Perseus Mining Ltd has taken a final investment decision (FID) to develop the CMA underground project at the Yaouré Gold Mine in Côte d’Ivoire.
The FID taken by Perseus took into consideration the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s in-principle approval for the project, as announced by Minister Sangafowa Coulibaly on 28 November 2024. This approval marks a critical step towards the start of the CMA underground project, which is due to begin in mid-2025 with the development of the first portal. The commencement of this work remains contingent on the approval of the project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) by the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, which is currently underway, and the formal granting of a Ministerial Decree, foreshadowed in Minister Coulibaly’s announcement.
Following its FID, Perseus has appointed the Australian specialist underground mining contractor, Byrnecut, as the primary mining contractor for the project. Given that the CMA underground project will become Côte d’Ivoire’s first mechanised underground mine, an important element of Byrnecut’s role will be the training of Ivorian miners in the skills and disciplines of underground mining, particularly safe working practices. Byrnecut, who has significant international experience, particularly in West Africa with experience operating in Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Mali, is expected to mobilise on site at Yaouré by April 2025.
The combined measured and indicated mineral resource for Yaouré is currently estimated at 55.6 million t grading 1.52 g/t Au, containing 2.7 million oz of gold including 7.4 million t grading 4.16 g/t Au, containing 0.966 million oz of gold associated with the CMA underground project. A further 17.4 million t of material grading 1.7 g/t gold, containing 0.926 million oz of gold, including 4.5 million t grading 3.5 g/t containing 0.51 million oz of gold associated with the CMA Underground Project, are classified as inferred mineral resources.
Total ore reserves for Yaouré are estimated at 35.2 million t grading 1.53 g/t Au, containing 1.73 million oz of gold, including 4.9 million t at 3.51 g/t for 0.56 million oz associated with the CMA underground project.
The CMA underground project, when combined with the open pit ore sources, based on the current estimate of ore reserves, will extend the Yaouré Gold Mine’s operational life until at least 2035. There is potential for further life extensions through additional discoveries of mineralisation down dip from the currently delineated mineralisation.
Perseus’s Managing Director and CEO, Jeff Quartermaine said:
“Perseus is proud to be playing a pioneering role in Côte d’Ivoire’s mining sector with our affirmative decision to invest in the development of the CMA underground project at our Yaouré Gold Mine. This investment decision reaffirms our commitment to being a long-term partner in the development and production of Minerals Resources in Côte d’Ivoire.
“We are particularly grateful to his excellency, the Minister of Mines, Petroleum and Energy, Monsieur Mamadou Sangafowa Coulibaly, for his continued support and leadership in bringing underground mining to Côte d’Ivoire. While this represents a new phase for the Ivorian mining sector, members of our technical team have considerable individual experience operating mines in underground settings throughout the world, with a strong commitment to human and environmental safety as well as training of our Ivorian workforce.
“Very importantly, with the inclusion of the CMA underground operation into the Yaouré mine LOMP, we will materially extend the life of this mine. Since producing first gold at Yaouré in December 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic, Yaouré has been become the flagship operation of Perseus’s business and with the decision to proceed with the underground operation, we have ensured that this will continue to be the case for some time to come.”