Allied Gold has connected the western Ethiopia mine to the national grid, crushed its first ore and entered the final stages of commissioning — putting one of the country’s largest modern gold projects on the verge of production.

By Staff Writer  |  Addis Ababa

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia is approaching a defining moment in its modern mining industry as the Kurmuk Gold Mine in Benishangul-Gumuz moves through the final stages of commissioning, with its first gold pour expected shortly.

On September 17, Allied Gold Corporation said the project had successfully connected to Ethiopia’s national electricity grid and had already fed its first ore through the crushing circuit. The company is now preparing to introduce ore into the grinding and downstream processing circuits, the final major steps before gold can be produced.

The milestone moves Kurmuk beyond years of exploration, engineering and construction and into the operational transition that precedes full commercial production. For Ethiopia, the project is more than another mine: its scale could materially expand industrial gold output, export earnings and the role of large-scale mining in the country’s economy.

From Construction Site to Operating Mine

Kurmuk’s latest progress is visible across several parts of the operation. The mine’s 88-kilometre, 132-kV transmission line has been commissioned and energized, giving the processing plant access to national-grid electricity. The line and associated substations were completed by Ethiopian Electric Power.

Allied Gold says electricity is supplied under a 20-year power purchase agreement at a fixed rate of roughly US$0.04 per kilowatt-hour. For a mine expected to operate large crushing, grinding and carbon-in-leach processing systems around the clock, access to relatively low-cost grid power is a significant operating advantage.

The project has also passed another symbolic threshold: first ore has gone through the crushing circuit. The crushing system is now being handed from the construction and commissioning team to the operations team as testing moves progressively into the grinding and downstream sections of the plant.

At the same time, mining at the Dish Mountain and Ashashire open pits is building the ore inventory needed for a stable start-up. Allied reported roughly one million tonnes of ore already stockpiled, with the total planned to rise to nearly 1.5 million tonnes — about three months of plant feed — before full-circuit commissioning is completed.

Why Kurmuk Is a Big Deal for Ethiopia

Kurmuk is one of the largest modern gold developments Ethiopia has brought to the edge of production in decades. Allied Gold’s current mine plan is built around 2.7 million ounces of Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves contained in the Dish Mountain and Ashashire deposits.

The company is targeting average production of about 290,000 ounces a year during the mine’s first four years. Its first full year is expected to produce between 240,000 and 270,000 ounces, followed by approximately 300,000 ounces in the subsequent year. Over its strategic initial 15-year mine-life target, Allied expects production to average at least 240,000 ounces annually.

At 290,000 ounces, annual output is equivalent to roughly nine metric tonnes of gold. That scale would make Kurmuk a major contributor to Ethiopia’s formal gold supply and could significantly increase the volume of gold entering official export channels once the mine reaches steady-state production.

A Roughly $500 Million Bet on Large-Scale Mining

Kurmuk’s development has required capital on a scale rarely seen in Ethiopia’s mining sector. Allied Gold previously estimated pre-production development costs at approximately US$500 million as it expanded the planned processing capacity and moved the project into execution.

The processing plant uses a conventional carbon-in-leach, or CIL, flowsheet, while mining is based on conventional truck-and-shovel open-pit methods. The project’s design is intended to combine a large ore base, grid electricity and high throughput to keep unit costs competitive as production ramps up.

Allied currently lists a 93% ownership interest in the project. The company describes Kurmuk as the cornerstone of its organic growth strategy and one of the assets expected to drive a major increase in group production and cash flow.

The First Gold Pour Is Important — But It Is Not Yet Commercial Production

The upcoming first pour is a critical technical and symbolic milestone, but it should not be confused with the start of steady commercial operations. During commissioning, individual plant systems are tested, verified against design specifications and gradually handed over to the operating team.

First gold demonstrates that ore has successfully passed through the processing chain and that the plant can recover gold. Commercial production comes later, once throughput, recovery, reliability and other operating parameters have stabilized sufficiently for continuous operation.

That distinction matters because large processing plants rarely move from construction to full output overnight. Kurmuk will still have to complete grinding-circuit commissioning, downstream systems testing and a controlled ramp-up before it can consistently operate near design capacity.

A Huge Exploration Footprint Could Extend the Story

Kurmuk’s existing reserve base may be only part of the long-term opportunity. Allied controls a prospective land package of roughly 1,450 square kilometres around the mine and is continuing exploration aimed at extending known mineralized zones and identifying new ore sources.

The company has said it wants to grow the project’s mineral inventory beyond the current mine plan and extend the life of the operation. That exploration upside is central to Kurmuk’s economics: new discoveries close to existing roads, power and processing infrastructure can potentially be developed at lower incremental cost than an entirely new standalone mine.

What Happens Next

The immediate sequence is now clear. Allied expects to introduce first ore into the grinding circuit in the coming weeks, followed shortly by the first gold pour. Remaining electrical, instrumentation and control-system tests are continuing across the site while ore stockpiles grow ahead of ramp-up.

Once commissioning is complete, attention will shift from construction milestones to operational performance: plant throughput, gold recovery, costs, reliability, safety and the pace at which production approaches the mine plan.

For Ethiopia, the bigger test will be how the project translates into sustained export revenue, local procurement, employment, infrastructure benefits and confidence in the country’s ability to host large-scale mining investment. But after years of development, Kurmuk is now closer than ever to answering that question with actual gold production.