ASX-listed West African Resources says construction of the Kiaka gold project, in Burkina Faso, continues to progress on time and on budget for first gold production in the third quarter of this year.

The company notes that all major mining equipment has been delivered to site, which includes three 200 t excavators – Caterpillar 6020 – and an initial ten 140 t haul trucks – Caterpillar 785 – which are operational, with mining volumes exceeding 18 000 bank cubic metres (bcm) per day shift.

Mining volumes will increase further when night shift operations start later this month and remaining equipment is commissioned.

During commissioning of the mining fleet, a total of 800 000 bcm of material from the Kiaka Main pit were mined to the end of April this year.

West African says initial mining activity focused on stripping waste material for construction of the run-of-mine (RoM) pad, which has been completed. Ore mining is steadily increasing in preparation for commencement of processing operations.

The company notes that a total of 184 000 t of ore from the Kiaka Main pit were stockpiled on the RoM pad by the end of April. Material mined to date has been 100% free-dig, with initial drill and blast activities set to come on-line in the coming weeks.

“The Kiaka crushing circuit is complete and operational, commissioning of the wet plant is well underway. Kiaka’s mining fleet is now operational with three 200 t excavators and the initial ten 140 t trucks operational.

“Mining activities are ramping up ahead of scheduled commencement of process plant operations and first gold in the third quarter of this year,” says executive chairperson and CEO Richard Hyde.

With the Kiaka build nearing completion, Hyde says West African is on the cusp of having two long-life, unhedged, low-cost gold production centres in operation this year, which will see the company more than double yearly gold production to over 420 000 oz/y.

As previously reported in Mining Weekly, the company expects to produce between 290 000 oz and 360 000 oz from its Sanbrado and Kiaka mines, in Burkina Faso, this year as the Kiaka process plant is commissioned and ramped up to steady-state operations during the second half of the year.

The company noted that Sanbrado will account for the majority of production at between 190 000 oz and 210 000 oz, with Kiaka being earmarked to produce between 100 000 oz and 150 000 oz following its first gold pour in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, West African says construction of the processing plant has continued to progress to schedule.

The company notes that construction and commissioning of the primary crushing circuit has been completed and an initial batch of 20 000 t of ore was processed through the crusher and conveyed to the coarse ore stockpile.

Construction of the wet plant has been completed and commissioning activities are progressing well.

Additionally, the tailings storage facility has been fully lined with installation of the flownet geotextile layer nearing completion.

Moreover, the 225 kV grid power to Kiaka is well-progressed for connection in the third quarter of this year. Generator backup power is currently being used for commissioning activities.