Perseus Mining Limited (ASX/TSX: PRU) has reported a 22% increase in Proved and Probable Ore Reserves before depletion at its Edikan Gold Mine in Ghana as the company unveils plans to potentially expand operations at the Ghanese project.
Edikan’s estimated Proved and Probable Ore Reserves were estimated at 1.608 million ounces of gold, a 16% increase after depletion.
Perseus’s Managing Director and CEO, Jeff Quartermaine, said the results have highlighted the benefits of a strong gold price and an opportunity to expand operations at Edikan.
“Since the last release of Edikan’s Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves in June 2019, the gold price has consolidated at a higher level than that recorded in prior years and several key operating initiatives identified as part of ongoing continuous improvement programmes, have been successfully implemented at Edikan, including a revised mining strategy and initiatives to improve processing plant throughput and performance reliability,” Mr Quartermaine said.
“Perseus has identified that at the slightly higher gold price of US$1,300 per ounce and lower cost base than previously assumed, two of its open pits, namely the AFG and Fetish pits can be significantly increased in size and provide the cash margin consistent with our overall strategy of cash generation.
“The reconciliation between contained metal forecast by our block models and the metal we recover continues to be robust and is certainly within the limits of normal operating practice.”
Mr Quartermaine said the demonstrated predictive reliability of the company’s Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve models continues to provide a sound basis on which to plan its future.
The Esuajah South deposit has been included in previous Ore Reserve estimates, but not in prior Life of Mine forecasts for Edikan. Following an update of the Feasibility Study for the deposit, the Ore Reserve estimate has been updated and risks associated with mining of the deposit have now been sufficiently reduced for the underground mine to proceed with development and therefore an underground mining operation at Esuajah South will be included in the next Edikan Life of Mine forecast.
“The inclusion of the increased open pit Ore Reserves and the Esuajah South Underground Mine will result in an increase in the expected mine life of the Edikan Gold Mine. Details of the updated Life of Mine Plan for Edikan are planned to be released by the end of the March 2020 quarter,” Mr Quartermaine said.
The Edikan gold deposits occur near the western flank of the Ashanti Greenstone Belt in south- western Ghana.
The strike lengths of the individual deposits range from approximately 300 metres (Esuajah South) to more than two kilometres (Abnabna-AF Gap-Fobinso).
Granite-hosted mineralisation is developed over widths of up to 150 metres; shear hosted mineralisation in metasedimentary rocks is typically 10-30 metres wide.
Resource definition drilling has defined mineralisation to depths ranging from approximately 130 metres to more than 550 metres (AF Gap, Esuajah South).
