Montage worker dies in Côte d’Ivoire project accident

[Ben Graham]

Montage Gold (TSX: MAU) says a worker died Thursday following an accident at the company’s Koné project in Côte d’Ivoire.

Construction activities at the site resumed Friday after a one-day pause, a company spokesman said via e-mail. The incident took place during earthwork activities at Koné, Vancouver-based Montage said late Thursday in a statement.

“The health, safety and welfare of our colleagues is our top priority and we are deeply saddened by this news,” Montage said in the statement. “We extend our sincere sympathies and support to his family, colleagues and friends.”

A “comprehensive” internal investigation into the accident – which occurred more than 1 km away from the employee’s assigned work location – is under way, the company said. Montage has notified local authorities and says it will work closely with them.

Koné, which has an estimated mine life of 16 years, is expected to start producing gold in 2027. Annual gold output is expected to average 300,000 oz. in the first eight years.

“We don’t anticipate any material impact to development while the investigation is ongoing,” National Bank Financial mining analyst Mohamed Sidibé said Friday in a note.

Montage shares gained 0.2% to C$5.14 apiece Friday morning in Toronto, giving the company a market capitalization of C$1.85 billion. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of C$1.71 to C$5.30.

Koné is located about 350 km northwest of Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire’s political capital, and about 600 km northwest of Abidjan, the country’s commercial capital. It’s accessible year-round via an asphalt road.