The mine processing plant's construction, as well as dry and wet commissioning, are now complete.

Semafo said it is still targeting August for commercial production at Boungou, as the vertimill and SAG mill are working according to design and have achieved the desired grind size and hourly throughput rate.

President and CEO Benoit Desormeaux called the first pour milestone important to its growth trajectory.

"This achievement reflects a true team effort that involved the hard work and commitment of our in-house construction team and external contractors, combined with the strong support of our local communities," he said, adding that it maintained its exceptional safety record of 5.5 million hours without lost-time injury throughout that time.

Boungou's progress, as of the end of May, totalled 17.2 million tonnes of prestrip - of a projected 18 million tonnes. Approximately 172,000 tonnes of ore had been stockpiled for future processing at that time, which was in line with its estimates.