Côte d'Ivoire's Koni Gold Mine Resources Increase Significantly

According to Mining.com, Canadian mine developer Montage Gold Corp. (MG) announced that since the beginning of the year, the indicated and inferred resources at its Koné project in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire have increased significantly.

MG stated on the 6th that the Koné gold mine now has indicated ore resources of 269 million mt at a grade of 0.63 g/mt, containing 5.49 million ounces of gold, a 13% increase from the 2024 feasibility study results. Inferred ore resources amount to 43 million mt at a grade of 0.51 g/mt, containing 704,000 ounces of gold, a 76% increase from previous estimates.

"Recent results demonstrate the prospectivity of the Koné property, adding substantial resources in just one year," said Ovais Habib, mining analyst at Scotia Capital, in an investment note.

Vancouver-based Montage Gold set a target at the beginning of this year for the project to achieve measured and indicated resources exceeding 1 million ounces at a grade of at least 1 g/mt, with production starting in 2027. The resource update on the 6th indicates that "the company should be well on track to meet this target, especially if more resources are discovered," said Raj Ray, mining analyst at BMO Capital Markets, in an investment note.

New Drilling

MG CEO Martino De Ciccio revealed in an interview with The Northern Miner on the 6th that the company's exploration investment at Koné will increase from around $13 million last year to $18 million this year. He added that next year's exploration budget is expected to be similar to this year's.

The project's drilling program for this year has been increased from the originally planned 90,000 m to 120,000 m, with 87,595 m already completed. The new drilling is primarily focused on the Gbongogo–Koroutou and Sissédougou structural zones. The latter extends over 10 km along strike and hosts the ANV deposit, emerging as a "high-potential" area, according to Montage.

Montage expects the Koné project mine to have a 16-year life, producing 301,000 ounces of gold annually in the first 8 years after commissioning. The 2024 feasibility study estimated a post-tax net present value of $3.1 billion for the project at an average gold price of $3,000 per ounce.

Montage stated that project construction is progressing "rapidly" on budget and is on schedule for completion.

According to an investment report published on the company's website, half of the budget, $428 million, has already been spent, with many key infrastructure components completed.

52 Targets

Within the 1,318 km² Koni concession area, workers have delineated 52 exploration targets across 8 mineralized zones, making it the largest concession in West Africa. To date, all 23 targets that have been drilled have confirmed mineralization.

Nine deposits have been discovered within the concession. The Koni peripheral deposit is estimated to contain indicated ore resources of 24 million mt with a gold grade of 1.29 g/mt, equivalent to gold resources of 996,000 oz; and inferred ore resources of 5.5 million mt with a gold grade of 1.09 g/mt, equivalent to gold resources of 194,000 oz. In the coming months, the company will update the resource estimates for both discovered and newly identified gold deposits.

"All the targets we have tested show good mineralization," said De Sio. "This confirms our hypothesis of significant exploration potential, and we believe that higher-grade peripheral deposits should be incorporated into the mine plan from the start of production."

Additionally, Montage has applied for an adjacent 458 km² exploration license. This will expand the company's exploration area to 1,776 km².