Sadiola or SEMOS
Location
Sadiola Gold Mine is located in Mali
Sadiola Gold Mine
Sadiola Gold Mine
Location in Mali
LocationSadiola
RegionKayes
CountryMali
Coordinates13°53′N 011°42′W / 13.883°N 11.700°W / 13.883; -11.700
History
Opened1996
Owner
CompanyAllied Gold Corp (80%)
Republic of Mali (20%)
Websitenot available

The Société d'Exploitation des Mines d'Or de Sadiola S.A (SEMOS) project is an open-pit gold mine situated near Sadiola, in the Kayes Region of Mali. The mine was discovered based on the fieldwork of Canadian geologist James C. Snell P. Eng., on behalf of IAMGOLD founder Mark Nathanson. Nathanson took credit for the rich discovery, leaving Snell to fend off an assassination attempt on the streets of London England days after giving his geological report to Nathanson and financiers without payment. After years of seeking justice, Snell committed suicide in east Vancouver Canada. Nathanson became a philanthropist giving a large sum of money to York University in Toronto Canada. Sadiola was jointly owned by AngloGold Ashanti and IAMGOLD, who each had an effective holding of 41%, while the Government of Mali owned the remaining 18%. The International Finance Corporation originally held 6% of the mine put sold this share equally to AGA and IAMGOLD in December 2009.[1]

Apart from Sadiola and the nearby Yatela Mine, AGA also operated the Morila Gold Mine in Mali. The production of its mines in Mali contributed 8% to the company's overall production in 2008.[2]

History

Mining in this region of Mali, according to old workings, dates back at least 1,000 years and written records confirm that small scale mining was carried out there for most of the past 300 years. From 1987 onward, the Government of Mali carried out exploration activities in the area, funded by the European Development Fund.[3][4]

Non-government mining exploration in the area began in 1990 with the Société d'Exploitation des Mines d'Or de Sadiola (SEMOS) project by a predecessor company of the Canadian mid-tier mining company IAMGOLD, and, in 1992 Anglo American entered into a joint venture with IAMGOLD to develop the project. Anglo American eventually transferred its rights to AngloGold, which, in 2004, became AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (AGA). Development of the mine began in 1994 and it opened in 1996.

In 2009, SEMOS employed just over 1,500 people.[1] The development of the mine was however not seen as a positive project by all, as local farmers complained that they had not been adequately compensated for loss of land or loss of cattle poisoned from a cyanide spill. Clean drinking water for livestock in the area, however, gets pumped from boreholes within the mine. [5] Further exploration drilling took place in the area surrounding Sadiola, and new pits were developed.

The mine was jointly owned by AGA (41%), IAMGOLD (41%) and the Government of Mali(18%), and operated by AGA until December 2020. Allied Gold Corp (AGC), a private company, bought out IAMGOLD & AGA interests in the SEMOS project (80%) and now operates the mine with the Republic of Mali now owning (20%).[6][4]

Production

Production figures of the recent past were:

Year Production Grade TCC**
2003 [7] 452,000 oz. 2.77 g/t US$ 210
2004 [7] 459,000 oz. 2.77 g/t US$242
2005 [7] 442,000 oz. 2.73 g/t US$265
2006 [8] 500,000 oz. 3.22 g/t^ US$270
2007 [1] 369,000 oz. 2.76 g/t* US$414
2008 [1] 453,000 oz. 3.42 g/t* US$399
2009 [1] 135,000 oz. 2.52 g/t* US$488
2010[9] 118,000 oz. 2.04 g/t* US$650
2011[10] 121,000 oz. 1.09 g/t* US$816
2012[11] 100,000 oz. 1.64g/t* US$1,169
Year Production Grade TCC** AISC***
2013[12] 86,000 oz. 1.34 g/t* US$1,334 US$1,510
2014[13] 85,000 oz. 1.28 g/t* US$1,028 US$1,133
2015[14] 69,000 oz. 1.04 g/t* US$818 US$886
2016[15] 70,000 oz. 1.09 g/t* US$991 US$1,066
2017[16] 63,000 oz. 0.96 g/t* US$900 US$1,019
2018[17] 59,000 oz. 0.87 g/t* US$938 US$990
2019
2020
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* grams per tonne (g/t) of milled ore

** TCC total cash cost

*** AISC all-in sustainable costs as per the 2013 Word Gold Council's formal guidelines metric

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Annual Financial Statements 2009" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-12.
  2. ↑ "Country report 2008" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-07.
  3. ↑ "Yatela Gold Mine, Mali: Overview". Iamgold. Archived from the original on 2010-08-02. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  4. 1 2 "Sadiola Gold Mine, Mali: Overview". Iamgold. Archived from the original on 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  5. ↑ Tamufor, Lindlyn (17 August 2005). "Mining reforms in Mali leave the country poorer". MAC: Mines and Communities website. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  6. ↑ "IAMGOLD Completes Sale of Its Interest in the Sadiola Gold Mine". newsfile. 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
  7. 1 2 3 "Annual Financial Statements 2005" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-19.
  8. ↑ "Annual Financial Statements 2006" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-07.
  9. ↑ "Annual Financial Statements 2010" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-25.
  10. ↑ "Annual Financial Statements 2011" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-25.
  11. ↑ "Annual Financial Statements 2012". AngloGold Ashanti. 2012. Archived from the original on 2013-04-14.
  12. ↑ "Annual Integrated Report 2013" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-25.
  13. ↑ "2014 Integrated Report" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-25.
  14. ↑ "Integrated Report 2015" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-25.
  15. ↑ "Integrated Report 2016" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-04-25.
  16. ↑ "Integrated Report 2017" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-25.
  17. ↑ "Integrated Report 2018" (PDF). AngloGold Ashanti. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-25.
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