The Koné Gold Project is located approximately 470km north-west of Abidjan, the commercial capital of Côte d'Ivoire, and comprises six exploration permits
Montage updates Feasibility Study at Koné Gold Project. (Credit: Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay)
Montage Gold Corp. (“Montage” or the “Company”) (TSXV: MAU) (OTCPK: MAUTF) is pleased to announce the results of the Updated Definitive Feasibility Study (the “UFS” or the “Study”) for the Koné Gold Project (“Koné Gold Project”, “Project”, or “KGP”) located in Côte d’Ivoire, which now incorporates ore from the Gbongogo Main satellite deposit. The UFS was prepared by Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd. in accordance with Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). Please note that all financial figures in this press release are in United States dollars, unless otherwise noted.
Rick Clark, Montage CEO commented,
“The completion of the UFS for the Koné Gold Project is the culmination of a business plan of target identification, exploration, economic analysis, and development assessment and represents the hard work, dedication, and expertise since 2009 of what is now the Montage team. I am extremely proud of what this team has accomplished at the KGP since this opportunity was first recognized by Hugh Stuart (President of Montage) while investigating growth projects for Red Back Mining in 2008-09.
“In the three years since Montage went public, we have evolved from an exploration company with a 1.5Moz Inferred Mineral Resource into a development company with Probable Mineral Reserves of +4Moz and total Indicated Mineral Resources of nearly 5Moz. The KGP is now positioned to become the largest gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire with an expected average gold production of 349,000 oz per year during the initial 3 years of operations at an AISC of less than $1,000/oz, leading to a short payback on capital of 2.6 years.
“The primary objective of the UFS was to optimize the economics of the Koné Gold Project by incorporating higher grade tonnes from Gbongogo Main. This change has materially de-risked the financial parameters of the Project and demonstrates the significant impact of discovering higher grade satellite deposits within the broad 2,259 sq. km property package held 100% by Montage. We will now focus on repeating this success as we advance the next near-term satellite deposits within the KGP, notably Diouma North and Petit Yao, both of which are in close proximity to the planned haul road.
“The success we have achieved to date with the Koné Gold Project highlights Côte d’Ivoire as a premier jurisdiction for gold exploration and development. The combination of the geological endowment of Côte d’Ivoire and the business focussed political will of the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, represents a formula for mining success. Côte d’Ivoire is a partner in every respect in the development of its natural resources and the Koné Gold Project is a perfect example of this. The construction of the KGP will be the largest investment in a gold project in Côte d’Ivoire to date and we look forward to working with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to realize success for all stakeholders.”
A summary of operating and financial metrics from the UFS are presented in Table 1 below along with a comparison to the 2022 DFS. A summary model with annual projections over the project life has been included as Appendix 1 to this Release.
The Koné Gold Project is located approximately 470km north-west of Abidjan, the commercial capital of Côte d’Ivoire. The Project comprises six exploration permits (PR262, PR748, PR842, PR879b, PR919 and PR920) covering 1,801 sq. km and two applications covering a further 456 sq. km, for a combined total of 2,259 sq. km.
The communities of Fadiadougou and Batogo lie 5km east and west respectively of the Koné resource area and the village of Gbongogo is located 4km north-west of the Gbongogo Main resource. The village of Dolourogoukaha will be impacted by the development pf the Gbongogo Main pit and will be resettled outside the affected area. Beyond this, the Project area is largely devoid of habitation with subsistence farming and cashew plantations being the dominant land use.
The nearest major centre is Séguéla, 80km to the south. The Project area is accessible year-round with an asphalt highway within 300m of the proposed plant location.
Source: Company Press Release