Name of the Project
Kiaka gold project.

Location
About 45 km south of West African Resources’ (WAF’s) existing Sanbrado gold mine, in Burkina Faso.

Project Owner/s
West African Resources (WAF).

Project Description
A feasibility study concluded on the project in August 2022 has indicated that Kiaka will be a low-cost gold project, averaging 219 000 oz/y of gold production over an 18.5-year mine life from 2025.

The feasibility study is based on conventional openpit mining methods, with run-of-mine ore being directly fed to the crushing circuit. Mining operations will use a combination of 140 t and 230 t hydraulic excavators, complemented by 95 t dump trucks.

Kiaka’s free-milling gold ore will be processed through a conventional single-stage gyratory crushing and semiautogenous ball mill crusher milling circuit followed by carbon-in-leach processing.

The process plant will have a nameplate capacity of seven-million tonnes a year.

Potential Job Creation
None stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $1.24-billion and an after-tax internal rate of return of 21.4%, with a 3.25-year payback on preproduction capital.

Capital Expenditure
$430-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Major works are scheduled from early 2023, with first gold expected in 2025.

Latest Developments
WAF has reported that it is fully funded to first gold at its Kiaka gold project, after securing a $265-million syndicated corporate loan facility with Sprott Resource Lending Corp and Coris Bank International.

The loan facility will have a two-tranche structure, with the first tranche equalling $165-million and the second the equivalent of $100-million denominated in CFA francs.

Repayment of the facility will start two years after satisfaction of conditions to initial drawdown, with the final repayment no later than five years after the closing date. An average interest rate of 5.3% a year will apply over the reference rate.

A fixed production payment agreement of $12.44/oz is in place on the first 1.5-million ounces of gold produced from Kiaka, with WAF retaining the right to buy back the agreement.

First drawdown of the facility is expected in the fourth quarter of this year.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
WAF, tel + 61 8 9481 7344 or email info@westafricanresources.com.