en.Wedoany.com Reported - Perseus Mining (ASX:PRU) has committed $34 million to drilling at its Yaouré gold mine project in Côte d'Ivoire, supporting reserve reconciliation and expansion driven by underground development progress.
In the six months to March 2026, metal production from the Yaouré open pit exceeded the reserve model by 24%, with grade control drilling identifying additional mineralized zones. The CMA underground operation has transitioned to production, with initial stoping commencing in late April 2026. Perseus set a development record of 1,598 meters in the March quarter and mobilized a third jumbo to increase future ore delivery volumes.
Managing Director Craig Jones stated that Yaouré continues to demonstrate its value as a cornerstone asset in the portfolio, and the successful transition of CMA underground to stoping reflects the internal team's strength in safely and on-schedule executing complex underground development. He also noted that the Yaouré open pit is performing well, with gold production exceeding the reserve model by over 20%, and drilling continues to identify new mineralized zones at depth and along strike.
This positive reserve reconciliation trend stems from additional mineralization identified through grade control drilling. In the March quarter, reconciliation from ore reserves to the mill showed a 149% increase in tonnage, a minor 93% difference in grade, and a 139% increase in contained gold. Recent drilling highlights at the Yaouré open pit include: hole YRC3364 intersected 8 meters at 7.35 g/t gold (Au) from 126 meters, including 3 meters at 18.7 g/t gold; hole YRC3367 intersected 2 meters at 15.19 g/t gold from 40 meters. CMA underground extensional drilling results show hole YDD0713 intersected 13.9 meters at 2.65 g/t gold from 742.5 meters, including 4.5 meters at 4.49 g/t gold; hole YDD0714 intersected 17.25 meters at 2.23 g/t gold from 620.75 meters. Outside the mine boundary, hole YRC3423 in southwest CMA intersected 40 meters at 2.26 g/t gold from 92 meters, including 16 meters at 4.59 g/t gold from 97 meters.
Since the initial ore reserve of 1.52 million ounces, Yaouré has achieved a 76% ore reserve replacement rate, maintaining 1.444 million ounces despite mining depletion of 1.24 million ounces. Continued exploration success has extended the mine life from the initial 9 years to 15 years. This $34 million drilling program will complete approximately 123 kilometers of resource definition, geotechnical, and metallurgical drilling across the project, focusing on converting inferred resources to indicated resources. An updated ore reserve report will be released in August 2026. Perseus Mining is an African gold producer with operating mines in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and a development project in Burkina Faso.
