お知らせ • Jan 22
Orezone Gold Corporation Provides an Update on its Ongoing Hard Rock Expansion at its Bombore Gold Mine
Orezone Gold Corporation provided an update on its ongoing hard rock expansion at its Bombore Gold Mine. The hard rock expansion, which is scheduled to commence operations in Fourth Quarter-2025, is forecasted to increase gold production by approximately 50%, to over 170,000 ounces per year. Expansion progress and milestones achieved to date include: Early mobilization of the concrete contractor 3-months ahead of schedule, providing for multiple weeks of flexibility in the project schedule. Foundations are progressing on multiple fronts, with CIL ring beams and pedestals for the ore bin and trash screen now complete. Foundations for the dump pocket and SAG mill are underway. Engineering is ahead of schedule, with all bulk quantities in line with budget. Procurement is at 82% of total supply value awarded with all long lead equipment ordered. SAG mill major components are en route to site, well ahead of schedule for longest lead items. Structural, Mechanical, and Piping (“SMP”) contract awarded, with contractor mobilization to begin in March. Tailings Storage Facility (“TSF”) expansion earthworks commenced. First batch of contractor’s large-capacity mining fleet now in service, with systematic training ongoing. Preparations for hard rock mining advancing, with construction of the explosives magazine complete. Completion of this first stage of the hard rock expansion will mark a significant milestone at Bomboré, with gold production set to increase approximately 50% from current levels, to over 170,000 ounces per year. With the current strength in the price of gold, the Company continues to evaluate the timing of the Stage II hard rock expansion, which will further increase the gold production profile at Bomboré to 225,000-250,000 ounces per year. Lycopodium Minerals Canada (“Lycopodium”) was awarded the engineering and procurement contract, and is progressing ahead of schedule on both activities. Lycopodium was selected for their successful track record of designing and constructing numerous gold plants in West Africa, including the Company’s oxide plant that is currently in operation and exceeding nameplate design. Engineering to end of December is at 52% versus 39% planned and all bulk quantities, including concrete, structural steel and platework, remain in line with budget. Overall, procurement is progressing better than plan, with 82% of the total supply value now awarded. This includes all mechanical equipment, long lead electrical equipment, and CIL tank/general platework. The mill shells, heads, and ring gear, for the 9MW 26’ diameter SAG mill, are en route and scheduled to arrive to site early. Site Construction Activities: Construction of the hard rock expansion is ahead of schedule, with the concrete contractor advancing major concrete pours in multiple areas. Overall, concrete installation is three months ahead of schedule, which will serve to provide multi-week schedule flexibility as construction advances. To date, all five CIL tank ring beams have been poured, with the pedestal foundations for the trash screen and ore bin installed. Foundations for the dump pocket and SAG mill are advancing, with rebar installation for the dump pocket underway and set to commence for the SAG mill shortly. The SMP contract was recently awarded, with the contractor scheduled to mobilize to site and commence the installation of the CIL tanks in March. The Company’s top priority remains the safety of its employees and contractors. The Company is focused on maintaining its leading safety record, which includes zero lost-time injuries dating back to the start of construction of the oxide plant in 2021. Preparations for Hard Rock Mining: The first delivery of the contractor’s hard rock fleet, which includes new large-capacity trucks and excavators, was placed into service in fourth quarter of 2024. This has allowed for systematic training of operators well ahead of hard rock mining and has facilitated more-cost effective mining of transition material in the near-term. The remaining hard rock fleet will be delivered to site in the coming months, in preparation of the ramp-up in hard rock mining in late third quarter of 2025. Construction of the explosives magazine is complete and is now subject to final inspections and certifications. Once in service, the Company will purchase and store bulk explosives for mixing and preparation at site, eliminating the need for the more costly pre-mix batch deliveries. A full-service team from AECI, a world leader in the manufacture and supply of explosives, will be onsite to mix and supply the downhole explosives for blasting of transition and hard rock material. Further reducing mining costs are the two grade control drill rigs purchased by the Company last year, which are now fully operational. This eliminates the need for costly contractor drilling, with this skill set now established in-house in advance of the hard rock mining ramp-up later in the year. Hard Rock Plant and Operations Overview: The 2.5 million tonnes per annum (“Mtpa”) Stage I hard rock expansion is designed to process higher-grade hard rock ore. The expansion is independent of the adjacent 6.0Mtpa oxide plant but will utilize a number of shared services and infrastructure including the TSF, warehouses, administration complex, and technical services. The concentrated scope of the brownfield expansion significantly reduces schedule and budget risk in comparison to a new build, with the ramp-up to benefit from the well-established mining, processing, and maintenance teams onsite. The 2.5Mtpa Stage I hard rock expansion is scheduled for commissioning in fourth quarter of 2025, which will see production increase to over 170,000 ounces per year. As with the oxide plant, which had a nameplate capacity of 5.2Mtpa, the Company views the potential to achieve materially higher throughput rates than that of the 2.5Mtpa Stage I design. The 2.5Mtpa Stage I hard rock expansion is scheduled for commissioning in Q4-2025, which will see production increase to over 170,000 ounces per year. As with the oxide plant, which had a nameplate capacity of 5.2Mtpa, the Company views the potential to achieve materially higher throughput rates than that of the 2.5Mtpa Stage I design. With the strong price of gold, the Company continues to evaluate the timing of the Stage II hard rock expansion, which will increase the nameplate hard rock throughput to 5.0Mtpa, yielding a forecasted overall production profile of 225,000-250,000 ounces per year. With a 5.0Mtpa crusher to be installed in Stage I, the Stage II expansion will primarily consist of a ball mill, pebble crusher, thickener, four additional CIL tanks and a gold room upgrade. Consideration in the Stage I design and layout has been made to easily accommodate these Stage II additions.
