West Africa-focused Cora Gold reports that its flagship Sanankoro project, in Mali, is progressing towards construction readiness. This includes the start of the front end engineering design (FEED) process, which is a key element in readying Sanankoro for full construction, forms part of the capital cost and is an important milestone in the delivery timeline to the first gold pour.

Completing the FEED process will allow the company to make decisions on long-lead items, with a view to potentially compressing the project's delivery timeline once in receipt of the mining permit.

Cora has appointed New SENET, a DRA Global group company, to lead the FEED process, owing to its established knowledge of the project.

The FEED process is due to be completed in the second half of this year and, subject to the finalisation of the relevant permitting, construction will start thereafter. 

Cora says it continues to progress the permitting process for Sanankoro through ongoing constructive engagement with the government of Mali. As the final key regulatory milestone ahead of construction, permitting represents one of the last stages of derisking the project.

In addition to the FEED and permitting activities, selected complementary workstreams are planned to start in parallel. The Sanankoro exploration camp is currently undergoing refurbishment as the company prepares to start FEED-focused field work, while also upgrading accommodation standards in advance of construction of the permanent mine camp during development. 

Alongside this, targeted land compensation activities have started in priority areas to support ongoing project advancement and construction readiness.

"We are building strong momentum at Sanankoro across multiple fronts. The commencement of the FEED process marks a key milestone in the construction timeline and positions us to move swiftly into development once the mining permit is awarded. We are pleased to be working with SENET again; their extensive experience in West African oxide gold projects, and prior involvement in two definitive feasibility studies at Sanankoro, is invaluable.

"I am pleased that our camp is undergoing an upgrade so that it's ready for this phase of work. This upgrade will also allow the camp to house the construction team in advance of the new mine camp being built during the construction phase. 

"Sanankoro is fully funded following the recent signing of a binding term sheet for a $120-million gold stream with Eagle Eye and the equity raise completed in March, enabling us to progress with confidence towards construction. In line with this, we are working on additional preparatory workstreams, including land compensation, to ensure we are construction-ready once the permitting is finalised," comments Cora CEO Bert Monro.