The other cab off the rank28 Mar 2024 08:03
Https://www.miningreview.com/gold/allied-gold-new-strategy-will-propel-the-company-to-senior-status/
“Central to the company’s growth strategy are a major expansion of its Sadiola mine in Mali and the development of an entirely new mine, Kurmuk, in Ethiopia.
ARTHUR TASSELL recently discussed the ambitious growth plan, which will elevate the company to senior status, with Allied Gold’s CEO, PETER MARRONE.
Also in the Allied Gold stable is Kurmuk, which consists of two properties, Dish Mountain and Ashashire, which were acquired in 2017 and 2018 respectively and are near neighbours. They jointly have a mineral reserve of 2.6 Moz (52.8 Mt at 1.53 g/t Au). Kurmuk is located in western Ethiopia, 750 km west northwest of the capital city, Addis Ababa. While Dibb and some members of his senior team are still closely involved with Allied Gold, going forward the management is largely in the hands of former principals of Canada’s Yamana Gold, led by Marrone, who founded Yamana in 2003 and continued as CEO till 2018. He built Yamana into a plus 1 Moz a year producer with assets in Canada and South and Central America.
Kurmuk
Although Sadiola will remain Allied Gold’s flagship for the foreseeable future, its other growth project – Kurmuk – is a very substantial development with a projected gold production of 240 koz per year over an initial 15-year mine life (and an average of nearly 275 koz per year in its first four years). Fully permitted and shovel ready, it is already in the early stages of execution with DRA as the appointed EPCM contractor. It will benefit from having access to relatively cheap hydropower and is expected to have an AISC of under US$950/oz. The first gold pour is anticipated in Q2-2026.
“We are definitely going to be the ‘poster child’ for Ethiopia’s emerging precious metals mining industry,” notes Marrone. “The government is prioritising the development of the mining sector and is giving us every support in developing Kurmuk, in which it has a 7% interest. We’re finding the country to be a very welcoming mining jurisdiction.”
Allied Gold was originally planning a 4.4 Mtpa operation at Kurmuk but this has now been upgraded to between 5.4 and 5.7 Mtpa. By capitalising on the deployment of existing equipment – including a SAG mill – owned by Allied Gold
According to Marrone, the total capital requirement for Kurmuk is US$500 million. Implementation, however, is being phased with expenditure through to the end of this year expected to total US$185 million. Early works underway include access roads, a construction camp and a water containment facility.
Building a mine in a relatively remote part of Ethiopia might seem a tall order for a mainly Canadian management team with little African experience but Marrone is unfazed by the challenge. “At Yamana we built a mine at the southern tip of Argentina in an area which ranks as one of the most remote and inhospitable environments in th
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