• Montage Gold increases Koné’s measured and indicated resources to 5.88 million ounces.

• The company maintains first gold production in Q4 2026 with construction on schedule and within budget.

• Côte d’Ivoire targets 100 tonnes of annual gold output within the next decade, with Koné as a key driver.

Canadian miner Montage Gold plans to publish an updated mine plan for its Koné gold project in Côte d’Ivoire. The update should enhance the production profile of what is shaping up to become the country’s largest gold mine, supported by sustained growth in mineral resources.

More Gold, Even More Gold at Koné

Montage Gold is currently building the Koné mine at an estimated cost of $800 million. The company expects to commission the mine in the fourth quarter of 2026. At this stage, the company plans to produce more than 300,000 ounces of gold annually over the first ten years of operation, a level broadly comparable to the Ity mine, the country’s current largest producer. However, recent exploration success has prompted the company to raise its ambitions.

On Monday, March 30, Montage published an updated mineral resource estimate for the project, only months after previous updates in July and November 2025. The revision added 671,000 ounces of gold to measured and indicated resources, bringing the total to 5.88 million ounces. At the same time, inferred resources increased to 1.56 million ounces.

Buoyed by these results, Montage Gold plans to integrate the new discoveries into the upcoming mine plan. The company will notably target higher production levels and an extended mine life. The updated strategy, expected by year-end, should also include additional “value-enhancement initiatives,” particularly through optimization of the processing plant design.

“We are pleased with the continued progress we are making in unlocking the exploration value at the Koné project, where construction remains on budget and ahead of schedule, with first gold expected at the end of the fourth quarter of 2026 through the oxide circuit. We are also excited to advance our objective of discovering high-grade satellite deposits to complement production from the outset,” said Martino De Ciccio, Chief Executive Officer of Montage.

Further Discoveries in Sight

As the Koné project continues to expand, Montage aims to further refine its long-term potential. In this context, the company is conducting a 90,000-meter drilling program to identify new deposits within the future mine perimeter, particularly on high-priority targets. In parallel, the company will carry out additional work on already identified deposits to expand their resource base.

To support these exploration efforts, Montage allocated a $14 million budget for the current financial year. Beyond optimizing the Koné project, these investments align with a broader environment of rising gold prices, which have increased by more than 60% over the past year. This favorable market backdrop positions Montage to capitalize on medium-term opportunities as it develops the Ivorian asset.

Meanwhile, the Koné project aligns with the Ivorian government’s mining strategy. The country aims to increase gold production to 100 tonnes within the next decade, up from 58 tonnes in 2024. Koné already stands out as one of the main drivers of this growth trajectory. Other projects contributing to this momentum include Doropo, operated by Resolute Mining, and Assafou, developed by Endeavour Mining.

Aurel Sèdjro Houenou