Semafo Inc. announced this week that it was expanding the yearly capacity of the processing plant at its mine in Burkina Faso. The Mana Mine will see an extra 26,000 to 30,000 ounces of gold being produced for the company which is based in Montreal. This is the fourth phase of plant expansion at the mine.
Chief Executive Officer Benoit La Salle based the decision on the increase in the mine’s proven reserves. The CEO said that the project which will cost $ 25 million will not interfere with the ongoing operations at the mine. The fourth phase of plant expansion will see the Mana Mine being able to process 7,200 tonnes of bedrock per day and 8,000 tonnes of blended ore per day.
Of the $25 million $18 million will be used for enhancements to the existing plant and $7 million will be used to buy additional mining equipment. The main changes to the processing plant will include the addition of a pebble crusher, two CIL tanks, a thickener, and the utilization of the third ball mill which was so far used as a backup. There will also be additional ‘gensets’, and critical spares added to the plant besides some equipment capacity upgrades.
In 2010 the Mana Mine produced 179,700 ounces of gold. Production guidance for 2011 has been established at between 170,000 and 190,000 ounces of gold.