By: Energy capital & power

Australian mining company Predictive Discovery will move forward with the development of its $463 million Bankan gold project in northeastern Guinea-Conakry, following the completion of a definitive feasibility study (DFS). The project is expected to produce 250,000 ounces of gold annually over a 12.2-year mine life, totaling approximately 3.03 million ounces.

Predictive Discovery is finalizing its exploitation permit and expects construction to begin in Q2 2026, with commercial production starting in Q2 2028.

The DFS outlines an all-in sustaining cost of $1,057 per ounce and an initial capital expenditure of $463 million, including contingencies. At a gold price of $2,400 per ounce, the project has an after-tax net present value of $1.6 billion and an internal rate of return of 46%, with payback expected in under two years.

The Bankan project, which could become one of the largest new gold mines in West Africa, has updated mineral reserves of 2.95 million ounces of contained gold from 51.6 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.78 grams per tonne, based on a gold price assumption of $1,800 per ounce.