Australian gold reserves developer in West Africa Predictive Discovery Limited’s definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Bankan gold project in Guinea has delivered returns with post-tax project NPV5% of US$1.6bn, IRR of 46% and payback period of less than two years at a base case gold price assumption of US$2,400/oz, which reflects the current median long-term real consensus gold price forecast.

Additional geotechnical test work and open pit versus underground transition studies have delivered steeper wall angles across all open pits and a smaller NEB pit, resulting in a significantly reduced LOM waste to ore strip ratio of 1.9:1 and a larger contribution of ounces from the NEB underground mine at an increased underground mining rate. Open pit mining will be a conventional drill, blast, truck and shovel approach.

Mining of the NEB underground orebody has been optimised to a hybrid longitudinal/transverse long hole open stopping mining method, with paste fill. Contract mining will be utilised for both open pit and underground operations.

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The processing plant, utilising conventional CIL technology with upfront gravity recovery, has been designed with a 4.5Mtpa capacity to suit the optimised mining schedule. Additional metallurgical test work has resulted in improved LOM average recoveries of 92.8%.

Construction is scheduled to occur over a two-year period which is aimed to commence in Q2 2026 following execution readiness activities, including selected early works, enabling the start of commercial production in Q2 2028.

Commenting on the DFS outcomes, managing director Andrew Pardey said: “The DFS confirms that the Bankan project will be developed into one of the largest gold mines in West Africa in a generation and deliver compelling returns for shareholders and stakeholders alike. Bankan will produce approximately 250koz per annum for over 12 years at a highly competitive AISC cost of US$1,057/oz, delivering a post-tax NPV5% of US$1.6bn, an IRR of 46% and payback of the US$463m of capital in less than two years at a gold price of US$2,400/oz. The project demonstrates exceptional leverage to the current strong gold price environment, with each additional US$100/oz increasing the NPV by approximately US$140m.”