Perseus Mining posts 6.0% increase in African gold reserves
Perseus Mining Ltd. [PRU-TSX, ASX], an Australian company with a focus on Africa, has released an update on estimated mineral resources and ore reserves at its operations.
The company currently operates three gold mines in Africa. They include the Edikan in Ghana, as well as the Sissingue and Yaoure mines in Cote d’Ivoire. It also owns the Meyas Sand Gold Project in Sudan, where employees were recently withdrawn following an outbreak of armed conflict.
In a recent presentation, the company said 2023 financial year production was 535,281 ounces at an all-in-sustaining cost of US$959 per ounce.
Perseus said it has delivered another year of positive growth from resource definition drilling and studies, leading to an increase in the measured and indicated resources, as well as an increase in proven and probable ore reserves.
Measured and indicated resources at June 30, 2023 stood at 122.8 million tonnes of grade 1.31 g/t gold, containing 5.2 million ounces of gold. That marks an increase from a year ago estimate of 5.1 million ounces.
The company said proven and probable ore reserves are now estimated at 73.8 million tonnes at 1.45 g/t gold or 3.4 million ounces, up from a year ago estimate of 3.3 million ounces. This marks an increase after depletion of plus 192,000 ounces (plus 6.0%) via organic growth during the past 12 months.
At the Yaoure gold mine, the completion of an underground feasibility study, combined with underground and open-pit definition drilling and studies, has converted inferred mineral resources to indicated and increase the mine’s ore reserves by 5.5 million tonnes of grade 2.31 g/t (410,000 ounces) after depletion, reaching a total of 2.1 million ounces.
Underground probable ore reserves are now estimated at 4.9 million tonnes of grade 3.51 g/t, containing 559,000 ounces of gold, an increase in fiscal 2023 of 2.7 million tonnes grading 3.46 g/t gold containing 300,000 ounces.
Yaoure open pit probable ore reserves have increased in fiscal 2023 by 6.9 million tonnes at 1.82 g/t (403,000 ounces) to 565,000 ounces.
These resource estimates were released after the close of trading on August 23, 2023, when Perseus shares closed at $1,52. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $1.15 and $2.30.
Perseus owns a 70% stake in the Meyas Sand Gold Project in northern Sudan, approximately 75 kilometres south of the border with Egypt and nearly 900 kilometres north of Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum.
In late April 2023, following an escalation of armed conflict largely in and around Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the influential militia group, the Rapid Support Force (RSF) Perseus withdrew most of its employees from the mine site, pending a resolution to the conflict.
The company said it has been actively monitoring the situation in Sudan, along with a team of international security specialists.