Robex Resources, a West African gold producer and developer, announced the completion of initial gold pouring at the Kiniéro project in Guinea, achieving the milestone on time and on budget.
The first in-situ smelting at Kiniéro yielded a 2.64 kg (85 ounces (oz)) gold bar.
This achievement comes after nearly five million hours without a lost time injury (LTI).
The construction team deployed in July 2024 and completed construction in 17 months, marking Robex’s sixth successful project in 15 years, with each project delivered on time and on budget.
Commissioning and commissioning at the Kiniéro processing plant is progressing as planned, with mechanical, electrical and instrumentation systems operating to specifications.
Feeding of ore to the mill began earlier this month and the plant is achieving recoveries in line with feasibility study expectations.
Robex anticipates that the Kiniéro plant will reach nominal capacity in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.
Robex CEO and CEO Matthew Wilcox said: “This is a significant milestone for Robex, and every member of our team should be proud of what we have achieved together at Kiniéro. Completing construction and commencing gold production is the culmination of 17 months of dedication and hard work, carried out safely and responsibly with almost five million hours worked without loss of time.”
“Pouring the first gold at Kiniéro reflects the caliber of our people, the strength of our execution and is the sixth successful build in the last 15 years by this construction team, all on time and on budget.”
With Kiniéro now in production, Robex has two operating assets, along with Nampala in Mali, which is expected to produce between 46,000 and 48,000 oz a year.
The on-time delivery of Kiniéro reinforces the logic behind Robex’s proposed merger with Predictive Discovery, ahead of the development of Predictive’s Bankan gold project, located 25 kilometers from Kiniéro.
The merger aims to establish West Africa’s next world-class gold hub through the combination of Kiniéro and Bankan, targeting annual production of more than 400,000 ounces by 2029 and a consolidated resource of around 9.5 million ounces (moz) of gold.
Wilcox added: “This exceptional track record, combined with recent construction experience in Guinea, gives us absolute confidence that this is the best team in the industry right now to bring Bankan into production and deliver another world-class gold project in West Africa.
“We look forward to completing our merger with Predictive, and the combined company is positioned to become West Africa’s next mid-tier gold producer and establish a Tier 1 gold mining center in Guinea.”