Perseus Mining Limited: Edikan Gold Mine Operations Update
18 Septiembre 2013 - 2:52AM
Marketwired Canada
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN
THE UNITED STATES
Perseus Mining Limited ("Perseus" or the "Company") (TSX:PRU)(ASX:PRU) is
pleased to provide an update on recent operating performance at its Edikan Gold
Mine ("EGM") in Ghana, West Africa.
Highlights
-- Gold production of 32,250 ounces for July and August 2013 combined;
-- Company remains on target to achieve production guidance of 99,000 -
109,000 ounces of gold in the six months to 31 December 2013;
-- A comprehensive Budget Improvement Programme has been implemented to
improve operational efficiency and eliminate any non-essential costs.
Benefits starting to be reflected in all-in site cash cost;
-- Company is on track to achieve cost guidance of US$1,000-1,200/oz for
the six months to 31 December 2013;
-- Results from revised Edikan Life of Mine planning exercise indicate
smaller pit shells resulting in an overall 6% reduction in contained
gold but a 16% reduction in strip ratio and a 15% reduction in material
movements (after mining depletion to 30 June 2013); and
-- Finalisation of the optimisation of the Edikan Life of Mine plan is on
track for release of full details in the September 2013 Quarterly
Activities Report.
Comments from Perseus's Managing Director, Jeff Quartermaine
"We're encouraged by our start to the new financial year, having recorded a much
improved performance at Edikan for the first two months of the September
Quarter. We've implemented a series of programmes aimed at improving
productivity across the Company. The results of these initiatives are gradually
filtering through and we expect they will be more evident in the form of
continuous improvement in the months ahead.
Documentation of our updated life of mine plan for Edikan is nearing completion
and the full results will be published in our September 2013 Quarterly
Activities Report. In revising the life of mine plan we've given priority to the
generation of profit and cash flow ahead of marginal gold production. This
strategy has slightly reduced the amount of gold that we will produce over the
life of the Edikan mine but results in materially less investment in mining and
processing than would otherwise be the case, which in the current economic
climate is very important."
Gold Production
Gold production at the EGM during the September 2013 Quarter to date has closely
tracked Company budgets, with the following results:
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Month Gold Produced (ozs)
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July 2013 16,730
August 2013 15,520
Quarter to date 32,250
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During the two-month period, the primary crusher crushed 1,098,600 tonnes of
primary ore at a rate of 1,285wtph. At an assumed run time of 75%, this equates
to a crushing rate of 8.4MTPA.
A total of 1,144,300 tonnes of ore, comprising approximately 10% oxide ore and
90% primary ore, was processed through the SAG mill at an average throughput
rate of 890 dry metric tonnes per hour. At this rate, and assuming a steady
state utilisation of 8,000 hours per annum (i.e. 91.3%), the annual processing
rate would be 7.1MTPA.
The average grade of ore fed to the mill during the period was 1.05 g/t gold and
the recovery rate was 83.4%.
Of the technical parameters referred to above, all were broadly in line with
targets, with the exception of the SAG mill throughput rate which at 7.1MTPA
(annualised) was lower than the target of 7.5MTPA as a result of a deliberate
strategy to reduce mill liner wear ahead of a general mill reline, scheduled for
early September 2013.
The production performance in the first two months of the new financial year
ensures the Company remains on target to achieve guidance production of 99,000 -
109,000 ounces of gold in the six months ending 31 December 2013.
Cash Operating Costs
The Company has commenced implementation of a comprehensive Budget Improvement
Programme aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and eliminating any
non-essential costs from its cost base at the EGM and in the corporate office.
Important initiatives undertaken to date include, but are not limited to,
reducing the fees and salaries of all directors by 15%, placing a freeze on
bonuses, reducing headcounts where possible without damaging operational
capability and working co-operatively with key contractors to generate
productivity gains that benefit both parties.
The impact of a number of the cost-saving initiatives has been immediately
evident in the unit costs recorded for the Quarter to date. Other improvements
will take longer to realise but should be evident over the balance of this
financial year.
On a Quarter to date basis, the all-in site cash cost (including direct
production cost, royalty, sustaining capital, plus investment in waste stripping
and stockpile build up) has averaged US$1,227 per ounce. This represents a
material improvement relative to the June 2013 Quarter and indicates that the
Company is on track to achieve its cost guidance for the six months ending 31
December 2013 of US$1,000 to US$1,200 per ounce.
Revised Life of Mine Plan
In the June 2013 Quarter Perseus prepared a revised estimate of Mineral
Resources at the EGM taking into account mining depletion to April 2013 plus
recent drill results. This estimate was published in the June 2013 Quarter
Report.
Based on this revised estimate, and applying a set of technical assumptions that
reflect actual operating parameters, detailed plans have been developed for
mining Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources. This is collectively referred
to in this Update as the EGM Life of Mine Plan or "LOMP".
In preparing the LOMP, the following objectives were adopted:
-- Minimise investment in FY2014 without compromising the future by mining
ore from existing pits (Fobinso and AF Gap) and reclaiming ore from
existing ore stockpiles;
-- Resume development of Eastern Pits from July 2014;
-- Include new pits (Chirawira and Bokitsi) not previously included in Ore
Reserves;
-- Give priority to cash generation over marginal gold production;
-- Preserve the capacity to expand pits in a higher gold price environment;
-- Use revised technical parameters that reflect actual experience,
including US$1,200/oz pit shells; 0.5g/t cut-off grade; and updated
mining and processing costs and current mill availability, throughput
and recovery rates.
Compared to the previous life of mine plan for EGM which was based on the 2012
Ore Reserve, the updated LOMP resulted in the following:
- Tonnes of ore and waste moved - Down by 15%
- Life of mine strip ratio - Down by 16%
- Head grade - Steady
- Contained gold in Ore Reserve - Down by 6%
- Life of mine - Increased by 0.6 years to 2025
On a pit by pit basis, the technical parameters of each pit are as follows:
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Pit 2012 LOMP(1,2,3)
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Grade Strip Ratio
Waste (Mt) Ore (Mt) (g/t) Au (koz) (t:t)
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AF Gap 78.1 29.8 1.1 1,015 2.6
Fobinso 40.1 11.5 1.2 429 3.5
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Sub-total 118.2 41.3 1.1 1,444 2.9
Fetish 53.7 15.8 1.1 576 3.4
Esuajah Sth 73.8 8.2 1.9 493 9.0
Esuajah Nth 32.5 17.1 0.9 501 1.9
Chirawira - - - - -
Bokitsi - - - - -
ROM S/pile - 4.4 0.6 89 -
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TOTAL 278.2 86.9 1.1 3,109 3.2
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Pit (Updated) 2013 LOMP(1,4,5)
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Grade Strip Ratio
Waste (Mt) Ore (Mt) (g/t) Au (koz) (t:t)
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AF Gap 63.4 27.5 1.1 954 2.8
Fobinso 30.6 9.3 1.1 330 3.6
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Sub-total 94.0 36.8 1.1 1,283 2.6
Fetish 29.8 13.9 0.9 442 2.1
Esuajah Sth 56.2 6.9 1.7 382 7.2
Esuajah Nth 22.2 15.7 0.9 465 1.4
Chirawira 11.2 2.9 1.1 106 3.8
Bokitsi 13.3 2.1 2.3 158 6.3
ROM S/pile - 4.4 0.6 89 -
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TOTAL 226.7 82.7 1.1 2,925 2.7
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Notes: 1. Based on Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources only adjusted
for mining depletion to 30 June 2013.
2. Based on August 2012 Proven and Probable Ore Reserve.
3. 0.4g/t and 0.5g/t cut-off, sub-blocks.
4. Based on the June 2013 Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource
5. Oxide - 0.6g/t cut-off; Transitional - 0.5g/t cut-off; Fresh -
0.4g/t cut-off, regular block.
Based on the above, the production profile for the EGM for next five years is
currently expected to be as follows:
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LOM
Parameter FY2014 FY2015 FY2016 FY2017 FY2018 Average(1,2)
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Ore mined (Mt) 5.3 7.7 9.7 9.4 7.4 8.7
Waste mined (Mt) 22.9 26.6 26.5 26.4 28.8 25.1
Strip ratio (t:t) 4.3 3.5 2.7 2.8 3.9 2.9
Ore processed (Mt) 7.5 7.4 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5
Head grade (g/t) gold 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.1
Gold production (kozs) 200 240 240 230 245 230
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Notes: 1. Assumes mining occurs over 9 years from 1 July 2013
2. Assumes processing of ore over 11 years from 1 July 2013.
Processing of low grade ore stockpile is scheduled to continue
for a further 14 months beyond 30 June 2023 at a lower production
rate and is not included in the above data.
The LOMP will be reassessed annually taking into account any incremental Mineral
Resources discovered during the preceding period and any revised design
parameters including but not limited to gold price and operating costs, in the
design of the pit shells.
On this basis it should be noted that the above does not alter the production
guidance previously released to the market for the 12 months ending 30 June 2014
of 190,000 to 210,000 ounces of gold at an all-in site cost of US$1,000 to
US$1,200 per ounce.
Full details of the 2013 EGM Proven and Probable Ore Reserve estimates and the
EGM LOMP will be published in Perseus's September 2013 Quarterly Report.
Jeffrey A Quartermaine, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Competent Person Statement
The information in this report that relates to exploration results, mineral
resources or ore reserves is based on information compiled by Mr Kevin Thomson,
who is a Professional Geoscientist with the Association of Professional
Geoscientists of Ontario. Mr Thomson is an employee of the Company. Mr Thomson
has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and
type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking,
to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the
'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and
Ore Reserves'") and to qualify as a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument
43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Mr Thomson
consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information
in the form and context in which it appears. For a description of Perseus' data
verification process, quality assurance and quality control measures, the
effective date of the mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates contained
herein, details of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate
the mineral resources and reserves set out in this report and the extent to
which the estimate of mineral resources or mineral reserves set out herein may
be materially affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, title,
taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issues, readers are
directed to the technical report entitled "Technical Report - Central Ashanti
Gold Project, Ghana" dated May 30, 2011 and the technical report entitled
"Technical Report - Tengrela Gold Project, Cote d'Ivoire" dated December 22,
2010 in relation to the Edikan Gold Mine (formerly the Central Ashanti Gold
Project) and the Tengrela Gold Project respectively.
Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information: This report contains
forward-looking information which is based on the assumptions, estimates,
analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its
perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as
other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and
reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but
which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made by the Company
regarding, among other things: the price of gold, continuing commercial
production at the Edikan Gold Mine without any major disruption, development of
a mine at Tengrela, the receipt of required governmental approvals, the accuracy
of capital and operating cost estimates, the ability of the Company to operate
in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to
obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers are
cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and
assumptions which may have been used by the Company. Although management
believes that the assumptions made by the Company and the expectations
represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that
the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking
information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors
which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company
to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such
factors include, among others, the actual market price of gold, the actual
results of current exploration, the actual results of future exploration,
changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as
those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. The Company
believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking
information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other
things, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration and development
activities, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold, the
ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and
the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on
reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
information. Perseus does not undertake to update any forward-looking
information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Managing Director:
Jeff Quartermaine
+61 8 6144 1700
jeff.quartermaine@perseusmining.com (Perth)
Investor Relations:
Nathan Ryan
+61 (0) 420 582 887
nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au (Melbourne)
Rebecca Greco
+1 416 822 6483
fighouse@yahoo.com (Toronto)
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