West African Resources (ASX:WAF) expects to produce 4.8 million ounces of gold over a 10-year outlook of its Burkina Faso assets.
Gold production is expected to peak in 2029 at 569,000 ounces of gold, boosting the average annual output to 496,000 ounces from 2026 to 2034.
CEO Richard Hyde, who is presenting at the Diggers & Dealers Mining Forum today (6 August) at 9am AWST, says its Burkina Faso assets are estimated to have a resource of 12.2 million ounces gold, as well as an ore reserve of 6.5 million ounces gold.
“We see potential to boost annual production further through targeted drilling programs extending M5 South underground, beneath M5 North open-pit and infilling Toega underground targets,” Hyde says
West African has scheduled 200,000m of drilling in a 2025-26 program across the Sanbrado Project.
Extended mine plans
The company has extended its mine plan of the Sanbrado Project to 2035, which is expected to exceed its current production rate by 15% to an average of 243,000 ounces of gold by 2034, with a peak of 319,000 ounces in 2030.
Drilling at the project comprises 30,000m of underground drilling at M5, 15,000m of surface drilling beneath the M5 open-pit, and 13,500m of drilling at the Toega Gold Deposit.
Assays from drilling at Toega will be converted to the inferred mineral resource estimate.
Meanwhile, West African has completed construction at the Kiaka Project with open pit mining operations planned to meet budget.
At Kiaka, secondary crushing will support the plant in sustaining a 10 million tonnes per annum fresh ore throughput. Installation is targeted for Q1 2028 at Kiaka and Q1 2029 at Sanbrado.
The company is currently looking to ramp up production at the process plant, which poured its first gold bar at a weight of 5.7kgs last month (July 2025), as reported by Mining.com.au.
The project is expected to average 248,000 ounces of gold each year over the next 10 years. The mine plans extend to 2042 at Kiaka.
At Sanbrado, gold production is projected to average more than 240,000 ounces per annum over the 10-year mine plan. From 2027, the average annual production increases to above 250,000 ounces per annum as the Toega open pit, Toega underground, and M5 South underground mines are introduced into the mine plan along with secondary crushing.
Compared to the 2023 released 10-year plan, West African says this updated schedule delivers an additional 320,000 ounces of gold. The increase is largely driven by the addition of the Toega underground and the planned installation of secondary crushing in 2029.
“Our 2025 10-year production plan demonstrates that West African continues to have a robust and sustainable future and will continue making a positive difference to our stakeholders in Burkina Faso over the next decade,” Hyde says.
West African Resources is a gold producer with a portfolio of assets spanning Burkina Faso.
The Diggers mining forum is running from 4-6 August 2025, held in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. Mining.com.au is again attending the event with Executive Producer Shae Russell on the ground.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Images: West African Resources
