Endeavour Mining has completed a positive pre-feasibility study (PFS) for both its Fetekro and Kalana gold projects in West Africa. The robust PFS results confirm that both projects justify moving forward to the definitive feasibility study (DFS) stage, which will now commence.
President and CEO of Endeavour Mining, Sebastien de Montessus, said the studies confirm the compelling nature of Endeavours’ two most advanced projects and reinforce the company’s focus on organic growth.
“Together with a number of earlier stage projects, Endeavour now has an attractive pipeline of opportunities, each of which will compete for capital with the goal of generating strong returns across operations, projects and exploration,” Mr de Montessus said.
“At Fetekro, our exploration efforts have resulted in the discovery of a project with the potential to become a cornerstone mine with an annual production of more than 200,000 ounces (oz) at low all-in sustaining costs over at least 10 years while boasting robust economics.”
“Our $20 million investment in exploration at Fetekro over the past three years has generated significant returns as we now have a project with an NPV 5 per cent of approximately $480 million at a gold price of $1,500/oz,” he said.
“At Kalana, we have outlined a project with an annual production of 150,000 oz over at least 10 years with very attractive economics. Having purchased Kalana for approximately $120 million in 2017, the project now has an NPV 5 per cent of approximately $330 million at a gold price of $1,500/oz, despite the overhaul of the geological model which incorporates more conservative assumptions.”
Mr de Montessus noted that from a broader ESG standpoint, in accordance with Endeavour’s aim to reduce its carbon footprint, both projects have low forecast emissions intensity which is in line with the company’s current operations, as well as the opportunity to benefit from renewable energy, either in the form of a solar plant at Fetekro, or from the Malian grid for Kalana which has a significant portion powered by renewables.
“We will now progress the DFS for both projects, which we expect to announce in late 2021 for Fetekro and in early 2022 for Kalana,” he commented.