PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Perseus Mining has successfully poured its first gold at its Yaouré gold mine, in Cote d’Ivoire.

The ASX- and TSX-listed company told shareholders on Thursday that the milestone was achieved nearly five weeks ahead of schedule, and consistent with its ‘stretch target’ of first gold at the mine in December.

“Pouring our first gold at Yaouré yesterday represented the achievement of a major milestone in the construction and commissioning of Perseus’ third gold mine,” said MD and CEO Jeff Quatermaine.

“It also represents the delivery of another promise made to shareholders by Perseus’ management team, namely to achieve its stretch target of first gold at Yaouré in December 2020.

“Being able to successfully develop the Yaouré gold mine ahead of schedule and under budget during a year in which the Covid-19 pandemic has severely disrupted many businesses around the world, is a testament to the skill, resilience and dedication of our in-house development team, technical and commercial support staff, our contractors and consultants,” Quartermaine said.

With construction of the Yaouré processing plant and associated infrastructure largely complete, Perseus will now focus on satisfying continuous performance tests and positioning to declare commercial production, targeted for the March quarter next year, when the first gold shipment from Yaouré is also expected to occur.

Initially, lower grade oxide ore from the decommissioned heap leach will be processed in the Yaouré plant, pending access to higher grade fresh ore from the CMA pit.

During the first five years of the Yaouré mine life, the project is expected to produce some 215 000 oz/y at an all-in sustaining cost of some $750/oz. An updated life of mine plan for the mine is scheduled for release in the March quarter.

“We are now looking forward to achieving our next target of increasing our production to more than 500 000 oz/y at cash margins of no less than $400/oz in 2022,” said Quartermaine on Friday.

“We will also extend our capacity to consistently produce gold at these levels for many years to come by organically increasing our ore reserve inventory through successful near-mine exploration programmes across our three mines.”