Robex Resources, a West African gold producer and developer, has announced the completion of the initial gold pour at the Kiniéro project in Guinea, achieving the milestone on time and within budget.

The first on-site smelt at Kiniéro yielded a 2.64kg (85 ounces (oz)) gold bar.

This achievement comes after nearly five million hours without a lost-time injury (LTI).

The construction team was deployed in July 2024 and completed the build in 17 months, marking Robex’s sixth successful project in 15 years, with each project delivered on schedule and within budget.

Commissioning and ramp-up at the Kiniéro processing plant is advancing as scheduled, with mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation systems operating to specification.

Ore feed to the mill began earlier this month, and the plant is delivering recoveries in line with feasibility study expectations.

Robex anticipates the Kiniéro plant will achieve nameplate capacity in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.are

Robex managing director and CEO Matthew Wilcox said: “This is a major milestone for Robex, and every member of our team should be proud of what we have accomplished together at Kiniéro. Completing construction and commencing gold production is the culmination of 17 months of dedication and hard work, delivered safely and responsibly with nearly five million hours worked without a lost time injury.

“Pouring first gold at Kiniéro reflects the calibre of our people, the strength of our execution and is the sixth successful build in the last 15 years by this construction team, all on time and on budget.”

With Kiniéro now in production, Robex has two operating assets, alongside Nampala in Mali, which is expected to produce 46,000-48,000oz annually.

The on-time delivery of Kiniéro reinforces the logic behind Robex’s proposed merger with Predictive Discovery, ahead of developing Predictive’s Bankan gold project, situated within 25km of Kiniéro.

The merger aims to establish West Africa’s next tier-one gold hub by combining Kiniéro and Bankan, targeting an annual output of over 400,000oz by 2029 and a consolidated resource of about 9.5 million ounces (moz) of gold.

Wilcox added: “This exceptional track record, combined with recent Guinea construction experience, gives us absolute confidence that this is the best team in the industry right now to bring Bankan into production and deliver another world-class West African gold project.

“We are looking forward to completing our merger with Predictive, and the combined company is positioned to become West Africa’s next mid-tier gold producer and establish a tier-1 gold mining hub in Guinea.”

Furthermore, Robex has announced that it has obtained an exclusive option to repurchase and fully eliminate the Mansounia royalties, conditional on certain prerequisites.