Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU) has received the results of a scoping study for a potential underground mining operation at the Yaouré Gold Project in central Côte d’Ivoire.
The scoping study builds on the pre-existing definitive feasibility study (DFS) released in November 2017 for an 8.5-year open pit gold mining operation at Yaouré.
A preliminary JORC resource of 595,000 ounces of gold grading 6.2 g/t gold has been estimated for a potential underground mining operation at Yaouré.
Notably, the resource remains open along strike and at depth.
READ: Perseus Mining completes FEED milestone on Yaouré Gold Project development path
Persesus’s managing director Jeff Quartermaine said: “The results of the Yaouré underground mining scoping study announced today highlight one further avenue for Perseus to expand its already technically feasible and financially attractive, Yaouré Gold Project.
“When this potential is combined with the existing Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves that are scheduled to be mined using open cut mining methods, the Yaouré Gold Project, which on current estimates is expected to start producing gold from open pit operations in December 2020, should form a major portion of Perseus’s business in Côte d’Ivoire for many years to come.”
No known impediments to future underground development
The scoping study indicates that the underground JORC resource is amenable to extraction using mechanised underground room and pillar mining methods.
The study shows that underground access from Yaouré’s proposed open pit combined with the selected mining method significantly reduces the capital development requirements.
There are no known impediments to future underground development and further resource drilling and technical studies are now required.