Montage Gold expands West Africa footprint as Koné first pour approaches

Côte d’Ivoire-focused Montage Gold (TSX: MAU) is digging deeper into West Africa as it expands exploration, even as Sahel tensions spur other Western miners to adapt to tougher terms in the region. 

Six months after it acquired African Gold, Montage is consolidating its Didievi project and preparing to upgrade the resource in the third quarter. It plans to pour first gold later this year at its main Koné project in Cote d’Ivoire.

“The goal for us is to build a multi‑asset company focused on Africa,” Montage CEO Martino de Ciccio told The Northern Miner in an interview Wednesday in downtown Toronto. “We were in a unique position where we saw that smaller junior companies wanted to partner with us instead of partnering with established producers in the area.”

The company’s approaching milestones this year come as the economics of Koné – now almost built – highlight the Lundin family-backed Montage as a top tier West African gold developer according to the updated feasibility study released in 2024.

Meanwhile, in West Africa’s Sahel region, military governments in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali, have changed mining laws, ramped up government stakes and sometimes seized assets since military coups five or so years ago. Western mining companies have opted to seek negotiation amid the atmosphere of resource nationalism.

$1.1B value

Koné, located 470 km northwest of the country’s financial capital Abidjan, has a net present value of $1.1 billion, at a 5% discount rate, with a 31% internal rate of return, according to the feasibility study. It could produce 349,000 oz. annually during its first three years at an all-in sustaining cost of less than $1,000 per oz. and a payback period of 2.6 years. Mine life is estimated at 16 years.

The 2,259-sq.-km property hosts 174.3 million probable tonnes grading 0.72 gram gold for 4 million oz. contained gold, according to a 2024 estimate.

The Lundin Group last year invested $53 million for a 19.9% interest in Montage, while China’s Zijin Mining put in $57.3 million for a 9.9% stake.

Higher output possible

“All eyes on the first gold pour at Koné in Q4 and an updated mine plan on Koné [as well],” De Ciccio said, noting that higher throughput towards 400,000 oz. per year is possible after the mine reaches nameplate capacity later in 2027.

But as it prepares for first gold, Montage is drilling 90,000 metres at Koné’s satellite deposits such as Yere North, Petit Yao, Soman 1 and 2 and Lokolo West, with updated and initial resources expected in the coming weeks.

“[We] have three mineralized trends that converge on our property, so it gives [us] an abnormal amount of targets,” De Ciccio said. “What we’re trying to achieve is to find deposits that can come into the mine plan [from] day one, to displace lower grade ounces.”

Montage’s permit area at Koné extends 35 km north of the mill, taking in the satellite targets of Petit Yao, Lokolo, Diouma North and others. It plans to seek permitting for targets further north of that, such as Sena, Soman 2 and Yere North.

“Everything within 75 km is truckable to our mill,” De Ciccio said. “If this was in Canada, you’d be saying [Koné is] ‘district scale.’”

Regional expansion

In the wider region, Montage earlier this year landed five prospective greenfield gold exploration permits in Mauritania in a competitive tender process. Those sites are a few hundred kilometres northeast of Kinross Gold’s (TSX: K, NYSE: KGC) Tasiast mine in the country’s west.

De Ciccio sees the Mauritania permits as continuing its regional consolidation, after it gained the Mankono-Sissédougou joint venture from Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) and Endeavour (LSE, TSX: EDV) in 2022. Mankono is now part of the Koné complex. Then in 2024, Montage entered a partnership with Sanu Gold (CSE: SANU) gaining a 19.9% stake through a C$5.5 million share swap tied to Sanu’s Guinea exploration portfolio.

“Now we have other governments taking note of what’s happening in Côte d’Ivoire and wanting us to join and come into their country as well, so that got us permits into Mauritania through a tender process.”

Incorporating Didievi

At its Didievi project, about 300 km southeast of Koné, a 40,000-metre drilling program is expected to wrap up in the coming weeks. Didievi hosts 12.4 million inferred tonnes grading 2.5 grams gold per tonne, for 989,000 ounces. The update is to upgrade the resource to indicated.

“We’re looking to continue to build a multi‑asset business with Didievi coming in one day,” the CEO said. “We feel quite proud of what’s been achieved so far, but we know that there’s still a lot that remains to be achieved.”

Company shares were down almost 1% to C$15.82 apiece on Wednesday afternoon in Toronto, valuing the company at C$6.3 billion ($4.5 billion).