Endeavor Mining’s construction of its Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) project in Côte d’Ivoire is tracking two months ahead of schedule and remains on-budget. According to a statement released by the company, the first gold pour is now expected to occur in early Q2-2019 rather than mid-2019 as previously planned.
In the statement some of the milestones achieved to date have been pointed out. For instance, the have been well over 6m man-hours worked with zero lost-time injuries. Moreover the overall project completion stands at over 75%, tracking approximately two months ahead of schedule. Presently, nearly all of the US $412 million initial capital cost has been committed and approximately 65% has been spent;
The process plant construction is over 70% complete, tracking ahead of schedule as the Ball and SAG mill installation commenced three months earlier than initially planned. Structural, mechanical, piping and electrical installation work is well underway.
Endeavor president and CEO, Sébastien de Montessus said that completing the construction sooner is expected to result in material improvement to the company’s 2019 free-cash flow generation potential. This, he explains, is because CIL will be a low-cost operation with AISC expected to be below US $500/oz over its first 5 years.
Similarly, Jeremy Langford, COO & executive VP for Endeavor projects adds that the experience that the company’s in-house construction team has gained from its previous builds in the region, the early installation of the Ball and SAG mills, combined with the excellent progress made during the rainy season, have been key factors which have helped advance the Ity CIL construction ahead of schedule. He further added that they are especially pleased with the continued strong safety track record with zero lost-time incidents to date.
