LSE-, TSX- and OTCQX-listed Endeavour Mining made its first gold pour from the Lafigué mine, in Côte d’Ivoire, on June 28, marking the delivery of the project’s construction on budget and a quarter ahead of schedule.

“Alongside the first gold pour at the Sabodala-Massawa BIOX expansion that we achieved in April, [this] marks the successful completion of the recent phase of investment and growth that we started in the second quarter of 2022.

“We now begin a new phase of increased free cash flow generation . . . and enhanced shareholder returns,” CEO Ian Cockerill said on July 2.

He noted that the Lafigué project was the fifth project that Endeavour has built in West Africa in the last decade.

“We discovered Lafigué for a cost of $31-million, equivalent to an industry-low discovery cost of just $12/oz of measured and indicated resources. The project was quickly advanced through technical studies and permitting, before construction was launched in the fourth quarter of 2022, and first gold was delivered only 21 months later for a low capital intensity of approximately $150/oz of measured and indicated resources.

“In less than eight years, we have transformed Lafigué from a discovery to production, creating a cornerstone asset that has the potential to produce over 200 000 oz/y at an industry leading all-in sustaining cost of about $900/oz for at least 13 years, improving the quality of our existing portfolio,” Cockerill pointed out.

He said Endeavour believed this kind of value creation was repeatable in West Africa.

“We have already identified the Assafou deposit on the Tanda-Iguela property in Côte d’Ivoire, where we have delineated a top-tier resource and another potential cornerstone asset, which will underpin our next phase of organic growth in a few years’ time.

“With the current phase of organic growth completed, we are now focused on quickly ramping up our recent development projects to maximise their returns and support our near-term capital allocation priorities of de-levering our balance sheet and enhancing our shareholder returns,” Cockerill said.

Since the start of wet commissioning on May 30, about 77 000 t of ore has been processed through the Lafigué processing plant, with all circuits operating in line with expectations, the company said.

The first gold pour included gold from both the gravity and carbon-in-leach circuits, and yielded about 380 oz of gold. The Lafigué mine is expected to achieve commercial production and ramp up to its nameplate capacity of four-million tonnes a year in the third quarter.

The Lafigué mine is located towards the northern end of the Birimian-aged Oumé-Fetekro greenstone belt, in north-central Côte d’Ivoire, about 500 km from Abidjan by road. The Lafigué deposit is located in the northeast part of the Fetekro exploration permit, adjacent to existing infrastructure, including sealed paved roads and high-voltage grid power.

Endeavour has an 80% ownership stake in the Lafigué mine, with 10% owned by the Ivorian government and 10% owned by State-owned mining company Sodemi, and a 100% ownership stake in the remainder of the Fetekro exploration licence.