Exploration represents one of the most important drivers of value for multinational gold producer Endeavour Mining, having added over 20-million ounces to its portfolio at the significantly low production cost of under $25/oz, since 2016. The company also has five-year plans to discover another 12-million to 15-million ounces.

“Our approach is twofold. First, we are maximising our core portfolio, in West Africa, by targeting six- to nine-million ounces of brownfield discoveries to improve the quality of our mines, with priorities such as the high-grade and sizable underground opportunity at Vindaloo Deeps, at our Houndé mine, in Burkina Faso, and the large ten-kilometre Kawsara trend at our Sabodala-Massawa mine, in Senegal,” explains Endeavour Mining CEO Ian Cockerill.

The company, he adds, is focused on brownfield opportunities which will produce high-quality ounces to replenish Endeavour’s resources and extend mine lives.

Secondly, Endeavour is focused on finding the “next Assafou” – a reference to its gold project, in Côte d’Ivoire – with the company exploring up to three new Tier 1 greenfield projects. This translates to over three-million ounces of mineral resources at 1.5 g/t, with a ten year mine life and production of more than 300000 oz/y.

Additional greenfield opportunities include the company’s entering underexplored Tier 1 provinces – such as the Guiana Shield, in Venezuela, and the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, on the continent of Asia – through low-risk earn-in agreements.

For example, in Kazakhstan, Endeavour is securing an early-mover advantage with its non-operated joint venture with copper and gold exploration company East Star Resources to diversify its pipeline and ensure that they “remain the premier developer of Tier 1 gold assets for the next decade”, adds Cockerill.

With recent projects, such as Lafigue and Sabodala-Massawa, having been delivered on time and within budget, he says consistent project delivery is the result of discipline, experience and technical expertise.

Endeavour has built five large projects in West Africa, each one successfully commissioned in under two years, with Cockerill highlighting that this record reflects a strong in-house project team, working with reliable execution partners and a clear focus on proven, scalable designs.

This performance is supported by West Africa’s favourable environment for project development, characterised by supportive host communities, transparent permitting processes and access to a high-quality regional engineering network.

“At Lafigue and Sabodala-Massawa, we applied lessons learned from earlier builds, maintained strict capital control, and ensured close alignment between technical, operational and construction teams from an early stage. Those learnings are being incorporated at Assafou,” he adds.

Cost Discipline

Amid the increase in gold prices, Endeavour is balancing investment in growth with cost discipline and returns to shareholders by remaining focused on disciplined capital allocation through the commodity cycles, thereby ensuring continued investment in organic growth and the delivery of strong returns.

Cockerill says the company generated a record $1-billion in free cash flow in 2025 and delivered a record $435-million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks – well above their minimum commitment, “all while paving the way” for the next phase of growth at the Assafou gold project.

Looking ahead, Endeavour’s updated shareholder returns policy will result in increased value for shareholders, as the company targets a minimum dividend of $1-billion over the 2026 to 2028 period.

Cockerill highlights that, at prevailing gold prices, there is the potential for supplemental dividends to double that amount, adding that this is possible owing to Endeavour maintaining a strict criterion for investments.

Therefore, even in a favourable gold price environment, the company maintains $1500/oz for reserves and ensures that every project in its pipeline delivers at least a 20% return.

This discipline is what will enable Endeavour to fund its 36% production growth target by 2030 - between the expansion at Sabodala-Massawa and the high-grade Assafou forthcoming in 2028 – with Cockerill adding that the company is not growing for the sake of volume but instead for high-quality margins.

As Assafou ramps up, he expects Endeavour’s group cost profile to drop significantly, further enabling the company to return cash to shareholders, regardless of the gold price.