Firefinch Ltd (ASX:FFX) has awarded a key US$360 million open pit mining contract covering expansion work at its Morila Gold Project in Mali to a joint venture (JV) vehicle.
International mining contractor Mota-Engil and Malian owned and operated contractor Inter-Mining Services established the JV and ultimately secured the major contract.
Under the deal, both JV companies will conduct site preparation and mining operations at the Viper and N’tiola satellite pits, as well as phase one mining at the Morila Super Pit.
Firefinch, which is focused on its flagship ‘Morila the gorilla’ gold asset in Mali, West Africa, undertook an extensive tendering process to source the contractor.
An important milestone
Firefinch managing director Dr Michael Anderson said: “I am very pleased that we have been able to award the mining contract for the Morila Super Pit and satellites to Mota-Engil and Malian owned and operated Inter Mining Services.
“The joint venture will bring together the capability to operate at scale, and a well-established locally owned and operated business that will maximise local content.
“It was great to have spent time at Morila and in Bamako this month, where we executed this important milestone.
“We have identified a solution that brings both local content and the technical capability required to undertake our open pit mining for future years.”
Next steps
Now it has secured a contractor for work at the Morlia Super Pit and its satellites, Firefinch has outlined the JV’s first steps.
In August this year, the vehicle is scheduled to begin work at the Viper and N’tiola satellite pits. Following this, mining at the Morila Super Pit is slated to kick off in 2022’s first quarter.
It comes after Firefinch uncovered further high-grade gold during an exploration campaign at the Viper mineralised system last week.
Over the course of infill and extensional reverse circulation drilling, the ASX-lister intersected a best result of 6 metres at 11.34 g/t gold from 74 metres, including 2 metres at 29.2 g/t in hole VIPRC121.
The fresh gold results will be included in a revised mineral resource estimate, which will then form part of the broader Morila life of mine update.