09:21 AM EDT, 07/02/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Endeavour Mining ( EDVMF ) said it was studying the damage from the leak of poisonous liquid at its second-biggest mine located in southern Ivory Coast, Bloomberg News has been reporting.

Early reports show that a broken valve leaked 3,000 liters of mud containing cyanide into a canal within the perimeter of the mine, Endeavour's country manager Laetitia Gadegbeku-Ouattara told journalists in Abidjan Monday, Bloomberg reports.

The contaminated liquid "didn't leak into the Cavally River," she said. The company, which took "immediate steps" to prevent the leak from polluting the river, is doing additional analyses to ascertain the scope of the damage, added Gadegbeku-Ouattara.

This comes as the company on Tuesday said it achieved first gold pour at the Lavigne mine in Cote d'Ivoire on June 28, on budget and a quarter ahead of schedule.

The company expects to achieve commercial production and subsequent ramp-up to nameplate plant capacity of 4.0 million metric tons per year in the third quarter.

Since the start of wet commissioning on May 30, about 77,000 metric tons of ore has been processed through the Lafigue processing plant, with all circuits operating in line with expectations. The first gold pour yielded about 380 ounces of gold.

Lafigue is expected to produce between 90,000 and 110,000 ounces of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of between $900 and $975 per ounce in 2024, with production increasing to about 200,000 ounces in 2025.

"The Lafigue project is the fifth project that we have successfully built in West Africa in the last decade, which is a testament to the strength of our in-house project construction team and is a demonstration of our competitive advantage in West Africa, the world's most prospective and largest gold producing region," said Endeavour CEO Ian Cockerill.

Endeavour at last look edged up 0.4% to 1,729 British pounds per share in early afternoon London trading.