The Yatela Mine is an
open-pit
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock (geology), rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a Borrow pit, b ...
gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
*Gold Mine (board game)
*Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena
*"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album '' ADHD''
See also
* ''Gold'' (1974 film), based on the novel ''Gold Mine'' by Wilbur Smith
*Gold mining
...
situated near Yatela, 25 km north of
Sadiola
Sadiola is a ''commune'' and small town in western Mali, south of Kayes. The ''commune'' includes 46 villages and in 2009 had a population of 39,305.
Sadiola has two large open cast gold mine Gold Mine may refer to:
* Gold Mine (board game)
*G ...
, in the
Kayes Region
Kayes Region ( Bambara: ߞߊߦߌ ߘߌߣߋߖߊ tr. Kayi Dineja) is one of eight first level national subdivisions in Mali called Regions. It is the first administrative area of Mali and covers an area of . Its capital is the town of Kayes. The p ...
of
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
. It is a single-pit operation. Commencing operation in 2001,
heap leaching
Heap leaching is an industrial mining process used to extract precious metals, copper, uranium, and other compounds from ore using a series of chemical reactions that absorb specific minerals and re-separate them after their division from other e ...
together with carbon-loading is carried out at a rate of approximately 2.9 million tonnes per year. The final step of eluting carbon and smelting the gold in the
gold recovery process is completed at the
Sadiola Gold Mine
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 operation was jointly owned by AngloGold Ashanti and IAMGOLD, who each had an effective ...
.
[Annual Report 2009]
AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 27 July 2010
Apart from Yatela and Sadiola, AngloGold Ashanti's also operates the
Morila Gold Mine
The Morila Gold Mine is an open-pit mining, open-pit gold mine situated 180 km south of Bamako, near the community of Sanso, in the Sikasso Region of Mali. The operation is jointly owned bFirefinch Limitedwho owns 80%, while the Government o ...
in Mali. The production of its mines in Mali contributed 8 percent to the company's overall production in 2008.
[Country report: Mali]
AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 26 July 2010
Ownership
The operation is 80% owned by the Sadiola Exploration Company Limited, a joint venture in which
AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a global gold mining company. It was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation. It is now a global gold producer with 21 operations on four continents. The company is listed ...
and
IAMGOLD each have an effective holding of 40%. The
Government of Mali
Until the military coup of March 22, 2012 and a second military coup in December 2012 the politics of Mali took place in a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Mali is head of state with a ...
owns the remaining 20%.
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 onwards, the government of Mali carried out exploration activities in the area.
[Yatela Gold Mine, Mali: Overview]
IAMGOLD website, accessed: 28 July 2010
In late 1997, IAMGOLD and
Anglo American purchased the rights to the mining concession. In 1998 and 1999, a feasibility study was carried out. Anglo American eventually transferred its rights to
AngloGold, which, in 2004, became AngloGold Ashanti. Development of the mine begun in 2000 and it opened in 2001. While the mine is owned jointly by AngloGold Ashanti, IAMGOLD and the government of Mali, AngloGold Ashanti is the operator of the mine.
In 2009, the mine employed just over 800 people.
Production
Production figures of the recent past were:
References
External links
AngloGold Ashanti websiteIAMGOLD website''Secretariat of the
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is a group of countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. Formerly known as African, Caribbean and Pacific Group ...
website''
{{AngloGold Ashanti
Gold mines in Mali
Surface mines in Mali
AngloGold Ashanti
Kayes Region
2001 establishments in Mali