Name: Loulo-Gounkoto complex.
Location: The mining complex is situated in western Mali, bordering Senegal and adjacent to the Falémé river.
Mine Owner/s: Société des Mines de Loulo SA owns the Loulo gold mine, and Société des Mines de Gounkoto owns the Gounkoto gold mine. Both Loulo and Gounkoto are owned by Barrick (80%), and Mali (20%).
Brief Description: The Loulo-Gounkoto complex is an operating mine site comprising the Yalea and Gara underground mines at Loulo, the Gounkoto openpit mine, satellite deposits, and a processing plant, together with other associated mine operation and regional exploration infrastructure. The plant produces gold doré bars.
Brief History: The Loulo underground mine passed through feasibility study stage in 2005, with development beginning in 2006 and first gold being produced in 2005. The first gold from Gara underground was produced in 2011.
The Gounkoto deposit was discovered through regional exploration in 2009, with first gold being produced at the Gounkoto openpit in 2011.
Primary Metals/Minerals: Gold.
Secondary Metals/Minerals: None stated.
Geology/Mineralisation: Loulo-Gounkoto is located within the Kedougou-Kenieba erosional inlier. The inlier is unconformably overlain by Upper Proterozoic sandstones towards the east and further south. The Kenieba inlier contains several significant gold deposits including Sadiola, Yalea, Segala, Tabakoto, and Gounkoto deposits in Mali, and Sabodala in Senegal.
The Senegal-Mali shear marks a major break in the geology from shelf carbonates with the Falémé ironstone unit in the west to the sedimentary sequences of the Kofi formation in the east. Loulo-Gounkoto is predominately underlain by the Kofi formation comprising greywacke, sandstone, argillaceous sandstone, calcareous sandstone and tourmalinised sandstone, sheared greenstone units.
This geological setting is the primary host of mines in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Senegal. These deposits tend to have significant strike and depth potential, with exploration concentrating on delineating strike and depth extent, followed by infill drilling within the zones of better continuity and grade.
Reserves: Total proven and probable reserves as at December 31, 2019, were estimated at 45-million tonnes grading 4.77 g/t gold.
Resources: Total measured resources as at December 31, 2019, were estimated at 24-million tonnes grading 4.09 g/t gold. Indicated resources were estimated at 36-million tonnes grading 4.69 g/t gold. Inferred resources were estimated at 15-million tonnes grading at 3.9 g/t gold.
Mining Method: Openpit, using free-dig or conventional drill, blast, load, and haul methods; and underground, using longhole transverse open stoping, long hole longitudinal retreat open stoping and stoping under rock fill.
Major Infrastructure and Equipment: The Loulo-Gounkoto mine site is an operating mine site, comprising openpit and underground mines, a processing plant, satellite deposits and associated infrastructure. Previously mined openpits remain open and are used to access the underground mine. Waste dumps are situated adjacent to the openpits. The plant and offices and accommodation village are located east of the Gara pit.
The Loulo process plant process ore from the Loulo and Gounkoto operations. The processing plant uses a carbon-in-leach gold extraction process with a throughput capacity of 4.8-million tonnes a year.
Prospects: The complex continues to perform consistently to plan and is still managing to replace depleted reserves through successful brownfield exploration and resource conversion.
Contact Details:
Barrick Gold Corporation
Tel +1 416 861 9911
Email barrick@dpapr.com