By: OrePulse

Endeavour Mining has approved construction of its $1.2 billion Assafou gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, targeting first production in the first half of 2029 as the company advances one of its largest growth investments to date.

Assafou is expected to produce an average of 320,000 ounces of gold a year at all-in sustaining costs of $1,026 per ounce during its first eight years, according to a definitive feasibility study released in April. The project has an initial mine life of 16 years and will use a processing plant designed to handle 5 million tonnes of ore annually.

“We will continue to prioritize shareholder returns while we organically grow the business, and we have made significant progress in de-risking our organic growth strategy,” CEO Ian Cockerill said in a release on Thursday.

Assafou, discovered less than seven years before its scheduled first gold pour, is expected to help lift Endeavour’s annual production to 1.5 million ounces by 2030, alongside an underground expansion at the company’s Sabodala-Massawa mine in Senegal.

Development budget rises 13%

The development budget has risen by $139 million, or 13 percent, from the $1.06 billion estimated in the feasibility study. The company said the increase mainly reflects higher compensation payments, infrastructure costs and additional measures intended to reduce construction and commissioning risk.

Increased land and crop compensation, following consultations with local authorities and communities, accounts for about 60 percent of the budget increase. Power infrastructure revisions account for another 10 percent, while additional operational preparations and contingency allowances each contribute about 15 percent. Some costs, including grid connections and the final route of a national highway diversion, remain subject to negotiation.

Endeavour has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction management contract to Lycopodium, which supported the project’s earlier technical studies. Contracts for major processing equipment are being finalized, and the company has reached an agreement in principle on the terms of its mining convention with Côte d’Ivoire.

Construction timeline

Resettlement work is scheduled to begin in late November, with process plant earthworks expected before year-end. Concrete work is planned for the second quarter of 2027, followed by plant construction and commissioning in early 2029. Work on power infrastructure, tailings and water storage facilities is expected to begin in early 2027, and mining pre-stripping is scheduled for 2028, though Endeavour has yet to decide whether to use contractors or operate its own mining fleet.

The company has committed $58.7 million so far, representing about 5 percent of the revised capital budget, and expects spending to accelerate in the fourth quarter as compensation payments and deposits for long-lead equipment come due. Endeavour is also investigating more than 20 exploration targets within 10 kilometers of Assafou, with a 2026-2030 exploration program aimed at identifying another 1 million to 1.5 million ounces of resources across the broader Tanda-Iguela property.

Record cash flow, guidance maintained

The investment decision accompanied Endeavour’s third-quarter results, which showed record free cash flow of $1.02 billion for the first nine months of 2026, up 50 percent from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings rose 64 percent to $913 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased 38 percent to $2.25 billion.

Gold production totaled 820,000 ounces through September, down 10 percent year over year, at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,866 per ounce. The company maintained its annual production guidance of 1.09 million to 1.27 million ounces, though it expects output in the lower half of that range, partly because underground mining at its Mana mine in Burkina Faso was suspended in October following an access-ramp subsidence; stronger production at Lafigué in Côte d’Ivoire has helped offset the disruption.

Endeavour ended September with $263 million in net cash after reducing gross debt by $412 million, and returned $312 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks during the year to November 10. The company is also advancing the Sabodala-Massawa underground expansion, with commercial production targeted for early 2028.