According to bank documents, MIGA is considering a guarantee to Kinross Gold Corporation of Canada to cover its equity and shareholder loan investments in Tasiast Mauritanie Limited S.A for the purpose of expanding the Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania.

Tasiast is an existing open-pit gold mine located in northwest Mauritania, about 300 kilometres (km) north of the capital city Nouakchott. The mine has been in operation since 2007, and Kinross acquired it from Red Back Mining in 2010. Current operations at Tasiast include an existing 8 thousand tonnes per day (kt/d) carbon-in-leach (CIL) plant and dump leach.

The Project is a conventional open pit truck-and-shovel operation. The main components of the operating Project, all of which are located within a fenced area of approximately 125 km2 include:

• West Branch and Piment open pits;
• Waste Rock Dumps (WRDs);
• Run-of-Mine (ROM) pad and low-grade ore stockpiles;
• Crushing plant (primary crusher and ball mills);
• CIL Plant;
• Tailing Storage Facilities (TSFs);
• Dump leach pads;
• Process pond system;
• Adsorption-Desorption Recovery (ADR) plant;
• Explosives magazine;
• Offices, laboratory, maintenance workshop and reagent storage warehouse;
• Water treatment plant;
• Domestic wastewater treatment plant;
• Power plant;
• Worker accommodation (Tasiast Team Village (TTV); Old Town);
• Waste Management Facility (WMF) consisting of hazardous waste storage facility, non-hazardous waste sorting and storage area, incinerators, non-hazardous waste landfill, laydown areas and emergency burn pad;
• Airstrip; and
• Approximately 130 km of mine access road and internal haul roads.

The MIGA guarantee will focus on the first phase ('Phase 1') of a proposed two-phased expansion. The tentative plans for the second phase ('Phase 2') are described below, however the Feasibility Study for Phase 2 is ongoing and TMLSA has not yet determined whether they will proceed with Phase 2.

Phase 1 is front-end optimization and Phase 2 contemplates a full facility expansion. The Phase 1 expansion, which commenced in 2016 is expected to achieve full commercial production in the second quarter of 2018, includes the installation of a new gyratory crusher and semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill with gearless mill drive (GMD) to increase the existing plant capacity from 8 kt/d to 12 kt/d. This expansion has been sized to accommodate the proposed Phase 2. Phase 1 also includes the addition of three leach tanks, new tailings facility capacity, new process water pond and upgrades to some reagents' areas. Phase 1 does not require expansion of the existing water supply and power generation systems.

Phase 2, if approved for development, would take approximately 2 years to complete and would increase the plant capacity from 12 kt/d to 30 kt/d. The proposed Phase 2 would include the addition of a new gearless mill drive (GMD) ball mill, larger pebble crusher, pre-leach and tailings thickeners, leach tanks, CIL tanks, gravity circuit, elution circuit, gold room, cyanide destruction system and reagent mixing storage and distribution. Phase 2 would also require upgrades to the existing water supply infrastructure and power generation systems.

Both Phase 1 and the proposed Phase 2 expansion works will occur within the existing mine site perimeter fence (with the exception of the new water pipeline from the borefield ("Sondage") to the site). Based on current resource estimates, the life of mine is expected to be 16 years (until 2033); however, exploration is ongoing, which could extend the life of the mine. Ausenco has been engaged as the Engineering Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contractor for the Phase 1 expansion works.

Raw water for the Project is supplied from a borefield located 64 km west of the mine. The water is transported to site via pipelines. The water is treated in reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plants and then stored in basins/tanks located at the mine site. The Phase 2 expansion would require the drilling of new wells, upgrading the infrastructure for the existing wells and construction of a new raw water pipeline to add the additional capacity.

Electric power is provided by three plants (heavy fuel oil (HFO) / light fuel oil (LFO) generator sets) with a total installed capacity of approximately 50 megawatt-electrical (MWe). These three plants are connected to a 33 kilovolt (kV) distribution system. For Phase 2, another power plant would be constructed to provide additional generation capacity. The new plant will comprise duel fuel (HFO / LFO) simple cycle, reciprocating engines with a total capacity of 70 - 80 MWe.

In addition to site infrastructure, TMSLA has an administrative office and guesthouse for transiting employees in Nouakchott.

*Contact information not prtovided at the time of disclosure*

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