Montage Gold surges on ahead-of-schedule progress at Koné

[Redator]

Montage Gold (TSX: MAU) shares climbed 4.2% Monday morning after the company reported that construction at its flagship Koné Gold Project in Côte d’Ivoire remains on schedule and on budget, with key milestones completed ahead of expectations.

Montage confirmed that approximately $418 million—about half of its total upfront capital expenditure—has already been committed, with costs remaining in line with projections. The project’s first gold pour is on track for Q2 2027, marking a major step toward becoming one of West Africa’s next significant gold producers.

Key infrastructure components, including site earthworks and process plant foundations, have been completed roughly two months ahead of schedule. The next major milestone will be the delivery of the ball mill on-site in Q1 2026, the company said.

Operational flexibility through oxide circuit

Montage also announced the addition of an oxide processing circuit, a move expected to improve operational flexibility and potentially accelerate the project’s first gold pour. The company emphasized that the inclusion of this circuit could provide early cash flow benefits and optimize plant performance during ramp-up.

Following the update, Montage Gold’s share price rose 4.2%, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately C$2.51 billion (US$1.80 billion).

Alongside construction progress, Montage reaffirmed its short-term exploration objective of discovering over 1 million ounces of measured and indicated (M&I) resources at grades roughly 50% higher than the main Koné deposit.

The company has already increased indicated resources at satellite deposits by 404,000 ounces, bringing the total to 924,000 ounces at 1.32 g/t Au, with an additional 140,000 ounces of inferred resources at 1.09 g/t Au.

A 120,000-metre drill program is currently underway for 2025, aimed at further resource growth and integration of new discoveries into the mine plan from the outset of production.

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