Canadian miner Semafo has announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Nabanga project, in Burkina Faso, highlighting how the project could be developed with modest initial capital by combining openpit and underground mining operations.
The PEA determines that Nabanga will need to invest $84-million to build a mine that will produce 571 000 oz over eight years, at an all-in sustaining cost of $760/oz.
The study delivered an after-tax net present value, at a 5% discount, of $100-million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 22.6%.
“The goal of the PEA study was to assess the initial economic viability and to identify areas for improvement to rank Nabanga within Semafo’s development pipeline. We believe we can improve the project economics through additional work on mining cost optimisation for openpit operations, underground operations, and underground capital development expenditures,” said president and CEO Benoit Desormeaux.
Further, he said that there was potential to extend resources through additional exploration drilling as some mineralised zones remained open and further exploration potential existed on the property.