Endeavour Mining has distributed 240 million dollars (148 billion FCFA) to its shareholders since the start of 2023. This is according to the press release on operating and financial results for the third trimester of 2023. Endeavour operates the Houndé Gold and Semafo Mana mines in Burkina Faso. In the press release issued on 9 November 2023 in London, Endeavour Mining announced that it produced 281,000 oz (8.7 tonnes) in the third trimester of 2023 at a cost of 967$/oz. This is a record performance since the beginning of the year. Production in the third trimester was 13,000 oz or 5% higher than in the second trimester of 2023, despite the impact of the rainy season. This increase was driven by higher grade ore from the Kari Pump at the Houndé mine in Burkina Faso. This partly offset lower production at Ity and Sabodala-Massawa, due to lower throughputs and lower average grades.
Production at Mana in Burkina Faso was largely unchanged from the previous trimester.
The Group believes that its growth projects are on budget and on track. The Sabodala-Massawa expansion and the Lafigué development project are on budget and on schedule. The start-ups are scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd trimester of 2024 respectively. This will enable shareholders to earn a higher return.
Commenting on the results, Sébastien de Montessus, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are satisfied with our performance in the first nine months of the year, which puts us in a good position to achieve our strategic objectives.
Operationally, in light of our efforts in the first half of the year, our third trimester has seen the best performance so far this year, and we expect 4 trimester performance to be even stronger, putting us in a good position to achieve full year production guidance for the eleventh consecutive year and maintain our status as one of the lowest cost gold producers in the sector. Looking ahead, we expect 2024 to be a strong year for Endeavour, as the Sabodala-Massawa brownfield expansion and the Lafigué development project are on budget and on track for commissioning next year.
Alongside this year’s investment in our organic pipeline, we are pleased to continue to deliver attractive returns to shareholders, paying out 240 million dollars (148 billion FCFA) to shareholders in the first 9 months of the year. Since we paid our first dividend in trimester 1-2021, we are proud to have returned over three trimesters of a billion dollars to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks, which is 354 million dollars more than our minimum commitment for the period. Looking ahead, our aim is to increase our shareholder return programme, once our two ongoing organic growth projects are complete, to ensure that our efforts to unlock growth benefit all stakeholders.
Finally, we are very excited about our exploration programme, which continues to provide a strong platform for organic growth. Further drilling on our recent Tanda-Iguela discovery in Côte d’Ivoire has exceeded expectations, extending the mineralised trend by 50% and delineating several potential satellite deposits. We continue to progress this year’s 180,000 metre drilling campaign and look forward to releasing an updated resource estimate later this year.
I would like to thank our team for their continued strong contributions. I look forward to 2024 and beyond, as we will benefit from the efforts undertaken over the last few years to improve the quality of our portfolio and strengthen the resilience of our business”.
Summary by Pierre Balma
Mines_Actu_Burkina
