Resource World Magazine

J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 51 French military and other expatriates. Burkina has nine operating gold mines and a number of advanced stage projects that are moving towards production. It is viewed as having excellent geological potential as the Greenstone Belt that hosts all of the major deposits in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire continue northward into Burkina Faso. Gold is mainly mined from Proterozoic rocks and alluvial/eluvial deposits. It is a geological setting that is thought to be similar to the prolific Precambrian gold belts of eastern Canada and other parts of the world. However, Burkina Faso remains relatively unex- plored in comparison to neighbouring Ghana and Mali, both of which host world-class gold mines in the same belts of Birmian rocks. Below are profiles of companies that are currently active in Burkina Faso: The 81%-owned Kiaka Project of B2Gold Corp. [BTO-TSX; BTG-NYSE MKT; B2G-Namibia] in south-central Burkina Faso is one of the largest undeveloped gold resources in West Africa. It hosts measured resources of 27.3 million tonnes of 1.09 g/t gold, for 953,000 oz. Indicated resources are 96.8 million tonnes of 0.96 g/t gold, for 2.99 million oz and inferred resources stand at 27.3 million tonnes of 0.93 g/t, for 815,000 oz. Engineering studies in 2016 assessed optimum throughput rates and upgraded projected capital and operating costs. Plans call for updating the resource block model based on ongoing drilling and the use of that model as the basis for additional project evaluation. The 2017 development budget for Kiaka is approximately $2.7 million. At the Toega Project exploration drilling continues to expand ore zones with drill results up to 3.09 g/t gold over 84 metres (approximate true width) in NKDD014 and 1.61 g/t over 131 metres in NKDD017. The zone remains open and drilling is ongoing. When resource estimates become available, in-house evaluations will determine if Toega should be a standalone proj- ect or a potential source of higher-grade feed for Kiaka. The 2017 development budget for Toega is approximately $0.8 million. Centamin PLC's [CEE-TSX; CEY-LSE] flagship mine is located in Egypt. But it gained a foothold in Burkina Faso via the 2014 acquisition of Australian company Ampella Mining Ltd. and a district-scale land package in southern Burkina that covers the southwest margin of the Boromo Greenstone belt and extends across the border into Côte D'Ivoire. Endeavour Mining Corp. [EDV-TSX; EDVMF-OTCQX] has five mines in West Africa. Its Burkina Faso assets include the Houndé gold project, which the company said is positioned to be its flagship low cost mine. With construction already under way and the first gold pour expected in the fourth quarter of 2017, the company is forecasting average production of 190,000 ounces annually at an all-in sustaining cost of US $709/oz. The Karma Mine in north-central Burkina Faso, near the city of Ouahigouya, reached the commercial production stage in October 2016, and is expected to produce up to 110,000 ounces this year. Endaevour is forecasting total gold production of up to 640,000 ounces this year (excluding Houndé). The development of the Houndé Project is expected to lift Endeavour's group production to 900,000 ounces annually and reduce its average all in sustain- ing costs to US $800/oz by 2018. IAMGOLD Corp. [IMG-TSX; IAG-NYSE] has said it expects its Essakane Mine in northeastern Burkina Faso to produce up to 380,000 ounces gold this year, marking a slight increase from 377,000 in 2017. The mine is a joint venture, held 90% by IAMGOLD and 10% by the government of Burkina Faso. Indigo Exploration Inc. [IXI-TSXV; INE-FSE] has four exploration permits in Burkina Faso that it got through the acqui- sition of Sanu Resources Burkina SARL, a subsidiary of NGEx Resources Inc. [NGQ-TSX, OMX] and by exercising a separate option agreement. Its Burkina holdings include the 249 km 2 Moule Gold Permit, 270 km west of Ouagadougou, which the company believes has the potential to host both a large, near-surface, bulk tonnage, gold deposit and a shear-hosted vein deposit. Indigo said it has drilling targets that are drill-ready and offer multi-million ounce potential. Nexus Gold Corp. [NXS-TSXV; NXXGF-OTC] recently released an update on its ongoing exploration activity in Burkina Faso. The company said it has discovered additional zones and targets

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