PERSEUS Mining CEO, Jeff Quartermaine, told analysts he expected his company to eventually win a prospecting licence for the $264m Yaouré project in Côte d’Ivoire which is an important precursor to financing the project.
“We are confident the matter is in hand,” said Quartermaine in a conference call following publication of the firm’s September quarter numbers. “I can’t give hard dates because it’s a fluid process and we are working with a government,” he said.
Once a prospecting licence is granted, the company will be able to conclude a mining convention which will set down the fiscal arrangements, other conditions, and effectively provide a stabilisation agreement for the operation, scoped to operate for 8.5 years.
There has been a delay in the issue of the licence, however,
Quartermaine said the application had been “bouncing around” in government departments, and was held up by the appointment of an interim mines minister. Since then a new mines minister has been installed.
Quartermaine said he was heading for West Africa next week where he would meet with the minister whilst the company handed over a community project. “I will convince him of the urgency of the prospecting licence,” he said.
Analysts also quizzed Quartermaine about the mine lives of its two current operations: Edikan, in Ghana, and another Côte d’Ivoire mine Sissingué. Quartermaine said that drilling for Sissingué wouldn’t yield “quantum” improvements in resources, but there will be some “incremental steps”. Drilling had shown some “interesting sniffs”.
Sissingué was currently operating on a five year life of mine. Edikan, however, had a six year life of mine. Quatermaine said that although it was “early days” his team had detected a new structure. “We’re not getting carried away as we’ve only drilled a few holes, but it’s clear there are additional mineralised zones on the tenement,” he said.
Perseus reported gold production of 255,916 ounces for the 2018 financial year ended June 30 and has estimated production and cost guidance for the December 2018 half year at 130,000 to 150,000 oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $950 to $1,150/oz. Perhaps as importantly, Perseus had generated net cash of $66.5m at the half-year mark.
Quartermaine said he was confident the company register at “the high end” of its production guidance for the period and that it would continue to build net cash ahead of accepting terms on a funding package for Yaouré.
