PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed gold miner Perseus Mining has reported an indicated mineral resource of 14.5-million tonnes, at 0.91 g/t gold for 422 000 oz of contained gold at the Nkosuo project, which is 7 km north-northwest of the Edikan gold mine, in Ghana.
The project is also estimated to contain an inferred mineral resource of 0.95-million tonnes, at 0.90 g/t gold for 27 000 oz of contained gold, and a probable ore reserve of 10-million tonnes, at 1.04 g/t gold for 332 000 oz of gold.
Perseus on Tuesday told shareholders that it had completed a feasibility study on Nkosuo, which would see ore from the operation being processed at the Edikan mill, increasing the life-of-mine of the Edikan operation by 18 to 24 months, extending the mine life until 2027.
The feasibility study estimated that Nkosuo would produce 272 000 oz of gold over a three-year mining period, at all-in site costs of between $870/oz and $890/oz.
“The addition of mineral resources and ore reserves from the Nkosuo project adds significantly to the mine life at Edikan gold mine, ensuring operations can continue while Perseus conducts further exploration on the recently acquired Agyakusu exploration permit and two other adjoining exploration permits that are under option to Perseus,” said MD and CEO Jeff Quartermaine.
“We believe that the discovery of additional ore reserves in trucking distance of existing infrastructure is the most cost-effective means available to Perseus of creating value for shareholders. With this objective, further exploration on the nearby tenements will be well funded by Perseus and we are optimistic of discovering further deposits of a similar scale to Nkosuo that will further add to the mine life of the Edikan operation.”
Perseus will now move ahead with the environmental and regulatory permitting for Nkosuo.