Name of the Project
Sanbrado gold project.

Location
The project is located about 90 km east-south-east of Ouagadougou, in Burkina Faso.

Client
West African Resources.

Project Description
Sanbrado has probable mineral reserves of 20.4-million tonnes grading 2.4 g/t gold containing 1.57-million ounces of gold.

The project comprises several openpits, all within a short distance of the plant site, and an underground mine accessed through a portal at the south-east end of the Mankarga 1 (M1) South openpit. The processing plant comprises a conventional semiautogenous (SAG), ball, crushing milling circuit, gravity and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing plant, with a nominal throughput capacity of two-million tonnes a year.

The Sanbrado combined openpit and underground feasibility study envisages an initial 11-year mine life, including 4.5 years of underground mining, with strong early cash flow and a rapid payback of capital.

The project will mine three deposits – M1, Mankarga 3 (M3) and Mankarga 5 (M5). The M1 deposit will be mined in a north and a south pit.

The planned mining method for M1 South is uphole retreat bench stoping, with loose rock fill and cemented fill where necessary. The underground mine will be accessed through a decline starting from a portal at the M1 South pit and is planned to be developed using conventional two-boom jumbos capable of face advance and installation of ground support. The M1 South pit design incorporates an underground portal in the south-east wall. To allow for the earliest possible development of the underground workings, the southern section of the pit will be mined to a depth of 30 m to allow for the portal to be developed in fresh rock. The final M1 South pit is 570 m long, 290 m wide and 120 m deep. The M1 North pit is 350 m long , 240 m wide and 90 m deep.

The M3 deposit also has two small, predominately oxide, pits less than 40 m deep.

Sanbrado is expected to produce an average of 211 000 oz/y of gold in the first five years of operation, with production averaging 133 000 oz/y over the mine’s life.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $567-million and an internal rate of return of 62%, with a payback of 12 months on preproduction capital.

Value
The project is estimated at $185.3-million.

Duration
Construction will start in late 2018, with a 20-month construction schedule leading to targeted gold production in mid-2020.

Latest Developments
West African Resources has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the process plant and associated infrastructure at its Sanbrado gold project, with first gold production still scheduled for the second half of 2020.

The company has signed a conditional letter of intent with Australian engineering firm Lycopodium for the engineering and procurement of portions of a new two-million-tonne-a-year CIL treatment facility, as well as supporting infrastructure.

The EPCM contract will be signed at the end of 2018, following the agreement of the final terms and conditions, and West African board approval.

Meanwhile, West African has awarded the mill package and placed the order for a 4 MW SAG grinding and ball mills.

Meanwhile, infill drilling is continuing, which is expected to increase the current underground mine life past five years. Optimisation studies to be completed by the first quarter of 2019 will include resource and reserve updates, and planned higher process plant throughput rates resulting in increased annual gold production.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Mintrex (study management, process plant and infrastructure design, metallurgical overview); Aurifex and ALS Ammtec (metallurgical testwork); OMC (comminution modelling); Knight Piésold (hydrology, hydrogeology, waste-rock classification and tailings storage design); Knight Piésold and BEGE (environmental permitting); Knight Piésold, INGRID and BEGE (flora and social surveys); Peter O’Bryan & Associates (geotechnical assessment); Sylvatrop Consulting (surface surveys); International Resource Solutions (resource estimation); SCME (mine planning and optimisation, ore reserve statement); Capital Mine Consulting & Kenmore (underground mine design); and RL Advisory (financial modelling).

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

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