Modern Mining November 2016

GOLD

to have a nominal capacity of 3,0 Mt/a based on a constant blend of approximately 60 % primary and 40 % oxide ore. The process plant will consist of a vibrating grizzly/single stage pri- mary crushing circuit that produces a crushed product size of P80 160 mm, followed by a coarse ore stockpile area that supplies the SAG/ball mill grind- ing circuit. The gravity testwork has indicated that a portion of the gold in the CIL feed can be recovered by grav- ity gold recovery methods. A gravity concentrator and Intensive Leach Reactor (ILR) have been included in the design. The CIL circuit comprises six CIL tanks containing carbon for gold and silver adsorption and a 15-t split Anglo

upside demonstrate the potential for the Ity mine complex to become another flagship asset,” comments Sebastian de Montessus, Endeavour’s President and CEO. “We believe this project aligns very well with our key strategic criteria for project development and is another example of our ability to identify and advance internal development opportu- nities that crystallise long-term value for our shareholders. “The Ity CIL project has the potential to be a long-life, low-cost mine with exploration upside that can add materially to our overall production and be a positive cash flow genera- tor, while lowering our group all-in sustaining cost profile. Furthermore, the greater Ity area also offers some of the most promising explo- ration potential within our portfolio and along the prolific Birimian greenstone belt. Its impor- tance as our top priority exploration area will be highlighted in our soon to be released five year exploration strategy. “With strong financing and liquidity sources available, we look forward to quickly moving toward an investment decision in early 2017. This would allow us to smoothly transition our in-house construction team currently working on our Houndé project. In addition, we will also explore the potential and trade-offs to run the CIL and heap leaching operations in paral- lel for the first few years.” Ity has the longest operating history of any gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire, with gold first dis- covered near the village of Ity in the 1950s and the first modern gold production reported in 1991. It has produced more than 1,2 Moz of gold in its 20+ year operations. It is located approximately 480 km north-west of Abidjan. 

(AARL) elution circuit. Electrowinning and induction furnace smelting completes the gold doré production process. A cyanide detoxifica- tion circuit is included in the process facility design, for treatment of process residue before discharge to the 46 Mt TSF, located adjacent to the processing facility. Feed water for the pro- cessing facility will come from various sources such as pit dewatering bores, the Cavally River for make-up and decant return from the TSF. It is expected that overall gold recovery rates for the life of mine will be 83 %, varying between 60 % and 97 % amongst deposits and mineralisation. The infrastructure in place will be improved with roads upgraded to an all-weather and free draining carriageway to provide access for the delivery of equipment, materials and services to the site. A new camp will be built approxi- mately 1 km west of the process plant and will provide accommodation for 200 employees. A Cavally River diversion will be installed upstream of the Daapleu pit, with a second diversion upstream of the Walter pit. Pit protec- tion bunds will also be installed and a bridge/ culvert road structure from Daapleu over the Cavally River will also be built. The proposed approach to project imple- mentation is similar in nature to the current execution methodology of the Endeavour Project Services in-house team. In terms of this model, Endeavour will engage a suitably qualified EPCM engineer for design and con- struction management of the process plant and infrastructure, which will then be handed over to an Owner’s operating team. “The robust results of the feasibility study for the Ity CIL project and the exploration

Site layout and infrastructure of the Ity gold mine.

“We believe this project aligns very well with our key strategic criteria for project development ... .”

November 2016  MODERN MINING  29