(Ecofin Agency) - A January 2024 study revealed that the future Koné gold mine could deliver more than 100 tonnes of gold over 16 years. Montage Gold, which owns the project, is ramping up efforts to boost this capacity. To achieve this goal, it can now count on Silvia Bottero, who has already overseen the discovery of over 400 tonnes of gold in Côte d'Ivoire.

On March 18, Canadian mining company Montage Gold announced the appointment of Silvia Bottero as Executive Vice-President of Exploration.  Bottero, who previously worked at Endeavour Mining, West Africa's largest gold producer, will participate in the development of the future Koné gold mine.

Montage Gold Announces Appointment of Silvia Bottero as Executive Vice President of Exploration. She brings an extensive exploration track record, having discovered over 15Moz of M&I gold resources in Côte d’Ivoire over the last decade.

Montage Gold Announces Appointment of Silvia Bottero as Executive Vice President of Exploration. She brings an extensive exploration track record, having discovered over 15Moz of M&I gold resources in Côte d’Ivoire over the last decade.

Full News Release: https://t.co/kyepseyE9J pic.twitter.com/mFYCxHJK6m

— Montage Gold Corp (@montagegoldcorp) March 18, 2024

Silvia Bottero is based in Abidjan. For many years, she was the main VP of Exploration at Endeavour. She was involved in the discovery of over 15 million ounces of gold (over 425 tons) in indicated and inferred mineral resources in Côte d'Ivoire. These include 8 million ounces at the Ity gold mine, 3 million ounces at the future Lafigué gold mine, and 4.5 million ounces at the recent Tanda-Iguela discovery.

At Montage, Bottero will oversee the expansion of the firm’s gold portfolio in Africa and the discovery of new satellite deposits that could increase mineral resources at the Koné project. This could increase expected production at the mine, which currently stands at 3.57 million ounces (101 tonnes) of gold over 16 years, according to the 2024 feasibility study.

"I have closely followed the development of the Koné project, as some of its landholdings were previously held by the Endeavour Mining and Barrick joint venture, and I look forward to working with the team to review and rank satellite targets to prioritize those with higher grades," commented Montage's new executive.

Located 600 km from Abidjan in northern Côte d'Ivoire, the Koné project is fully owned by Montage Gold. The project should significantly help the country raise its gold output over the coming years.

Emiliano Tossou