SEMAFO Announces Commissioning of the Boungou Mine is Underway

SEMAFO Inc. (TSX:SMF) announced that the commissioning of the Boungou Mine process plant is underway, with the first ore scheduled to be introduced to the mill circuit by month-end. The company expects to achieve the first gold pour at Boungou in June, slightly ahead of schedule.

Highlights are as follows:

Overall project 97 percent complete

• Construction of the processing plant 100 percent complete

• Commissioning 57 percent complete

• Crushing circuit, vertimill, pre-leach and tailings thickeners, leaching/CIP circuit and water services are already commissioned
• Commissioning of the SAG mill, gravity, elution circuit, gold room, compressors and oxygen plant initiated in May

• Development on budget with US$202 million of the US$231 million capital expenditure incurred

• Pre-stripping 87 percent completed with 15.6 million of the projected 18 million tonnes extracted

• 70,000 tonnes of low-grade ore have been stockpiled on the ROM pad

• Recruitment of mine operator employees is near-complete

• Training will be completed in May

• 1,480 personnel including contractors were employed on site, 86 percent of whom are Burkinabe

• Demobilisation of construction and contract personnel has commenced

• 5.2 million man-hours (515 days) have been worked without lost-time injury

Click here to read the full SEMAFO Inc. (TSX:SMF) press release.