Ity CIL Project

Project Overview

The Ity CIL Project is located in western Côte d'Ivoire, adjacent to the border with Liberia, 480 km (direct) west-northwest of the capital city, Abidjan. Ity has the longest operating history of any gold mine in Côte d'Ivoire, with gold first discovered near the village of Ity in the 1950s and the first modern gold production reported in 1991. The project has been in production for many years as a gold heap leach operation, producing more than 1.2 million ounces of gold in its 20+ years of operations.

The Ity CIL Project comprises several open pit mining operations, a tailings storage facility (TSF), waste dumps, and a process plant. The Ity TSF has been designed for a capacity of 4.0 Mtpa (expanding to 5 Mtpa) for a total tailings capacity of 57 Mt, with expansion studies in progress.

Project Role

Services provided include:

• Final design and construction supervision of the TSF that included (but not limited to) consequence/hazard assessment, seismic assessment, geotechnical investigation and review, tailings testing, tailings geochemistry, water balance modelling, dam break assessment, seepage and stability analysis, and closure concept design
• Provision of TSF operating manual
• Design of haul road bridge crossing, including flood analysis of the Cavally River and hydraulic design of the crossing, foundation investigation and piling design, design of concrete sub-structure
• Provision of haul road bridge crossing operating manual
• Project management, including approval of design modifications and technical queries for the TSF and haul road bridge crossing
• Construction supervision of all earthworks to meet the requirements of the drawings and technical specifications, including daily and weekly report submission, attending daily and weekly site meetings, and construction progress tracking
• Provision of QA/QC, including management of material in-situ and laboratory soil testing, and general guidance to the Owner, who was self-performing the works
• Design of flood protection infrastructure, including pit protection bunds and diversion channels
• Design of river abstraction tower
• Design of site haul roads
• Preparation of preliminary pit water management plan
• Review of site airstrip design
• Ongoing operational auditing of the TSF
• Ongoing raise design and QA/QC supervision of raise construction
• Ongoing technical assistance to Owner during expansion studies and infrastructure design