PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX- and TSX-listed gold miner Perseus Mining remains on track to meet its half-year production targets of between 110 000 oz and 125 000 oz, following a strong September quarter.
The Edikan mine, in Ghana, produced 51 309 oz of gold during the three months under review, which was on par with the 51 563 oz delivered in the previous quarter.
Perseus on Monday reported that unit mining costs during the quarter reduced from $2.91/t to $2.83/t, reflecting increased mining efficiencies with higher total material movement.
Unit processing costs increased marginally to $10.61/t from $10.31/t, owing to the lower quantity of ore processed during the period, and slightly higher maintenance costs as a result of processing harder ores.
Meanwhile, construction at Perseus’ second mine in Cote d’Ivoire continued during the quarter, with the Sissingue mine some 77% complete.
Perseus told shareholders that the project remained on budget, with some $84-million spent to date, and a further $32-million to be spent to complete construction and commissioning.
Commissioning of the plant front-end is expected to start in early November, with ore crushing to start in early December. First gold is expected in the March quarter of next year, with commercial production targeted for April.
About 80 000 oz/y will be produced at Sissingue in the first 3.25 years of production and a further 70 000 oz/y over the remainder of the mine life.