SEMAFO

Construction of Boungou Mine 87% Complete

Dry Plant Commissioning Underway

 

MONTREAL, March 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SEMAFO Inc. (TSX:SMF) (OMX:SMF) is pleased to announce that construction of the Boungou Mine in Burkina Faso is 87% complete, with first gold scheduled to be poured early in the third quarter of 2018. In a first step towards this milestone, the Corporation began commissioning activities on dry plant equipment this week. All amounts are in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Over the coming weeks, as construction continues, the crushing and reclaim circuit equipment required for initial production will undergo testing. The power plant, which was over 90% complete at the end of February, has been partially operational since early March. 

As at February 28, 2018, the additional key achievements had been made:

• Development on budget with US$182 million of the US$231 million capital expenditure incurred
• Construction of the mine 87% complete
• Completion of some 94% of structural steel and mechanical installation
• Piping installation almost halfway complete
• The tailings storage facility is more than 80% complete
• Completion of over 90% of the power plant and fuel depot
• Almost 65% of electrical and instrumentation installation has been completed
• Completion of gold room and plant services has been advanced from the third quarter to the second quarter
• The assay laboratory is operational
• Pre-stripping 69% completed with 12.5 million of the projected 18 million tonnes extracted
  • Ore extraction will commence in the coming weeks
• 1,818 personnel including contractors were employed on site, 85% of whom are Burkinabe
• 4.5 million man-hours (454 days) have been worked without lost-time injury 

Power Plant Partially Operational

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View of Grinding Circuit

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The table below presents the construction milestones for the Boungou Mine and their level of completion:

Table 1 - Construction Milestones as at February 28, 2018

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