Overview
Stage | Production |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
On-Site Camp |
128 people Source:  |
Production Start | 2013 |
Mine Life | 2026 |
At Agbaou, Allied Gold is currently integrating the mine into the adjacent Bonikro operation to create a centralized mining complex covering a highly prospective greenstone belt with upside optionality from additional milling capacity. It is expected that Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves will increase at Agbaou through additional exploration. Agbaou has a targeted strategic mine life of at least 10 years. |
Latest News | Allied Gold Corporation Announces Closing of Business Combination and Going Public Transaction September 7, 2023 |
Source:
p. 9
Company | Interest | Ownership |
SODEMI
|
5 %
|
Indirect
|
Government of Côte d’Ivoire
|
10 %
|
Indirect
|
Agbaou Gold Operations S.A.
(operator)
|
85 %
|
Direct
|
Allied Gold Corp.
|
85 %
|
Indirect
|
In 2021, Allied purchased an 85% stake in Agbaou Gold Operations SA (the entity that owns Agbaou) from Endeavour Mining. The balance of ownership is held by the Côte d’Ivoire government (10%) and a Côte d’Ivoire’s state company for mining development, SODEMI (5%).
Contractors
Contractor | Contract | Description | Ref. Date | Expiry | Source |
Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité (CIE)
|
Power supply
|
Power generation, transmission and distribution is managed and controlled by the Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Électricité (CIE).
|
Jul 5, 2023
|
|
|
Corica Mining Services
|
Mining
|
All mining and associated activities are undertaken by a contractor, Corica.
|
Jul 5, 2023
|
|
|
Deposit Type
- Vein / narrow vein
- Mesothermal
Source:
p.31-33
Summary:
At Agbaou, the target deposit type being explored for is the mesothermal auriferous sulphide (pyrite + pyrrhotite) and quartz vein style mineralization. The gold mineralization within Agbaou deposit is hosted within a specific quartz vein type that occurs along a broad area and can be characterized by a wide range of quartz-vein types, brecciation, boudinage, sericitic and carbonate alteration.
The lateritic cover is generally between five and ten metres thick with a very well developed weathering profile is over much of the area.
Mineralization at Agbaou can be broadly separated into two categories: laterite cap (generally >0.5g/t Au) and primary (free gold and sulphide hosted). The laterite cap, which covers the entire deposit area, is of variable thickness (1 to 5m) and represents secondary (re-mobilized) mineralization. The primary mineralization is associated with a system of gold bearing quartz-veins hosted by tightly folded Birimian-age sedimentary and volcanic rocks. The quartz veins can occur within either meta-volcanic or meta-sedimentary rocks, but the host rock is typically strongly sheared. The primary mineralized envelope is broad (60 to 100m), consisting of a number (up to seven zones in Agbaou Main) of mineralized zones that generally follow the limb of the regional fold. Particulate gold mineralization is located within quartz veins and along wall rock-quartz vein boundaries.
The mineralized quartz veins at Agbaou have a visually distinctive texture that has been described as “mottled”. Gold mineralization is also associated with variable amounts of sulphides, mainly pyrrhotite and pyrite. These veins are easily identifiable in the diamond drilling core intersections from the fresh rock below the saprolite/fresh rock boundary.
The deposits are aligned along a northeast trending, steeply southeast dipping structure that marks the axial plane of the large-scale, regional fold.
Source:
Summary:
Contractor-based mining was the preferred option for Agbaou and BCM was the selected mining contractor. BCM is responsible for the site preparation (including removal of vegetation) haul road construction, excavation and haulage of ore to the Run of Mine (“ROM”) pad and waste to the waste dumps, oversize breakage and equipment maintenance.
The designed pits are split into three main areas; North, West and South Agbaou pits across predominantly oxide and fresh ore zones. Oxide ore requires very limited drilling and blasting, and transition ore is limited due to the approximately 10 m wide zone in which it occurs. All mining and associated activities are undertaken by a contractor, Corica.
The mining operating methodology used is open pit mining on 10.0 m benches and flitched off at 2.5 m increments including the heave from blasting. Waste is taken to the designated waste dumps adjacent to each of the pit stages. Later in the LOM plan, waste stripping will use 3.3 m flitches to maximize extraction of the waste.
The ramps are designed for the Caterpillar 777 haul trucks at 25.0 m widths and includes a 3.5 m wide safety berm and 1.0 m wide drain. The gradient has been designed at 10%.
Source:

- subscription is required.
Processing
- Crush & Screen plant
- Gravity separation
- Smelting
- Centrifugal concentrator
- Carbon re-activation kiln
- Wet Screening
- Inline Leach Reactor (ILR)
- Agitated tank (VAT) leaching
- Carbon in leach (CIL)
- Carbon adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR)
- AARL elution
- Dewatering
- Solvent Extraction & Electrowinning
- Cyanide (reagent)
Flow Sheet:
Source:
Summary:
The process for the recovery of gold at Agbaou is a conventional free-milling CIL circuit consisting of crushing, two stage grinding, gravity recovery, cyanidation, followed by electrowinning and smelting to produce gold doré. Plant tailings are disposed to an engineered TSF located a few hundred metres from the process plant after cyanide destruction.
The basic plant flowsheet includes the following main areas:
• Primary and secondary crushing;
• Crushed ore storage and reclaim;
• SAG mill – open circuit with pebble crushing;
• Ball mill – closed circuit with cyclone classification;
• Gravity concentration;
• Intensive cyanide leaching of concentrate;
• CIL leaching;
• Elution circuit, electrowinning and gold smelting;
• Tailings pumping to disposal site;
• Including cyanide destruction;
• Reagent mixing, storage and distribution;
• Process, raw and potable water distribution;
• Air supply services including oxygen plants.
The gravity circuit treats a portion of the hydrocyclone underflow, after degritting at 2.5 mm, through a Knelson XD30 concentrator with the concentrate being leached in a Gekko Systems inline-leach-reactor (ILR) with a dedicated electrowinning cell. Historical gravity recovery is reported at approximately 30%, although some production reports indicate a range from 20% to 44%.
The coarse grit and the ILR tails are returned to the milling circuit for additional size reduction prior to the leach train.
Leaching follows trash removal at 0.7 mm x 18.0 mm through a vibrating screen. There are six 2,000 m3 CIL tanks resulting in a total leach time of 15 hours for saprolite ore and 29 hours for fresh ore due to higher density. The CIL tanks have Alloytech 0.833 mm wedge wire interstage screens. Carbon is pumped counter current with recessed impellor pumps, prior to transfer to the elution circuit. Final tailings safety screening is completed with a vibrating screen at 1.0 mm aperture.
The split AARL elution circuit consists of one rubber lined acid wash column and a separate stainless steel elution column with a capacity of 6.5 tonnes of carbon. Regeneration of carbon is completed in an electrically heated 350 kg/h rotary kiln. The regeneration kiln is located within the elution section with quenched carbon pumped to the last CIL tank with fine carbon removal by screening.
The gold room contains the ILR with two electrowinning cells (one for gravity and one for elution), each being 1.0 m x 1.0 m with 18 steel wool cathodes (expandable to 22 cathodes). Gold slimes are smelted on site into doré for final shipment to the refinery.
Cyanide detoxification is achieved in two tanks, offering a total residence time of two hours with the weak acid dissociable (WAD) cyanide content monitored continuously by analyser. Detoxified tailings are pumped to the unlined downstream constructed TSF for spigotting to encourage beaching. Recovered water is pumped back to the plant for reuse.
Recoveries & Grades:
Commodity | Parameter | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Gold
|
Recovery Rate, %
| 94.7 | 94.4 | 94 | 95 | 94 | 94 | 97 |
Gold
|
Head Grade, g/t
| 1.3 | 1.44 | 1.28 | 1.62 | 1.7 | 2.02 | 2.27 |
Production:
Commodity | Units | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Gold
|
koz
| 103 | 108 | 105 | 138 | 141 | 177 | 196 |
All production numbers are expressed as metal in doré.
Operational Metrics:
Metrics | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Hourly processing rate
| 333 t | | | | | |
Ore tonnes mined
| 1.77 Mt | 1.38 Mt | 2,376 kt | 2,183 kt | 2,399 kt | 2,983 kt |
Waste
| 23,082,525 t | 16.6 Mt | 19,783 kt | 23,166 kt | 27,337 kt | 25,117 kt |
Tonnes milled
| 2.56 Mt | 2.56 Mt | 2.74 Mt | 2,699 kt | 2,830 kt | 2,906 kt |
Stripping / waste ratio
| | | 8.33 | 10.6 | 11.4 | 8.42 |
Total tonnes mined
| | | 22,159 kt | 25,349 kt | 29,735 kt | 28,101 kt |
Reserves at December 31, 2022:
The cut-off grades used for Mineral Reserves reporting were informed by a $1,500/oz gold price and vary from 0.39 to 0.63 g/t Au for different ore types due to differences in recoveries, costs for ore processing and ore haulage.
The Agbaou Mineral Resource Estimate is listed at 0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade, constrained within an $1,800/oz pit shell and depleted to December 31, 2022.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade | Contained Metal |
Proven
|
920 kt
|
Gold
|
1.04 g/t
|
31 koz
|
Probable
|
5,991 kt
|
Gold
|
1.78 g/t
|
343 koz
|
Proven & Probable
|
6,912 kt
|
Gold
|
1.68 g/t
|
374 koz
|
Measured
|
1,060 kt
|
Gold
|
1.19 g/t
|
41 koz
|
Indicated
|
9,460 kt
|
Gold
|
1.98 g/t
|
602 koz
|
Measured & Indicated
|
10,520 kt
|
Gold
|
1.9 g/t
|
643 koz
|
Inferred
|
2,720 kt
|
Gold
|
2.31 g/t
|
202 koz
|
Commodity Production Costs:
| Commodity | Units | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Total cash costs (sold)
|
Gold
|
USD
|
|
|
908 / oz
|
627 / oz
|
677 / oz
|
557 / oz
|
Total cash costs (sold)
|
Gold
|
USD
|
1,129 / oz†
|
1,125 / oz†
|
|
|
|
|
All-in sustaining costs (sold)
|
Gold
|
USD
|
|
|
1,027 / oz
|
805 / oz
|
819 / oz
|
647 / oz
|
All-in sustaining costs (sold)
|
Gold
|
USD
|
1,246 / oz†
|
1,169 / oz†
|
|
|
|
|
† Net of By-Product.
Operating Costs:
| Units | 2022 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
OP mining costs ($/t mined)
|
USD
| | 2.81 | 2.46 | 2.63 | 2.54 | 2.22 | 2.63 |
Processing costs ($/t milled)
|
USD
| 10.3 | 8.37 | 7.66 | 7.69 | 7.42 | 6.6 | 6.88 |
G&A ($/t milled)
|
USD
| | 3.56 | 4.95 | 4.4 | 4.15 | 4.66 | 5.56 |
Financials:
| Units | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Capital expenditures
|
M USD
| 4.1 | 3.2 | 13.9 | 25 |
|
|
|
Sustaining costs
|
M USD
| 4.1 | 3.2 | 12.5 | 16.2 |
13.4
|
7.6
|
11.4
|
Revenue
|
M USD
| 189.9 | 168.6 | 184.5 | 191.5 |
180.3
|
219.7
|
244.6
|
Gross profit
|
M USD
| 36.5 | 13.3 | | |
|
|
|
Operating Income
|
M USD
| | | | 54 |
42.2
|
81.6
|
121.9
|
Pre-tax Income
|
M USD
| | | 33.8 | 51.8 |
39.2
|
81.2
|
118.6
|
After-tax Income
|
M USD
| | | -21.8 | 23.2 |
41.4
|
80.6
|
119.4
|
Source:

- subscription is required.
Mine Management:
Job Title | Name | Profile | Ref. Date |
Chief Geologist
|
Bindè Martin ADI
|
|
Sep 5, 2023
|
Mining Manager
|
Hassan Ally
|
|
Sep 5, 2023
|
Operations Manager
|
Herman Prinsloo
|
|
Sep 5, 2023
|
Plant Maintenance Superintendent
|
Jean Jacques Kouadio
|
|
Aug 30, 2023
|
Plant Manager
|
Mohamed Traore
|
|
Sep 5, 2023
|
Supply Chain Superintendent
|
Mireille Tanoh-N’Dri
|
|
Sep 5, 2023
|
Staff:
Employees | Contractors | Total Workforce | Year |
335
|
992
|
1,308
|
2022
|
302
|
1,009
|
1,311
|
2021
|
|
|
285
|
2018
|
216
|
362
|
578
|
2014
|
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