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• Tabakoto Gold Mine
• Nzema Gold Mine
• Youga Gold Mine
• Development
• Agbaou Gold Project
• Houndé Project
• Exploration
• Kofi Project
• Reserves & Resources
• Project Location Map

Agbaou Gold Project

Location and Infrastructure | Geology | Exploration | Resources & Reserves |
Mine Plan & Cost Estimates | Responsible Mining | Technical Report

The Agbaou Gold Project in Côte d'Ivoire is Endeavour's most advanced project. Construction began in June 2012, with gold production expected to be achieved during Q1 2014 (click here to view the April 24, 2013 construction update). This positions Endeavour to produce 450,000 ozs of gold per year in 2014. Agbaou is one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in Côte d'Ivoire and has significant upside potential that was targeted through a $6 million exploration program in 2012. An updated mineral resource/reserve estimate is anticipated in Q2 2013. Endeavour will have an 85% interest in the mining company established to develop Agbaou with the remaining 15% being held by the Government of Côte d'Ivoire.

On June 11, 2012 Endeavour announced an updated NI 43-101 compliant technical report (the "SENET Report") had been completed that incorporates updated mineral resources & reserves, project optimizations and updated capital & operating costs for Agbaou. Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd. was chosen as EPCM contractor. (For more details, read the news release.)

Highlights from the SENET Report, on a 100% basis, include:
(All amounts in US dollars unless otherwise indicated)

• Measured and Indicated resource of 1.157 million ounces comprised of 14.970 million tonnes at 2.43 g/t (at 0.5 g/t cut-off). See Resources & Reserves section below
• Proven and Probable reserves of 0.905 million ounces comprised of 11.075 million tonnes at 2.54 g/t (grade was increased by 21% from prior estimate). See Resources & Reserves section below
• Open pit mine and gold plant designed to treat 1.6 Mtpa saprolite ore or 1.34 Mtpa bedrock ore. The plant design incorporates a conventional gravity and CIL circuit for a recovery rate of 92.5%. See Mine Plan section below
• Average gold production of 103,000 ounces per year over an 8 year mine life (production rate was increased by 40% over prior estimate).
• A construction capital cost of $121 million, plus pre-production mining costs, working capital and contingencies of $38 million for a total upfront funding requirement of $159 million.
• Forecast life of mine direct cash cost of $635 per ounce, using contractor mining.
• The project yields, on an after-tax basis:
  
  

  	At $1,250 Gold Price	At $1,625 Gold Price
  NPV 0%	$274 million	$549 million
  NPV 5%	$184 million	$401 million
  IRR	28%	48%

Location and Infrastructure
The Agbaou Gold Project is situated approximately 200 kilometres northwest of the port city of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Figure 1 - Agbaou Location Map


The property covers 469 square kilometres and is readily accessible by paved highway (12 km of gravel road) and is within 10 kilometres of the national power grid. Electrical power will be supplied from the national grid (91kV), and a 2.4 MW diesel power plant has been included for back-up purposes. Water is available from a combination of tailings recycling, storage of surface run-off, and pit dewatering.

The Agbaou permit is located within the southern tropical zone which runs inland from the coastline and is characterized by three seasons; hot and dry (November to February), hot and wet (March to May) and warm and wet (June to October). The average temperature range in the region is between 21 and 33°C. There are two wet seasons: March - June and September - October. June is the wettest month where rainfall can reach 300 mm and the average annual rainfall is estimated at between 950 and 1900 mm per annum.

The general topography of the Agbaou permit is undulating hills that range from 130 m to 420 m above sea level.

Geology
The Agbaou gold deposit is hosted within the Birimian, Oumé-Fêtêkro greenstone belt and the rocks within the permit are dominantly deformed, mafic volcanics metamorphosed to greenschist facies. The greenstone belt is folded into an anticline and the Agbaou deposit lies near the hinge of the fold on the eastern limb. Bedding, foliation and the dominant vein-set are oriented along the strike of the fold (roughly northeast/southwest) and dip moderately to steeply, to the southeast.

Mineralization can be broadly separated into two categories; laterite cap (generally >0.5 grams per tonne Au) and primary (free gold and sulphide). The laterite cap, which covers the entire deposit area, is of variable thickness (1 to 5m) and represents secondary (re-mobilized) mineralization. The primary overall mineralized envelope is broad (60 to 100m), consisting of a number (up to 7 zones in Agbaou Main) of mineralized zones that generally follow the limb of the regional fold.

Figure 2 - Typical Cross-Section


The gold mineralization within Agbaou deposit is hosted within a specific quartz vein type that occurs within a broad area characterized by a wide range of quartz-vein types, brecciation, boudinage, sericitic and carbonate alteration. The mineralized quartz veins have a very distinctive texture that has been described as "mottled". Gold mineralization is also associated with variable amounts of sulphide, mainly pyrrhotite and pyrite.

Exploration
During 2012, a $6 million exploration program was completed, including drilling, geophysics and geochemistry, with the objective of increasing resources and reserves at Agbaou. A total of 21,000 metres of reverse-circulation (RC) drilling and 9,000 metres of core drilling were completed. Eight of the targets were drilled (P1 to P6, P8 and P9) to delineate the mineralized zones (Figure 3). The majority of the intercepts are shallow at depths of less than 100 metres. RC drilling results include 14 metres at 4.08 g/t gold including 6 metres at 7.63 g/t gold (P8 target).

Figure 3 - Agbaou Exploration Drill Plan and Targets of Ongoing Drilling


Resources & Reserves
Agbaou Mineral Resource Estimate (SRK, 2012) using MIK estimation and a 0.5 g/t cut-off (from the SENET Report)



Agbaou Mineral Reserve Estimate (SRK, 2012) using $1,200/oz gold price (from the SENET Report)



Mine Plan & Cost Estimates
Mining operations are based on conventional open pit mining techniques using hydraulic excavators and rear-dump trucks. The oxide portion of the ore body is generally free digging while the transition and fresh rock portions will require drilling and blasting.

All waste material from the excavation area will be hauled to the external waste dump adjacent to the operational pits (see Figure 4). The total waste to be moved is about 87Mt, for a life of mine stripping ratio of 7.87. The mining planning schedule indicates that the open pits will reach a maximum depth of 150 to 175 metres.

The Agbaou processing plant is based on a 1.6Mtpa in the oxide portion of the ore body (Saprolite and Laterite) and 1.34Mtpa in the transition and fresh (Saprock and Bedrock) zones. The milling circuit will comprise a single stage SAG mill and ball mill, as well as a pebble crusher for the SAG mill oversize followed by gravity/CIL circuit. Overall recoveries are 93% for saprolite and 91% for bedrock.

Figure 4 - Agbaou deposit and planned site infrastructure


The SENET Report includes capital cost estimates prepared at an accuracy level of +/- 10%. The total estimated cost to bring the Agbaou Gold Project into production is $158.9 million, inclusive of contingency and working capital. Table 1 provides a summary of the capital requirements.

Table 1: Agbaou Construction Funding Requirements

Category	$ Million
Process Plant Machinery & Equipment	$17.7
Process Plant Civils & Earthworks	11.6
Process Plant Other Direct Costs	17.9
Infrastructure Costs - Overhead Grid Power to Site	6.5
Infrastructure Costs - Tailings (Start-up only)	5.6
Infrastructure Costs - Main Camp	5.0
Infrastructure Costs - Other	12.6
Management Costs and Construction Indirects	24.0
Owner’s Preproduction Costs	11.3
Insurances, Relocation, Other	9.0
Sub-Total, Construction Capital Costs	121.2
Mining Contractor, Mining Pre-production Costs	16.3
Working Capital, Plant First Fills, Spares	9.7
Contingency	11.7
Grand Total	$158.9

Table 2 - Agbaou Life-of-Mine Gold Production Profile, based on the SENET Report

Project Year	Tonnes Treated t	Gold Grade g/t	Recovery %	Gold Production ozs
1	1,732,010	1.76	93	91,558
2	1,635,744	2.31	93	113,051
3	1,644,002	2.89	93	141,978
4	1,454,229	3.02	93	130,718
5	1,326,569	2.14	92	84,428
6	1,348,689	2.62	92	104,092
7	1,323,336	2.50	92	97,261
8	610,347	3.27	91	58,642
LOM	11,074,927	2.50	92	821,728

Table 3 - Agbaou Life-of-Mine Key Parameters, based on the SENET Report

Summary	Units	Amount
LOM Ore Processed	Million t	11.1
Process Plant Throughput	Mtpa	1.6 (saprolite) or 1.34 (bedrock)
LOM Feed Grade Processed	g/t	2.50
LOM Gold Recovery	%	92.5%
LOM Strip Ratio	Ratio	7.87
LOM Gold Production	ozs	821,728
Production Period	Years	8
Gold Annual Production - LOM	ozs	102,716
LOM Mining Cost *	$/t mined	3.50
LOM Process Plant Costs	$/t milled	9.66
LOM Assay Costs	$/t milled	1.06
LOM Site G&A	$/t milled	5.46
LOM Direct Operating Cost	$/oz	635
LOM Total Cash Operating Cost (incl. royalties)	$/oz	677

* Contract mining costs inclusive of Haul & Load, Drilling & Blasting, Mine management and administrative costs, and Grade control

Responsible Mining
The Agbaou Gold Project is expected to generate several positive impacts on the social and local environment, including:

• Creation of up to 850 jobs during construction and 350 during operations
• Local infrastructure development and increased standard of living
• Economic growth in local areas and Côte d'Ivoire through the provision of services, construction and manufacturing sectors
• Increased national income through taxes, royalties and fees
• Training and essential skills to develop and promote local community members to be considered for employment opportunities
• Social and community development projects

As part of Endeavour's community engagement program, there was a ground-breaking ceremony on May 18, 2012 to launch the construction of a community centre in the village of Agbahou, approximately 12km from the project.

Technical Report

Agbaou Gold Mine NI 43-101 Technical Report 12 MB PDF


 

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