Production commenced at Endeavour Mining’s Segala underground mine in Mali as planned. The company also reported that it had received the Kofi Nord mining permit. This mining permit area covers all eight of the known deposits on the Kofi property and includes the Kofi C deposit, which is now incorporated in the Tabakoto production schedule for 2015. The Segala and Kofi deposits provide additional feed sources and exploration upside for the Tabakoto milling complex, which was doubled in capacity in 2013.
First ore production from the first stope in the Segala underground mine occurred on June 22. The Segala mine will continue to ramp up the volume of ore being hauled in the coming months, displacing relatively lower grade material currently being processed from stockpiles.
“Segala provides the Tabakoto plant with another source of higher grade ore,” said Neil Woodyer, CEO, Endeavour Mining. “Add to that the commencement of owner mining at the Tabakoto underground mine and we are well on the way to finishing the production improvement program that we set in motion a year ago when we doubled the plant capacity. “
Segala is accessed by a spiral decline that extends from the mined-out Segala open pit and follows the footwall of the steeply dipping ore body. Mineralization occurs as a series of parallel closely spaced zones that comprise the main ore body which is 20 meters wide on average. The long hole transverse mining method with cemented rock fill is being used. This method enables the ore to be mined in multiple passes in those areas where the ore body is particularly wide.
The decline is currently over 1,290 m in length and extends to a vertical depth of more than 200 m. Development takes place on levels spaced 20 m apart and over 3,750 m have been completed on the upper four levels, which will give access to four stopes by the end of Q3. A total of eight stopes will be active at different mining stages (mucking, drilling, cable bolting, filling, or in development) when the production is fully ramped up.
Ore is being hauled from the mine in 30-metric ton (mt) trucks to a ROM pad and then hauled by 18-mt trucks to the Tabakoto plant, 5 km to the southeast. The average planned grade is 3.70 g/t.
