Russia's Nordgold Wins Permit to Drill for Gold in Burkina Faso

By Emmanuel Tumanjong

Special to Dow Jones Newswires

Burkina Faso's government has authorized a new gold mine permit to be given to Russian company Nordgold Yimiougou SA in the Sanmatenga province in the north of the country, it said over the weekend.

The mine covers an area of 31.44 square kilometers and has an estimated 1,501,412 tons of ore with an average grade of 1.88 grams a ton and metallurgical recovery rate of around 87.1%. It is expected to produce an estimated 2.53 tons of gold, the country's Mines Minister Simon Pierre Boussim said.

Since 2009, gold has become Burkina Faso's first export product, surpassing cotton and ranking the country among the largest gold producers in Africa alongside South Africa, Ghana and Mali.

Write to Barcelona Editors at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-12-22 1115ET