Name and Location
Houndé gold project, Burkina Faso.

Client
Avion Gold, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavour Mining.

Project Description
Houndé has a proven and probable reserve of 25-million tonnes, with an average grade of 1.95 g/t of gold.

A National Instrument 43-101 compliant feasibility study (FS) completed on the Houndé project has proved positive for an openpit gold mine.

The project FS focuses on the Vindaloo group of deposits that are located about 250 km south-west of Ouagadougou, the capital city of Burkina Faso.

The FS envisages production of 178 000 oz/y of gold over an 8.1-year life-of-mine (LoM), with a total LoM production of 1.44-million ounces.

Average gold recovery of 93.3% is forecast using a semiautogenous/ball mill grinding circuit, followed by processing through a gravity/carbon-in-leach plant capable of treating three-million tonnes a year of ore.

Value
Initial start-up capital is estimated at $315-million.

Duration
Engineering, procurement and construction are estimated at 21 months from board approval to first gold production.

Latest Developments
Endeavour expects the current political turmoil in Burkina Faso to set back the permitting schedule for its Houndé project at least until after elections have been held, expected within the next 90 days.

The country is under military rule after the army became involved following the forced resignation of President Blaise Compaore on October 31.

Endeavour CFO Christian Milau has told Mining Weekly Online that Endeavour expects a short-term delay in the mine’s permitting, at least until after the elections, and that the company is hoping to receive permitting by the first quarter next year, if not before year-end as planned.

He has explained that the timeline delay for the Houndé project will not be a significant issue for the company, because it will allow for more time to repay debt on its revolving facility before launching into the construction phase of the project and to conduct optimisation work on the project.

In the fourth quarter, Endeavour expects to shift from two years of executing a capital-intensive strategy – to improve the efficiency of its existing assets and build new and higher margin operations in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Ghana and Burkina Faso – to managing existing assets to increase cash flow and deleverage its balance sheet.

“Once we get the permit, we have at least two years in which to start construction and we don’t have to finish it in that time,” Milau says.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Endeavour Mining senior VP business development, Doug Reddy, tel +1 604 609 6114 or email investor@endeavourmining.com.