(Ecofin Agency) - Last Tuesday, the mining firm SEMAFO has announced that the construction of its Boungou gold mine in Burkina Faso was 63% complete and that it should start production in Q1 2018.

Once online, the mine should produce an average of 226,000 ounces of gold per year over its first three years of activity. This would de-facto boost the country’s total output.

In a statement released Wednesday, SEMAFO indicated that it has already spent on the project $113 million out of a budgeted $231 million. It added that things are going faster than it anticipated and that a lot of installation works are almost completed. Also, Boungou’s residents were successfully relocated to a newly built village and the firm has signed a 3-year collective agreement with its employees.

SEMAFO which also operates in Burkina Faso the Mana mine, plans to produce during this year, between 190,000 and 205,000 ounces of gold.

Louis-Nino Kansoun