 gold mine.

Predictive intends to file its application for the mining licence with the Guinea Ministry of Mines and Geology, as well as the Centre for the Promotion and Development of Mines, by January 31, and complete a definitive feasibility study during the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, the company continues with resource definition drilling on the Fouwagbe and Sounsoun targets in the Argo area, in Guinea, with the aim of completing maiden mineral resource estimates before the end of March.