Production starts at Nordgold’s Bouly operation

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Gold production has started at Nordgold’s Bouly operation, an expansion of the company’s flagship Bissa mine, in Burkina Faso.

The greenfield deposit is expected to produce 120 000 oz/y over a ten-year mine life, with an all-in sustaining cost of $730/oz.

Construction on the $140-million mine started last year and was completed on schedule and $15-million under budget in August.

"Bouly is another outstanding addition to our global asset portfolio and once again highlights our ability to execute large mining projects on time and in this case, under budget.

“Like Bissa, which we launched in 2013, Bouly is a best-in-class operation, which will not only increase overall production and efficiency at Nordgold, but will be another major economic contributor to our host country and its local community,” Nordgold CEO Nikolai Zelenski said.

He added that the launch of Bouly was also a milestone in the delivery of the company’s growth pipeline, positioning it as the second-largest gold producer in the country, with total production of about 400 000 oz/y from its three Burkina Faso operations.

Nordgold also operates mines in Russia, Guinea and Kazakhstan and produced about 950 000 oz of gold in 2015.

During the construction phase 1 000 jobs were created and 350 permanent jobs will be created over Bouly’s ten-year life span.

Direct benefits to the State will come mainly in terms of income tax and royalties, which are estimated to be $120-million over the life of the mine, excluding State revenue derived from fuel tax.