Montage Gold Corp. reports that it has achieved first gold pour at the Company’s flagship Koné mine, in Côte d’Ivoire, on-budget and ahead of schedule.
Construction began in December 2024, and the first gold pour was achieved on September 26, 2026, yielding approximately 1,140 ounces of gold. More than 400,000 tonnes of ore have been processed since ore was first introduced into the oxide circuit on September 8, 2026. The addition and early completion of the oxide circuit enabled gold production significantly ahead of the initial schedule. The oxide circuit is expected to reach commercial production in Q4-2026, while construction of the hard-rock comminution circuit remains on budget and on track for completion in Q2-2027.
Martino De Ciccio, CEO of Montage commented: “We are thrilled to have achieved first production at our Koné mine safely, on budget, and ahead of schedule. It marks a significant milestone in the rapid execution of our strategy of creating a premier multi-asset African gold producer.
Koné is now the ninth operating gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire and poised to deliver strong benefits for all stakeholders, with approximately 3,600 direct jobs created to date, over 95% of which are nationals, and many more indirectly created. We’d like to thank our employees for their strong dedication along with everyone who has contributed to reaching this important milestone, including our local stakeholders, financiers, suppliers and contractors.
We look forward to continuing to rapidly grow our business by advancing our development pipeline, with notably the Didievi project in Côte d’Ivoire which is poised to become our next development asset.”
Peder Olsen, President and Chief Development Officer of Montage commented: “We are extremely proud to be delivering the Koné project well ahead of schedule and on budget. Our ability to self-perform construction activities has significantly reduced capital cost requirements and allowed us to optimize the construction timeline. Ramp-up of the oxide circuit is progressing well with ore from the Koné deposit being directly fed into the mill, while we look forward to commencing mining activities at the higher-grade Gbongogo Main satellite deposit in late Q4-2026 and other recently discovered higher grade satellite deposits over the course of 2027.”
Construction of the Koné mine has created approximately 3,600 jobs, of which over 95% were nationals thanks to the training programmes initiated prior to launching construction. Montage’s owner-mining operating model has allowed construction employees to transition within the operating team, thanks to further training programmes and on-site truck-driving simulators. Once ramped up, the operation is expected to create approximately 1,500 permanent roles and many more indirect roles.
About Montage Gold
Montage Gold Corp. is a Canadian-listed company focused on becoming a premier multi-asset African gold producer, with its flagship Koné mine, located in Côte d’Ivoire, at the forefront. Based on the Updated Feasibility Study published in 2024 (the “UFS”), the Koné mine has an estimated 16-year mine life and sizeable annual production of +300koz of gold over the first 8 years and entered production in Q3-2026.