Kiaka gold project, Burkina Faso – update


Photo by ©Bloomberg
Name of the Project
Kiaka gold project.
Location
About 45 km south of West African Resources’ (WAF’s) existing Sanbrado gold mine, in Burkina Faso.
Project Owner/s
WAF (90%) and the government of Burkina Faso (10%).
Project Description
A feasibility study concluded on the project in August 2022 has indicated that Kiaka will be a low-cost gold project, averaging 219 000 oz/y of gold production over an 18.5-year mine life from 2025.
The feasibility study is based on conventional openpit mining methods, with run-of-mine ore being directly fed to the crushing circuit. Mining operations will use a combination of 140 t and 230 t hydraulic excavators, complemented by 95 t dump trucks.
Kiaka’s free-milling gold ore will be processed through a conventional single-stage gyratory crushing and semiautogenous grinding (SAG) ball mill crusher milling circuit, followed by carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing.
The process plant will have a nameplate capacity of seven-million tonnes a year.
Potential Job Creation
None stated.
Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $1.24-billion and an after-tax internal rate of return of 21.4%, with a 3.25-year payback on preproduction capital.
Capital Expenditure
$430-million.
WAF secured a $265-million syndicated corporate loan facility from Sprott Resource Lending Corp and Coris Bank International SA in June 2023, ensuring that the project is fully funded to production.
Planned Start/End Date
Preproduction mining is expected to start in 2025. The project remains on schedule to pour first gold in the third quarter of 2025.
Latest Developments
WAF has reported that maiden reverse-circulation grade-control drilling has returned thick zones of near-surface gold mineralisation, including 30 m at 4.1 g/t gold and 29 m at 2.6 g/t gold. Results confirm WAF’s geological model, with gold mineralisation 130 m to 185 m wide near surface.
Drilling results also support the low strip ratio of 0.8:1 (waste to ore) of the Kiaka main – Stage 1 openpit, and significantly derisks the early production plan, with owner-mining on track to start in the first quarter of 2025.
WAF further indicates that supply and logistics of the owner-mining fleet is progressing to plan, with some equipment ready to ship and first arrivals expected on site in late 2024.
Kiaka construction is also progressing on time and on budget, with first gold production expected in the third quarter of 2025.
Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.
Contact Details for Project Information
WAF, tel +61 8 9481 7344 or email info@westafricanresources.com.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation