Name of the Mine 
Yaouré mine.

Location 
The Yaouré mine is located in central Côte d’Ivoire, 40 km north-west of Yamoussoukro and 270 km north-west of Abidjan. 

Mine Owner/s 
Australian mining company Perseus Mining holds a 90% beneficial interest in the Yaouré mine through its local subsidiary, with the remaining 10% owned by the government of Côte d’Ivoire as a free-carried interest.

Brief Description 
Yaouré is Perseus’s flagship asset and the largest contributor to the group’s gold output. There are a total of five openpits to be mined during the proposed life-of-mine (LoM), namely CMA, Yaouré, Angovia 2, Govisou and the CMA SW pits. The CMA and Yaouré pits are the main openpits as measured by gold production and will be mined in five cutbacks (three for CMA and two for Yaouré). 

Brief History 
The Yaouré project was originally explored by the French Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières and Cluff Gold. Perseus acquired the project in 2016 through its merger with London-based Amara Mining. Construction started in 2019, with first gold poured in December 2020 and commercial production achieved in March 2021. 

Perseus released an updated LoM plan incorporating underground operations at CMA in 2023, representing the first planned underground gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire.

Primary Metals/Minerals 
Gold.

Secondary Metals/Minerals 
None reported.

Geology/Mineralisation 
Yaouré is situated in the eastern portion of the Bouflé greenstone belt – an informally designated, north-northeast-trending geological assemblage in central Côte d’Ivoire. This belt comprises Paleoproterozoic volcanic, sedimentary, and intrusive formations belonging to the Birimian Supergroup.

Gold mineralisation at Yaouré occurs primarily in the CMA zone and the Yaouré zone.

The CMA zone is a well-defined fault structure, between 20 m and 45 m thick, characterised by quartz-carbonate (predominantly ankerite) veining and fine-grained pyrite within albite-carbonate altered metabasalt. The zone trends roughly north–south, dips eastward at about 30º, extends over a strike length of about 1 200 m, and has been drill-tested to depths of more than 450 m.

The Yaouré zone is located about 200 m below the CMA zone, beneath the Yaouré central pit. It spans a structural corridor about 300 m wide and consists of multiple brittle-ductile fault systems, categorised as ‘Y’ and ‘S’ structures. 

The ‘Y’ structures – Y1, Y2, and Y3 – are shallow, east-dipping reverse faults that run parallel to the CMA zone and host mineralisation in albite, carbonate, and quartz veins within variably altered rock units containing disseminated pyrite. 

The ‘S’ structures are near-vertical faults filled with quartz-tourmaline veins and trend either southwest–northeast or northeast–southwest. Gold mineralisation in this zone is associated with metabasalt units and a north-south-trending granodiorite intrusive body.

Reserves 
As at June 30, 2024, Yaouré had proven and probable ore reserves of 28.3-million tonnes at 1.61 g/t, containing 1.5-million ounces of gold.

Resources 
As at June 30, 2024, the mine included measured and indicated mineral resources of 55.6-million tonnes at 1.52 g/t and inferred resources of 17.4-million tonnes at 1.7 g/t.

Type of Mine 
Combined openpit and underground.

Mining Method 
The Yaouré mine comprises existing openpit mining methods and proposed underground mining using a flat longhole open stoping mining method.

The openpits use conventional hydraulic excavators and a rigid off-highway rear dump truck fleet, with drill-and-blast where required in transitional and fresh rock material.

The proposed CMA underground operation will use a combination of flat longhole open stoping and conventional longhole open stoping mining methods. Mining equipment will be mechanised, and equipment is planned to include electric-hydraulic drills for development and production, and rubber-tyred loaders and trucks for load-and-haul activities.

Production loading will incorporate teleremote loading for nonentry mining stopes.

Major Infrastructure/Equipment 
The mine has a modern carbon-in-leach plant, high-voltage grid power connection supplemented by backup diesel generators, a tailings storage facility, maintenance workshops, administrative offices, accommodation, and access roads. Water is sourced from Lake Kossou. The site is supported by regional infrastructure and a local workforce.

Prospects 
Yaouré is considered a cornerstone operation for Perseus, with the transition to underground mining expected to extend the life of the asset. The company is on track to develop Côte d’Ivoire’s first underground mine at CMA after feasibility-level studies on the CMA deposit at Yaouré in 2023 confirmed the economic and technical viability of underground mining. 

The CMA underground is expected to deliver 4.5-million tonnes at 3.52 g/t for 500 000 oz. Ongoing exploration, including at the nearby Zain discovery, suggests further resource growth potential. The operation remains well-positioned to sustain output and contribute significantly to Perseus's production over the medium to long term.

Contact Details 
Perseus Mining Limited
Phone +61 8 6144 1700
Email info@perseusmining.com
Website https://perseusmining.com