Loading ...Kinross Gold Corp said it plans to expand two gold mines, including the second phase of its Tasiast operation in West Africa, spending more than US$1 billion to boost output and lower costs.
The Phase 2 expansion at Tasiast in Mauritania, which would have an initial capital cost of US$590 million, will raise the mine’s mill capacity to 30,000 tonnes per day from 12,000 tonnes, said Kinross, the world’s fifth biggest gold producer by output.
That would lift average annual gold production at Tasiast to 812,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of US$655 an ounce.
The Toronto-based miner said it will spend another US$445 million to add five years of production to its Round Mountain mine in Nevada, currently scheduled to end in 2022. That project will add 1.5 million ounces of gold reserves.
Kinross plans to finance both projects with existing liquidity and operating cash flows.