Perseus Mining Delivers Exploration Success at Edikan Gold Mine


PERTH, Western Australia, Nov. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perseus Mining Limited (“Perseus” or the “Company”) (TSX & ASX: PRU) is pleased to provide an update on its recent exploration activities within the Edikan Gold Mine leases in Ghana. The figures, tables and appendices referred to are included in the Company’s market release dated November 20, 2018 which is available for download from www.perseusmining.com, www.asx.com.au and www.sedar.com.

Highlights:

  • Perseus Mining has increased exploration activities on its Edikan Gold Mine tenements aimed at extending the mine’s current six year mine life.
  • Drilling on the Esuajah Gap prospect between the Esuajah North and Esuajah South deposits, has discovered a significant mineralised granite body.
  • Based on results returned to date, the Esuajah Gap discovery exhibits similarities to both the Esuajah North and Esuajah South deposits. Esuajah South has an open pit Mineral Reserve, completed in 2016, of 391,000 ounces of gold, while prior to mining, Esuajah North’s Mineral Reserves totalled 475,000 ounces of gold.
  • Recent diamond drilling results include:
    • 26 metres at 1.11 g/t gold and 13.7 metres at 2.32 g/t gold in EGDD005
    • 29 metres at 1.21 g/t gold in EGDD006
    • 13 metres at 2.65 g/t gold and 29.5 metres at 1.44 g/t gold in EGDD007
  • The Esuajah Gap discovery resulted from a conceptual targeting exercise over the mine area and highlights the potential for further discoveries and is encouraging for the prospects of extending the mine life at Edikan.


  Managing Director Jeff Quartermaine Comments:

“We have become increasingly encouraged by the results from our recent Edikan exploration programme that has been aimed at extending the current six year mine life at Edikan. 

We now have sufficient data to delineate a cross section of the Esuajah Gap mineralisation that has revealed encouraging similarities to the Esuajah North and South ore bodies that flank the prospect.

The proximity of the Esuajah Gap discovery to the Esuajah South ore body, that contains 391,000 ounces of gold in open pit Proved and Probable Reserves that are not part of Edikan’s current Life of Mine Plan, opens up the possibility of a future joint development of the two deposits and a material extension to the life of mine.

Edikan was Perseus’s first gold mining operation. It commenced commercial production in January 2012 and since then, has recovered more than 1,400,000 ounces of gold. The Company is now aiming to extend the remaining six-year mine life by identifying additional Mineral Resources that can be processed through Edikan’s gold processing facility. Recent exploration drilling has identified significant granite-hosted gold mineralisation extending over 200m of strike length at the Esuajah Gap prospect, situated 250 metres southwest of the Company’s operating Esuajah North pit.

Esuajah Gap Drilling (Refer to Figures 1 & 2 and Table 1 for a list of significant intercepts)

Drilling commenced at Esuajah Gap during the June 2018 quarter as part of a systematic follow up of targets generated from a targeting exercise conducted at Edikan by consulting group Corporate Geoscience Group (“CGSG”) in late 2016. As reported in the Company’s June 2018 quarterly report, the initial drilling at Esuajah Gap was successful in intersecting a previously unknown granite body situated at depth between the Esuajah South and Esuajah North deposits, with drill hole EGRDD002 returning 96 metres grading 0.19 g/t gold from 430 metres downhole (approximately 350 metres vertical depth). Esuajah style mineralisation and alteration was intersected, comprising quartz-carbonate-sulphide veining with pervasive sericite–carbonate-pyrite +/- arsenopyrite alteration.

An additional seven diamond holes, EGDD001 to 007, have now been completed, with further intersections of mineralised granite at shallower depths and with better grades achieved in six of these holes, including (Refer to Figure 3).

EGDD001, drilled to intersect the up-plunge continuation of the EGRDD002 intersection, intersected mineralised granite from 295.5 metres downhole (~250 metres vertical depth) and returned 89 metres grading 1.18 g/t gold.  A similar pattern of high grade mineralisation occurring at higher levels in the host granite was also observed in the Esuajah North and South deposits.

EGDD002 and 004 were drilled to intersect the granite at similar depths to EGD001, but 50-60 metres along strike to the north and south respectively.  EGDD002 failed to intersect the granite and is interpreted to have passed beneath the keel of the steeply south plunging granite body.  EGDD004 deviated and achieved a deeper than planned intersection of 58.4 metres grading 0.75 g/t gold from 347.6 metres downhole.

EGDD003 was drilled down the interpreted axis of the granite body and initially intersected narrow intervals of mineralised granite before deviating to the west of the granite to cut variably altered and mineralised metasediments over most of its length, returning an intercept of 123 metres from surface grading 1.26 g/t gold. The intercept in EGDD003, which was deeply weathered to 100 metres downhole, opens the potential for shallow oxide mineralisation extending to the northeast.

Drill holes EGDD005, 006 and 007 were drilled to complete the EGDD001 section at shallower depths. Each of these holes intersected variable widths of granite within an envelope of altered and mineralised metasediments.  EGDD005 intersected two mineralised intervals; 26 metres grading 1.11 g/t from 41.8 metres downhole (oxide) and 13.7 metres grading 2.32 g/t gold from 88.3 metres downhole (fresh).  EGDD006, which undercut EGDD005, intersected 29.0 metres grading 1.21 g/t gold from 144 metres downhole. EGDD007, undercutting both EGDD005 and EGDD006, intersected two mineralised intervals; 13 metres grading 2.65 g/t gold from 146 metres downhole and 29.5 metres grading 1.44 g/t gold from 179.5 metres downhole.  The upper EGDD007 intersection was unusual in that it was contained within a large sulphide-rich quartz vein within metasediments, whereas the lower intersection was contained in heavily altered and quartz veined granite.

Structural studies on oriented drill core from the recent mineralised intersections indicate similar vein orientations and alteration parageneses to those observed in both the Esuajah North and South orebodies, so it is probable that emplacement of mineralisation into these granites was contemporaneous across the whole Esuajah area. It also appears likely that the newly discovered granite shares a similar steep south-westerly plunge to the two other bodies.

Drilling of further holes to investigate the near surface extensions of the Esuajah Gap granite is currently underway, with the mineralisation open along strike to the north east and south west. This discovery also opens up the potential to find similar larger granite bodies beneath mineralised but narrow granite dykes elsewhere in the Edikan district.

A complete summary of the recent Esuajah Gap drilling is included in Appendix A.

To discuss any aspect of this announcement, please contact:

Managing Director:                                      Jeff Quartermaine at telephone +61 8 6144 1700 or email jeff.quartermaine@perseusmining.com

General Manager BD & IR:                         Andrew Grove at telephone +61 8 6144 1700 or email andrew.grove@perseusmining.com

Media Relations:                                           Nathan Ryan at telephone +61 4 20 582 887 or email nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au

Competent Person Statement:
The information in this report and the attachments that relate to exploration drilling results from the Edikan Project is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by Dr Douglas Jones, a Competent Person who is a Chartered Professional Geologist. Dr Jones is the Group General Manager Exploration of the Company. Dr Jones has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’”) and to qualify as a “Qualified Person” under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”). Dr Jones consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

The information in this report that relates to the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates for the Edikan deposits was reported by the Company in compliance with the JORC Code 2012 and NI43-101 in a market announcement released on 20 April 2015, 19 April 2016 and 29 August 2018. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affect the information in that market release and that all material assumptions underpinning those estimates and the production targets, or the forecast financial information derived therefrom, continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company further confirms that material assumptions underpinning the estimates of Ore Reserves described in “Technical Report — Central Ashanti Gold Project, Ghana” dated 30 May 2011 continue to apply.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information:
This report contains forward-looking information which is based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made by the Company regarding, among other things: the price of gold, continuing commercial production at the Edikan Gold Mine and the Sissingué Gold Mine without any major disruption, development of a mine at Yaouré, the receipt of required governmental approvals, the accuracy of capital and operating cost estimates, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used by the Company. Although management believes that the assumptions made by the Company and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the actual market price of gold, the actual results of current exploration, the actual results of future exploration, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable.  Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company’s ability to carry on its exploration and development activities, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms.   Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.  Perseus does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.