ASX-listed Predictive Discovery reports that Guinea’s Ministère de l'Environnement et du Développement Durable (the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development or MEDD) has approved the Environmental & Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) and has issued the Certificate of Environmental Compliance (ECC) for the Bankan Gold.
Approval of the ESIA and issuance of the ECC, which involved an extended period of close engagement by PDI with the MEDD and associated agencies, provides the necessary environmental certificate required for PDI to apply for Bankan’s Exploitation Licence.
This is a significant de-risking step as it confirms the MEDD’s support for development of the Bankan Project in the Peripheral Zone of the Upper Niger National Park (Park). The ECC follows the review and validation of the ESIA by the Agence Guinéenne d'Evaluations Environnementales (the Guinean Agency for Environmental Assessment or “AGEE”), a semi-autonomous agency that promotes the government’s environmental assessment policy.
Following significant interaction and dialogue with all critical stakeholder groups on the ESIA, and in direct liaison with the Comité Technique d’Approbation Environnementale (the Technical Committee for Environmental Assessment or “CTAE”), which is the multi-disciplinary body established by the AGEE to review ESIAs, the company made certain commitments to the MEDD.
Both the NEB and BC deposits and the entire development area for the Bankan Project as set out in the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) lie outside of the Buffer Zone, resulting in this commitment having no impact on the findings of the PFS published in April 2024.
In support of its broader conservation efforts during the development phase, the company will commence a reforestation programme at the outer limit of the proposed Exploitation Permit, closest to the Buffer Zone of the Park.
The ESIA is the result of more than two years of environmental and social work, which has included:
- extensive social, biophysical and biodiversity baseline studies conducted from 2022;
- engagement with independent, government and non-governmental environmental and social agencies including local government and community bodies; and
- ESIA delivered to recognised standards of the International Finance Corporation and Equator Principles.
This news coincides with a successful Board visit to Guinea which included meetings with the Prime Minister, Amadou Oury Bah, and members of his cabinet, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Djami Diallo, and the Ministry of Mines and Geology. Commenting on the approval of the ESIA, Managing Director Andrew Pardey, said: “The awarding of the environmental certificate for the Bankan Gold Project is a critical step in the granting of all the necessary permits required to build Bankan into a Tier 1 gold mine. This process of further de-risking the Project could not have been achieved without the tireless efforts of colleagues, and the support and dedication of all of the governmental, non-governmental and technical groups which have worked together to get Bankan to this exciting stage of its development.”
Next steps
PDI intends to file the application for the Exploitation Permit (which will include the PFS, ESIA and ECC) with the Ministry of Mines and Geology and the Centre for the Promotion and Development of Mines by 31 January 2025.
Resource definition drilling programs are continuing at the Fouwagbe and Sounsoun targets in the Argo area, with the aim of completing maiden Mineral Resource estimates at these targets, as well as the 800W target in the NEB area, during Q1 2025. Exploration drilling is also ongoing in the Argo and Bokoro South areas.
The Definitive Feasibility Study is also advancing according to schedule, and is on track to be completed in the second half of 2025.
