On 14 November 2023, Orezone Gold Corporation published its operating and financial results for the third trimester of 2023.
Orezone Gold Corporation operates the Bomboré gold mine. It made the first pour on 10 September 2022 and declared commercial production on 1 December 2022.
Patrick Downey, President and CEO, commented: “Our Bomboré mine continues to perform well operationally, with throughput in the 3d trimester at a record 1.45 million tonnes, 13% above design capacity. Gold production was slightly down on previous trimesters. The decline in grades was seen in the 2nd trimester. To improve extraction rates, which were behind plan, we mobilised a second mining contractor at the end of July. We are now reaping the rewards in the fourth trimester, with extraction rates reaching a new monthly record in October. Thanks to faster ore release and continued high plant performance. Production in the fourth trimester is expected to be higher than in the third trimester, putting us in a good position to achieve the gold production and costs we have previously set for 2023“.
Operating and financial results
At the operating level, Orezone Bomboré produced 30,726 ounces of gold (approximately one tonne of gold), down 13% on the 2nd trimester 2023.
The decline in gold production was due to a 9% decrease in grades and a 2% decrease in mill recoveries, partially offset by a 4% increase in mill throughput compared with the previous trimester.
During the third trimester, the mine sold its gold at an average price of 1,910$ per ounce. The average production cost of this gold was 1,306$ per ounce sold, an increase of 18% compared with the second trimester of 2023, when it stood at 1,109$.
In financial terms, revenue from sales amounted to approximately 55.8 million dollars (33 billion FCFA), with operating profits of 13.9 million dollars (8 billion FCFA).
Connection to the electricity network
The project to connect Bomboré to Burkina Faso’s national electricity grid is progressing towards completion in December 2023, as planned. All long-lead equipment orders are either in transit or delivered to site, and the main installation contractors have achieved planned progress on the switchyard, the main on-site substation and the transmission line. Delivery of the substation transformer is being accelerated and a second daily shift has been organised with the contractor to speed up installation and commissioning once the transformer arrives on site. The company is also working to finalise a power purchase agreement with SONABEL, following the memorandum of understanding signed between the parties earlier this year.
Mine expansion phase
On 11 October 2023, the Company announced the results of an independent feasibility study for Phase II of the hard rock plant expansion at the Bomboré mine. The 2023 feasibility study envisages an integrated mining operation processing both oxide and hard rock ore with the construction of a stand-alone 4.4 million tonnes per annum hard rock plant operating in parallel to the existing Phase I oxide plant with a capacity of 5.9 million tonnes per annum. The expansion of operations should enable a significant increase in annual gold production and production over the life of the mine, while ensuring strong profitability for the project.
Patrick Downey, President and CEO, said: “Shortly after the end of the trimester, we released the results of an updated independent feasibility study for the Bomboré Phase II hard rock expansion. The results demonstrated improved economics and increased gold production compared to the previous 2019 study, including a substantial increase in mineral reserves to 2.4 million ounces of gold. A new technical study will be filed later this month and will include an updated mine plan, production profile and cost assumptions, as well as new resource and mineral reserve estimates. We are working diligently with our lead lender, Coris Bank, to increase our debt capacity in order to move forward with a production decision on our Phase II expansion in the coming months”.
Pierre Balma
#Mines_Actu_Burkina
