West African Resources (WAF) has boosted its gold production in Burkina Faso after starting operations at the Kiaka mine in June 2025. The company reported a new quarterly record, extracting 127,950 ounces (about 4 tonnes) of gold from its Kiaka and Sanbrado mines during the third quarter. This brings the total gold produced since January to 11.2 tonnes, surpassing the 2025 annual target by 20%. The increase is largely due to Kiaka, which is in its first full year of operation, and has seen a 13% rise in production from processing more ore. This growth helped balance a 10% drop in output at Sanbrado. Despite challenges in obtaining explosives, which are essential for breaking up rocks before mining, WAF is still aiming to produce between 13.4 and 15.2 tonnes of gold in 2026. In the second quarter, limited explosives forced the company to focus on areas that could be mined without blasting and to reduce the removal of non-valuable rocks at Kiaka and Toega, saving explosives for gold extraction. In the third quarter, improved supply from the original supplier and the use of a second supplier allowed for more extensive preparatory work, though the supply of explosives is still not sufficient to meet full demand. In 2024, WAF constructed a facility at Kiaka to produce and store explosives, which could eventually allow for local production once authorization is granted. The company requested this authorization in 2025, but it remains pending. A quarterly report to be released soon will include details on the company’s costs, revenues, and profits, offering a more complete picture of its performance beyond just production figures. In the second quarter, WAF’s total production cost (AISC) dropped to 1,730 USD per ounce, down from 1,921 USD in the previous quarter. The company also reported a net profit of 437 million Australian dollars (303 million USD) for the first half of the year.