Semafo said yesterday 241 of its employees, contractors and suppliers were involved in the attack on the convoy of five buses, which was being escorted by military personnel.

"Our current estimates have 39 fatalities, 60 injuries, 141 accounted for and one remains unaccounted for," the company said.

It said in addition to the impact on people, the "unprecedented scale and nature of the attack" had made basic administration and logistics very difficult.

"It will take some time to evaluate the new operating environment and to assess how we will be able to operate in a safe and secure manner in Burkina Faso," Semafo said.

"Until such time the Boungou mine operations will continue to be suspended."

President and CEO Benoit Desormeaux said he and most of the senior management team were in-country to ensure all those affected were getting the support they required.

The company started transporting people by helicopter from Boungou over the weekend.

"Many of the people on-site need to be home with their families and to recover from last week's incident," Desormeaux said.

The company again expressed its sincere condolences to families of the victims, in addition to its firm support of Burkina Faso's security forces.

The attack occurred about 40km from Boungou on November 6 and follows a series of security incidents near Boungou and Semafo's Mana mine in the country's west last year.

Boungou had achieved commercial production just over 12 months ago and contributed 55,600 ounces of the company's 68,800oz for the September quarter.

Semafo shares have lost a third of their value since the attack.

They were trading at C$3.95 a week ago and closed down a further 53c yesterday to $2.63, capitalising it at $879.6 million (US$664 million).