Whereas the foremost gold producers have largely accomplished as a lot consolidation as attainable and at the moment are sporting diversified, sustainable manufacturing profiles, the producers wish to fill reserve depletion organically, specializing in brownfields exploration, or selecting up single-asset growth tasks as probably the likes of Bomboré.
The market has seen a number of of those strategic tie-ups in latest months, together with the acquisition by Newmont (NYSE: NEM; TSX: NGT) of GT Gold and its Tatogga venture in British Columbia. Additional afield, we’ve seen majors extract improved efficiencies by buying complementary property, comparable to Newmont and Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) forming a three way partnership in Nevada in July 2019 – Nevada Gold Mines – the place each miners generate a considerable portion of their manufacturing from a number of property.
One space that has seen a increase in gold exploration, growth and mining exercise is West Africa. Latest exercise consists of Barrick promoting its undeveloped open-pit Massawa venture in Senegal to Teranga Gold (TSX: TGZ) late in 2019. The latter deal opened the numerous potential for working synergies between Teranga’s producing Sabodala mine, solely 20 kilometres from Massawa.
Australia-based West African Sources (ASX: WAF) just lately introduced the acquisition of the 1.1Moz Toega gold venture from TSX-listed B2Gold (TSX: BTO; NYSE: BTG; NSX: B2G), because it goals to extend Sanbrado’s gold manufacturing and mine life. Toega is situated inside trucking distance of Sanbrado.
However West Africa stands out among the many world’s jurisdictions as significantly supportive of mineral exploration, mine growth and mining, in accordance with Orezone Gold’s CEO Patrick Downey.
“Tasks in West Africa have a protracted historical past of being constructed forward of schedule and beneath price range”
Orezone Gold CEO Patrick Downey
Orezone has just lately kicked off building of its absolutely funded $189 million Bomboré gold venture in Burkina Faso, by which it owns a 90% stake.
“Tasks in West Africa have a protracted historical past of being constructed forward of schedule and beneath price range,” Downey tells MINING.COM in an interview.
Based on Downey, about 11 latest mining tasks in West African jurisdictions had been accomplished both on or forward of schedule and on or beneath price range, one thing that makes them more and more interesting to traders.
Building progress
The important thing, Downey says, is that considerably the entire latest tasks accomplished in Burkina Faso had been constructed by engineering, procurement, and building administration (EPCM) contractor Lycopodium Minerals. Because of this, it has additionally awarded the Bomboré EPCM contract to Lycopodium in January.
“With greater than 12 mines inbuilt West Africa, Lycopodium’s monitor report of constructing environment friendly mines on time and price range is unparalleled. Lycopodium may be very conversant in Bomboré, having carried out the 2018 feasibility research, the 2019 up to date feasibility research, and the beforehand accomplished front-end engineering and design,” says Downey.
Lycopodium has a demonstrated monitor report in Burkina Faso, just lately delivering profitable EPCM gold tasks on the two million oz. per yr Sanbrado venture for West African Sources, adjoining to Bomboré, the three million oz. per yr Houndé venture for Endeavour Mining, and the two.5 million oz. per yr Wahgnion venture for Teranga Gold Company. Considerably, Lycopodium has simply accomplished the three.3Mtpa Yaouré venture for Perseus Mining in Côte d’Ivoire, forward of schedule and beneath price range throughout the covid pandemic.
Final yr, OreZone launched a feasibility research for Bomboré, which outlined a staged oxide-sulphide venture producing a median of 117,800 oz. of gold yearly at all-in sustaining prices of $730 per oz.
The Bomboré gold venture is host to a complete oxide reserve of 52.5 million tonnes at 0.69 g/t gold for 1.2 million contained oz. with further sulphide reserves of 17.6 million tonnes grading 1.19 g/t gold for a complete of 675,000 oz. These are contained inside a measured and indicated useful resource stock of 107 million tonnes of oxides at 0.55 g/t gold and 123 million tonnes of sulphides at 0.8 g/t gold.
The related preliminary capital for the oxide portion of the venture was estimated at $153 million, with an extra $63 million allotted for the sulphide enlargement commencing operations within the third yr. At a 5% low cost price, the related internet current worth has been estimated at $361 million with a 43.8% inside price of return.
Orezone is presently planning on pouring the primary gold from Bomboré within the second half of subsequent yr.
On January 21, Orezone introduced it had secured a financing package deal totalling $182 million and consisting of $96 million in senior secured loans, a $35 million convertible observe, and a $51 million bought-deal fairness providing to fund Bomboré into manufacturing absolutely.
The finance package deal has allowed Orezone to quickly advance vital gadgets on its to-do checklist, together with ordering long-lead gadgets such because the ball mill in parallel with beginning web site earthworks.
Downey expects the primary concrete pours to happen in June, which in accordance with the so-called Lassonde Curve, ought to precipitate the beginning of a company rerating and a couple of 125% rise in fairness values as the corporate enters the development section correct.
Based on Downey, the development milestones set the stage of a coveted fairness rerating because the venture advances nearer to manufacturing and ever extra interesting within the eyes of potential suitors.
“M&A exercise takes place when a selected set of situations are met, together with timing. However extra importantly, traders are in search of clear tasks as a result of they don’t need future worth capped by way of dilutive building finance packages or by the proponent promoting future steel streams.
“I feel West Africa – and hopefully Bomboré – might be a part of future M&A as a result of single asset firms hardly ever make for nice enterprise propositions,” he says. “However earlier than we’d contemplate any sort of transaction, we first need to reveal the expansion potential of the asset.”
Exploration upside
For Orezone to entry all areas throughout the Bomboré mining allow required for the method plant, floor infrastructure, tailings storage facility, and off-channel reservoir, it needed to relocate a whole village.
The corporate constructed over 1,100 non-public properties, public buildings, and group roads and moved over 370 households into their new properties.
Based on Downey, with that vital social funding now full, it opened up new potential areas for exploration, which is a key worth driver.
“Considered one of our prime priorities in 2021 is to begin exploratory drilling on high-priority oxide and sulphide targets to increase Bomboré enlargement potential,” he says.
To this finish, the corporate has offered 50% of the silver by-product manufacturing to EURO Sources, a 90%-owned affiliate of Iamgold. The streaming deal gave Orezone $7.15 million in exploration funding in change for no less than 37,500 oz. silver from the mine, capped at 375,000 oz.
“We consider the silver stream is a sexy non-dilutive supply of capital to fund exploration on high-priority oxide and newly recognized high-grade sulphide targets throughout building. Because of the lack of complete silver assays, no silver manufacturing was included within the 2019 feasibility research for Bomboré,” says Downey.
The Bomboré venture spans over 13kms and is but to be absolutely outlined. A number of remoted mineralized zones are believed to be steady however haven’t been drilled sufficiently to substantiate such continuity. Two such zones recognized as excessive precedence drill targets are the P17 sulphide zone and the hanging wall oxide zone at Maga.
For the P17 sulphide zone, latest drilling has outlined high-grade sulphide assets at P17S with grades greater than double that of the general common grade for the venture.
Drilling simply north of the P17S reserve pit signifies that the deposit continues to be open and trending in the direction of the floor at P17, located 1.2 kilometres to the north. Historic drilling at P17 has returned wonderful intercepts, and a sizeable untested hole exists between these two areas. Future drilling is deliberate to infill this massive, underexplored space.
Latest drilling has outlined high-grade sulphide assets at P17S with grades greater than double that of the general common grade for the venture
For Maga, oxide targets within the hanging wall had been beforehand inaccessible earlier than relocating households to their new resettlement villages. Restricted earlier drilling and auger drilling and historic artisanal gold workings outdoors of present reserve pits present a robust indication that the mineralized constructions internet hosting the present reserves show good lateral continuity and are extremely potential to order enlargement.
Excessive-grade sulphide inferred mineralized zones are additionally current straight beneath or alongside strike of a number of sulphide pits within the present mineral reserves. The earlier drilling means that these zones are large and steady at Siga South, the place the sulphide zone definition drilling is most superior. The corporate has recognized three main goal areas (Maga, Siga South, and Siga East) for sulphide useful resource drilling that warrant future exploration.
Bomboré additionally has 14,547 hectares of exploration claims surrounding its mining allow, with quite a few potential targets which were recognized, together with the KT and P13 prospects situated to the northeast and the southwest of the mining allow, respectively.
