Perseus pursues value creating organic growth opportunities at the Yaouré gold mine

The company reports that its CMA underground project at the Yaouré mine is performing well, with production ramping up towards steady-state operations.

During the third quarter of Perseus’ 2026 financial year, a development (capital and operating) record of 1 598 m was achieved and, to the end of April, 2 862 m of underground development was completed.

Total ore mined to the end of April was 53 058 t, including the first ore produced from stoping operations. The mobilisation of a third jumbo is in progress to increase future ore delivery and develop towards locations for future underground exploration drilling drives.

The company notes that initial stoping operations started in late April, with first production ore mined from the Blika 1120-S-STP-675 stope. During May, mining of the 675 stope was initiated while stoping began in the adjacent Blika 1120-S-STP-678 stope and the Blika 1105-S-STP-674 stope on the level below.

Although still in the early stages of production, Perseus says initial stoping performance has been encouraging.

The 675-stope performed broadly in line with expectations, with slightly higher dilution offset by higher mining recovery than expected.

Refinements to drill and blast parameters, together with updated geotechnical recommendations, have already been incorporated into future stope designs to further optimise stoping performance.

As underground operations continue to expand, Perseus says installation of permanent underground infrastructure is progressing, including mine escapeways, secondary egress and refuge chamber development.

In the northern section of the mine, the Assanou and Sika declines have now broken through, providing a second means of egress for this area.

In the southern section, breakthrough between the Blika and Pauline declines is scheduled for the first quarter of financial year 2027, ahead of planned production from the upper-level stoping fronts.

As the project advances towards commercial production, the company says it is also assessing potential extensions to the underground mine. Perseus says exploration is targeting mineralisation down-dip of the current underground life-of-mine footprint.

Additionally, Perseus notes that the Yaouré openpit has identified more than 24% more metal from the trailing six months to March against the reserve model with additional mineralisation domains being defined.

The company says drilling at depth and along strike of existing mining areas has strengthened confidence in the potential to extend mine life.

Meanwhile, Perseus says extension drilling at CMA underground is delivering encouraging results indicating potential extension of mineralisation beyond the current defined mineral resource.

The company notes that exploration drilling beyond the boundary fence has produced positive results at both the CMA Southwest and ROZA deposits.

FORWARD WORK PROGRAMME

Perseus says it is advancing a range of initiatives aimed at maximising value and extending the operating life of the Yaouré mine.

The company has allocated $34-million for the 2027 financial year to complete about 123 km of resource definition, geotechnical and metallurgical drilling across the project, with a primary focus on converting inferred resources to indicated status to support potential ore reserve growth.

In parallel, brownfield exploration programmes targeting extensions at ROZA and CMA Southwest will continue, with the objective of expanding the site’s stated mineral resource base and creating further opportunities for mine life extension and future production growth.

Concurrently, the company notes that several projects are proposed including investigations into capital and operational improvements that focus on increasing mill throughput to maximise gold production.

Perseus says these updates continue to highlight the strong organic growth potential at Yaouré.

The company says its exploration and technical teams look to balance exploration priorities with further resource definition, creating shareholder value by leveraging the installed capital invested in Yaouré and delivering low-risk, low-cost ounces to its portfolio.

“Yaouré continues to demonstrate why it is a cornerstone asset in our portfolio. The successful transition of CMA Underground into stoping operations reflects the strength of our in-house team and their ability to execute complex underground developments safely and to schedule,” says Perseus MD and CEO Craig Jones.

Equally pleasing, he says, is the performance of the Yaouré openpit, which has now delivered more than 20% additional gold relative to the company’s reserve model year-to-date, while drilling continues to define new mineralisation domains both at depth and along strike.

Jones adds that extension drilling at CMA Underground has produced encouraging results pointing to mineralisation beyond the currently defined mineral resource, noting that Persues’ exploration success beyond the boundary fence reinforces its confidence that Yaouré’s mine life can be extended well beyond current estimates.

“Our optimistic outlook provides confidence to invest in $34-million exploration and in-fill drilling studies at Yaouré in financial year 2027 and underscores our disciplined approach to organic growth – investing in the drill bit to convert inferred resources and extend the life of an asset we know intimately.

“This is precisely the model that has consistently created value for our shareholders, and we look forward to updating the market as these programmes progress,” says Jones.