Endeavour runs first ore through new Houndé mill

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed gold miner Endeavour Mining has started wet commissioning the new Houndé gold project, in Burkina Faso, with the first ore making its way through the milling circuit, the company advised on Monday.

The London, UK-based miner said construction of the $281-million project was progressing ahead of schedule, with more than 97% of the total project complete and on-budget, with the first gold pour expected ahead of schedule in the first half of the fourth quarter.

"We are very proud of the progress made in recent months in spite of the challenges presented by exceptionally heavy rainfall this past wet season. Construction remains on budget and ahead of schedule as we rapidly approach the first gold pour without a lost-time injury. Moreover, we believe that we have significantly de-risked its start-up with three months' worth of ore feed already stockpiled on the run-of-mine and the transition of the experienced Agbaou processing team to Houndé,” COO Jeremy Langford stated in a news release.

Endeavour advised that its confidence in the project’s progress has allowed it to continue to aggressively advance the company’s high-quality project pipeline, with a portion of the Houndé construction team already transitioning to the Ity carbon-in-leach project, in Côte d'Ivoire, and the launch of the owned Kalana updated feasibility study, in Mali, following the company’s recent acquisition of London-listed Avnel Mining.