Through leveraging West Africa’s significant exploration potential, favourable mining regimes and administrative efficiency, gold producer Endeavour Mining is targeting growing organically to 1.5-million ounces a year by 2030, says Endeavour Mining CEO Ian Cockerill.

The company currently produces over 1.1-million ounces of gold a year at an all-inclusive sustaining cost (AISC) of $1 281/oz from its portfolio of five mines across Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

Endeavour also has development projects and exploration assets within West Africa’s highly prospective Birimian greenstone belt, he adds.

In Senegal, the company’s Sabodala-Massawa gold mine – the biggest in the country – has been elevated to top-tier status with the addition of a new biological oxidisation facility, supporting production of up to 300 000 oz/y.

In Côte d’Ivoire, Endeavour’s Ity operation – the longest-operating gold mine in the country – is aiming to sustain production above 300 000 oz/y over a ten-year mine life, while Cockerill says the newly commissioned Lafigué mine is positioned as a low-cost, long-life asset, aiming to produce over 200 000 oz/y.

In Burkina Faso, the company’s Houndé operation delivers over 250 000 oz/y and is supported by a rich exploration pipeline along the Houndé gold belt, while the nearby Mana mine offers strong upside potential, with mineralisation open at depth, and exploration for additional underground resources and reserves under way.

Concurrently, Endeavour is expanding its resource base through near-mine exploration and regional-scale drilling, having already achieved its latest five-year target of discovering 12-million ounces to 17-million ounces.

Cockerill adds that the company is advancing the development of its Assafou project, in Côte d’Ivoire, which has emerged as one of the most significant recent gold discoveries in West Africa.

Discovered in 2021, Assafou already hosts 4.6-million ounces of indicated gold resources and a maiden reserve of 4.1-million ounces, which Cockerill says, showcases the deposit’s scale and quality. The project also benefits from favourable logistics, as it is within close proximity to existing power and transport networks.

Following a positive prefeasibility study in December 2024, Assafou is advancing towards a definitive feasibility study, expected by early 2026.

The project is forecast to produce 329 000 oz/y over its first decade at an AISC of $892/oz, with a mine life of about 15 years.

“Assafou demonstrates the success of our screened exploration approach, which has enabled us to deliver 20.7-million ounces of measured and indicated resources at a discovery cost of less than $25/oz – about one-third of the industry average,” notes Cockerill.

Ongoing exploration at the nearby Pala Trend 2 and 3 targets, which host similar near-surface mineralisation and grades to those of Assafou, is expected to further expand the project’s growth potential, with drilling results anticipated later this year.

The company’s current brownfield projects include Vindaloo Underground at Houndé, Ity Doughnut at Ity, and Sabodala Underground at Sabodala-Massawa, with these projects holding “significant potential” to sustain production and extend mine life at Endeavour’s flagship operations, says Cockerill.

In its greenfield pursuits, Endeavour is progressing district-scale exploration at Assuefry, in Côte d’Ivoire, and across the broader at the Ity Trend.

Cockerill notes that Endeavour holds a strong competitive advantage in West Africa, owing to the significant exploration potential of the Birimian greenstone belt, favourable mining regimes and the industry’s ability to develop mines on schedule and with low capital intensity.

West Africa is among the most geologically prospective regions globally, yet remains relatively underexplored, compared with more mature jurisdictions such as Canada and Australia. Between 2010 and 2024, more than 70-million ounces of gold were discovered in the region, making it the leading jurisdiction globally for new discoveries over the past 15 years, he adds.