Houndé Gold Project

Houndé Gold Project

Client
Endeavour Mining Corporation

Location
Burkina Faso

Highlights
  • Gravity/CIL Plant (3 to4 Mtpa)
  • Open pits/waste dumps
  • Tailings Storage Facility (TSF)
  • Water Storage Dam (WSD) to accommodate water abstracted from a local catchment with reduced losses
  • Water Harvesting Dam (WHD) to facilitate abstraction from a local catchment during the wet season
  • Site water management system
Project Overview

The Houndé Gold Project is an open cut gold mining project with a processing capacity of 3-4 Mtpa and an expected life of 10+ years. The first gold pour is expected Q4 2017, and the project is expected to become Endeavour Mining Corporation’s flagship mine.

The Houndé project site is located approximately 250 km southwest of the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. The area supports a large population with the towns of Houndé and adjacent Bente, having a combined population of around 45,000. 

Project Role

Knight Piésold has been involved in the Houndé Gold Project since 2013 (when Endeavour Mining Corporation acquired the project), and has been involved in the project from the feasibility study through to construction/commissioning, providing engineering and environmental services to assist in the development of a Definitive Feasibility Study for the project and enable the project to gain the environmental approvals required by the Burkina Faso regulatory authorities prior to commencement of the project.

  • Tailings laboratory testing and interpretation
  • Site groundwater investigation, including pit dewatering assessment
  • Plant site geotechnical investigation and interpretation
  • Siting study for TSF, WHD, and WSD, including various optimisation exercises
  • Site-wide water balance modelling, including daily water harvesting assessment using historical rainfall data
  • Design and QA/QC supervision for TSF, WHD, and WSD
  • Review of environmental data
  • Review and revision of the environmental and social impact assessment and associated management plans
  • Ongoing operational audits and TSF raise QA/QC supervision