Semafo reports that it has completed its first gold pour at the Boungou Mine in Burkina Faso, slightly ahead of the original schedule. The first pour yielded approximately 325 ounces of gold.
Dry and wet commissioning of the Boungou processing plant are now complete, as is its construction. The vertimill and SAG mill are working according to design and have achieved the designed hourly throughput and grind size. Commercial production is expected in August.
"The first gold pour at Boungou marks an important milestone in SEMAFO's growth trajectory as it signals the beginning of a significant increase in production and cash flow," said Benoit Desormeaux, President and CEO of SEMAFO. "This achievement reflects a true team effort that involved the hard work and commitment of our in-house construction team and external contractors, combined with the strong support of our local communities. This major milestone was achieved while maintaining an exceptional safety record of 5.5 million hours without lost-time injury."
At the end of May 2018, 17.2 million of the projected 18 million tonnes of pre-strip had been completed at Boungou and approximately 172,000 tonnes of ore had been stockpiled for future processing, in line with our expectations.
Semafo is a Canadian-based mining company with gold production and exploration activities in West Africa.