The Sanbrado plant has processed 75,000 tonnes of ore at 1.5 grams per tonne of gold
The first smelter exercise has been completed at the mine. (Credit: West African Resources)
West African Resources has announced the first gold pour at its Sanbrado project in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
The company said it has completed construction and commissioning activities in all areas, passing three million working hours, and the first smelt exercise at the mine delivered gold bars weighing 23.9kg.
Since the start, the Sanbrado plant has process processed 75,000 tonnes of ore at 1.5 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold, exceeding nameplate capacity in mill throughput.
The company said that open pit mining at Sanbrado has scaled up activity at both the M5 and M1 South pits.
West African executive chairman Richard Hyde said: “This is a major milestone for West African Resources and marks the beginning of a new phase in the West African story. To successfully transition from an exploration company to a gold producer is without doubt a great achievement for all involved.
“I would like to thank West African’s owners’ team and all consultants, contractors and other stakeholders for their hard work and support over the last four years to bring Sanbrado from discovery into production.”
Around 1,200 tonnes of underground ore has been readily mined and stockpiled for processing, while 250,000 tonnes of ore is due for processing on the run-of-mine (ROM) pad.
Covid-19 update
West African has confirmed that none of its employees or contractors been affected so far by the novel coronavirus.
As a preventative measure, the company’s executive and site management have recently undertaken a coronavirus (Covid-19) risk assessment workshop at Sanbrado site.
Located in the south-eastern region of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, the Sanbrado gold project is 90% owned by West African Resources while the Government of Burkina Faso owns the remaining 10% free-carried interest.