PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Perseus Mining has estimated that the Yaouré gold project, in Cote d’Ivoire, could produce some 1.43-million ounces over a mine life of an initial eight years.

In an updated life-of-mine (LoM) plan for the West African operation, ASX- and TSX-listed Perseus noted that the project would produce an average of 260 000 oz/y of gold between 2022 and 2024, at an average all-in sustaining cost of some $745/oz over the mine life.

The new LoM plan has updated the measured and indicated mineral resource at Yaouré to 51.3-million ounces, grading 1.34 g/t gold for 2.21-million ounces of gold, at a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t gold

An inferred resource of 47-million tonnes, grading 1.1 g/t gold for 1.7-million ounces, has also been estimated.

Perseus told shareholders on Tuesday that mining was currently expected to be complete within six years of operation from July 2022, with only re-handling of stockpiled ore thereafter. Studies were in progress to assess the viability of mining additional openpit and underground mineralisation at several sites within the immediate mining area. The studies were expected to result in the progressive addition of further mineral resources and ore reserves to the LoM plan.

A total of 91 000 oz has been depleted by mining and processing ore sourced from these areas in 2021.

In 2022, the main ore source will continue to be stages 1 and 2 of the CMA pit with additional ore being sourced from the newly added smaller pits on the mining lease. The following three years of mill feed is expected to be sourced from the completion of the CMA stages and the two stages of the Yaouré pit.

Perseus noted that the processing rate averages 3.8-million tonnes a year over an eight-year mine life, an increase of 0.5-million tonnes a year relative to the definitive feasibility study estimate of mill throughput rate.

The improvement in the milling rate at Yaouré is principally the result of strategically timing the blending of oxide material from the heap leach pads with the hard fresh ore to be mined form the CMA and Yaouré pits.