Endeavour Mining, a gold miner with a focus on Africa, has accelerated the $55 million building of a 37 MWp photovoltaic (PV) solar system at the Sabodala-Massawa mine in Senegal.

The 36 MW heavy fuel oil power plant, which is now being extended as part of a brownfield development at the Sabodala-Massawa mine, will be complemented by the solar power facility. A 16 MW battery system will also be built in order to manage the power supply and guarantee that fewer generators are needed.

According to Endeavour, the hybridization of the Sabodala-Massawa mine is in line with its optimization strategy and will generate an internal rate of return on investment (IRR) of 15% before taxes based on the mine’s current reserve mine and greater than 20% depending on the possibility for future resource conversion and development.

“Our relentless focus on cost and efficiency improvements has continued to identify optimization opportunities across the portfolio, leading to our decision to move forward with the 37 MWp PV facility at our Sabodala-Massawa mine, thereby redeploying a portion of the proceeds obtained from the sale of our non-core mines,” says president and CEO Sebastien de Montessus.

The Boungou and Wahgnion mines in Burkina Faso were recently sold by Endeavour for $300 million as part of its goal to concentrate on higher-quality assets. Early in 2025, the plant will be put into service. It will drastically reduce fuel use, power prices, and pollution.

De Montessus says that the Lafigue greenfield project and the brownfield expansion of Sabodala-Massawa in Cote d’Ivoire are both on schedule for completion next year and within budget. The miner with two listings is contributing $740 million to the two expansion projects.

Additionally, according to De Montessus, Endeavour will achieve its production target for 2023, which was revised to take into account the sale of the Boungou and Wahgnion mines. At an all-in-sustaining cost (AISC) forecast of $895/oz to $950/oz, the group aims to produce 1.06 million to 1.14 million ounces.

Production from ongoing operations fell by 13% year over year in the first half of 2023 to 511 000 oz, with lower production at Hounde and Sabodala-Massawa due to increased stripping activity that processed lower-grade ore and lower production at Mana due to increased underground development.

At an AISC of $1 136/oz, second-quarter output decreased by 10% quarter over quarter to 268 000 oz. The miner reported adjusted net earnings of $ 54 million for the quarter ending in June, down from $ 65 million for the quarter ending in March and $ 109 million for the quarter ending in June 2023.

Additionally, Endeavour announced a first-half payout of $100 million, or $ 25 million more than the minimum dividend obligation for the year, on an annualized basis.

When the projects for organic development are finished, De Montessus states, “Our objective is to further increase our shareholder returns program to ensure that our efforts to unlock growth benefit all stakeholders.”