PERSEUS Mining has guided to half-year production to end December of between 240,000 to 265,000 ounces after recording output of 494,014 oz for the year ended June 30.
All-in site costs would be in a $1,000 to $1,100 per oz range after achieving $952/oz for the financial year. Half-year production totalled 252,850 oz – of which 122,327 oz was in the June quarter alone – at an all in site cost of $955/oz for the half-year.
Annual gold sales totalled 481,075 oz which was sold for an average price of $1,683/oz including 111,897 oz sold in the quarter for $1,705/oz. Cash from operations totalled $361m for the 2022 financial year including $85m generated in the June quarter alone.
The performance strengthened Perseus’ financial position which ended the year with available cash and bullion of $328m and net cash of $278m as of June 30 representing an increase of $50m on the previous quarter.
Perseus produces gold from three operations in West Africa – the Edikan in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire mines Sissingué and the newly commissioned Yaouré mine. In February, however, the company unveiled the A$230m purchase of Orca Mining, a Toronto-listed gold exploration firm which has a gold project in Sudan.
Orca Gold owns 70% of northern Sudan’s Block 14, a prospect that has been scoped to produce 228,000 ounces of gold annually for the first seven years of a 13.5 life of mine. Proven and probable reserves of Block 14 stood at about 2.85 million oz at an assumed gold price of $1,350/oz.
In addition to Block 14, Orca has a 30% of Montage Gold Corporation, a company listed in Toronto which holds a 100% interest in the 4.3 million oz Koné gold project in Côte d’Ivoire which Clark said had similar gold prodution potential to Block 14.
Quartermaine said the Montage Gold Côte d’Ivoire properties were located near to Sissingué, its 69,000 oz/year producer.
“This is a classic case of one plus one equals three,” said Quartermaine of the proposed transaction with Orca in February. He also didn’t rule out the prospect of further merger and acquisition activity, saying in response to analyst questions: “Let’s see just wait and see what happens”.
