The Mankarga 5 gold mining project in Burkina Faso is set to become a reality soon after the West African Resources company secured a two-year US$ 5m convertible loan facility from Macquarie Bank to complete a related feasibility study.
West African Resources MD Richard Hyde said that the support in the development of the Mankarga 5 gold mining project by the bank was such a milestone for the company.
The company also confirmed that the loan facility entailed provision of 40.6-million unlisted options, at a price of 14c each, which would expire three years from the date of issue.
West African aims at becoming a 50 000 oz/y gold producer by the end of 2015. Securing of this funding is important since construction of the Mankarga 5 gold mine was expected in the first quarter of 2015, although it is expected that production will first start in the last quarter of 2015.
In September this year, there were recent reports that construction of another US$ 96.8m Banfora gold project in Burkina Faso to start next year.
