PERTH (miningweekly.com) - The bankable feasibility study (BFS) on ASX-listed Gryphon Minerals’ Banfora gold project, in Burkina Faso, has revealed that gold production could start as early as the fourth quarter of 2014, with the mine producing some 151 000 oz/y over the first five years.

The BFS, which was supported by a maiden ore reserve of 1.05-million ounces of gold, was based on a conventional two-million-ton-a-year carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant and an openpit mining operation.

Capital costs for the project have been estimated at $208-million, with the project having a net present value of $121-million, at a gold price of $1 300/oz, and an internal rate of return of 17%.

“The completion of this BFS is a significant step towards the Banfora gold project becoming a major mining operation and towards Gryphon’s transformation into a gold producer,” said MD Steve Parsons on Thursday.

“The BFS confirms the economic viability of this low-risk, conventional openpit CIL operation,” he added.

Meanwhile, the project also offered an exploration upside potential, said Parsons, on which Banfora continued to deliver.

“We anticipate additional conversion of resource to reserve ounces with ongoing infill drilling, plus continued resource growth from step-out shallow, as well as deeper drilling, and more new discoveries at Banfora.”

Gryphon has now started the permitting process for the project and, given the six-month process in Burkina Faso, was anticipating the completion of this by the third quarter of this year.

The gold developer said on Thursday that it had also received strong interest from a number of financial institutions to provide funding for the project development. A formal process to appoint financiers would start over the coming weeks.

“Gryphon will continue to work closely with all stakeholders, including the Burkina Faso government and local community, as it focuses on full funding and development of the Banfora gold project, and obtains all the necessary approvals to start construction over the coming months,” said Parsons.