Perseus raises Sissingué capex as mine life shortened to five years

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Dual-listed gold miner Perseus Mining has revised the expected mine life of its Sissingué gold project, in Côte d’Ivoire, from a previously expected 5.25 years to 5 years.

Perseus has updated the life-of-mine plan for the Sissingué gold project, following a re-estimation of the mineral resource and ore reserves, with the ASX- and TSX-listed company saying the mine will now produce some 358 000 oz over its five-year life.

Around 80 000 oz/y will be produced in the first 3.25 years of production and a further 70 000 oz/y over the remainder of the mine life.

Previous feasibility studies on the Sissingué project had estimated a production of 385 000 oz of gold during a 5.25-year mine life, with an average of around 75 000 oz/y to be produced in the first five years.

The same study had estimated that a capital investment of $106-million would be required to develop the Sissingué project, but Perseus on Friday increased this to $107-million, with production costs reaching some $569/oz.

The Sissingué project was nearly 40% complete and is running on schedule for first gold production in the March 2018 quarter, Perseus said. The project development has been fully funded to completion through a combination of internal cash and bank provided debt financing.