Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX: PRU) has announced a highly positive update on its third gold mine, the Yaouré Gold Mine in Côte d’Ivoire.
The company reported that the government of Côte d’Ivoire has granted an EP to Perseus’s Ivorian subsidiary, Perseus Yaouré SARL, to develop and operate the Yaouré Gold Mine. It may be noted that EP was the final permit that Perseus required to start developing the Yaouré mine.
The company said that the Board of Perseus will soon convene to resolve to commence full scale project development.
Yaoure Gold Project
The Yaoure Gold Project is Perseus’ development-stage asset in central Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa. The mine is located near the Ivorian capital of Yamoussoukro adjacent to the Koussou hydro-electric power station. It has a JORC-compliant Ore Reserve of 26.8Mt at 1.76g/t containing 1.52 million ounces of gold.
The mine is expected to have an average annual production of 215,000oz for the first five years of operations, with average all in site costs of US$734/oz. The development of Yaoure is expected to deliver on Perseus’ goal of becoming a 500,000+ oz gold producer.
Exploitation Permit – The Final Prerequisite
Perseus had announced that it had accepted an offer of debt financing from a syndicate of international banks and confirmed its financing plans for the mine development. The only hurdle left was the Exploitation Permit (EP) by the government of Côte d’Ivoire, which was just granted.
With this major milestone completed, the company said that the Yaouré Gold Mine is expected to become a large scale, low-cost gold mining operation that will form a core asset within Perseus’s asset portfolio for many years to come.
Meanwhile, the Board of Perseus is expected to convene in the very near future to resolve to commence full scale project development.
Perseus’s CEO and MD Mr. Jeff Quartermaine said: “The granting of the Exploitation Permit to enable development of the Yaouré Gold Mine is a major milestone for Perseus that firmly places us on the path to achieving our stated goal of producing more than 500,000 ounces of gold at an all-in cost of less than US$850 per ounce from multiple mines in several jurisdictions in West Africa.
When developed, Yaouré is expected to be a large scale, low cost mining operation capable of generating substantial benefits for all of Perseus’s stakeholders, including not only our shareholders who have been keenly awaiting this milestone, but also our host government and local communities, employees and providers of a range of goods and services.
On behalf of the Board and the entire team at Perseus, I thank the government of Côte d’Ivoire for granting us the exploitation licence and in doing so, recognising Perseus’s credentials as a capable, reliable and responsible participant in the Ivorian gold mining industry.”
