Modern Mining January 2019

MINING News

Lycopodium awarded Yaouré contract Lycopodium reports it has been awarded the engineering and supply contract for Perseus Mining’s Yaouré gold proj- ect in Côte d’Ivoire. The award is subject to finalisation of the formal contract documentation, full project funding and receipt by Perseus of its exploitation per- mit. Contract revenue is expected to be US$95,1 million. ance of approximately 8 %) to develop the project. Yaouré, which be an open-pit mine (although there is underground poten- tial), will have a 3,3 Mt/a plant with average annual gold production of

215 000 ounces at an AISC of US$734/oz for the first five years of production. First production is expected in late 2020. The project is located in a rural area on the southern edge of Lake Kossou, 35 km north-west of the capital Yamoussoukro and 25 km east-north-east of the city of Bouaflé in central Côte d’Ivoire. „

Nedbank mandated for Fungoni financing ASX-listed Strandline Resources reports it has taken another significant step towards becoming a minerals sands producer by signing a Lead Arranger mandate with Nedbank Limited (Nedbank CIB) to act as a lead arranger and underwriter of a US$26 million finance facility for its Fungoni project in Tanzania.

The new contract continues Perseus’ association with Lycopodium, following the successful delivery of the Sissingué gold project (also in Côte d’Ivoire) and completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) and Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) for Yaouré. Perseus announced in October last year that a value engineering assessment (VEA) and the front-end engineering and design (FEED) study for Yaouré had been completed. These confirmed the cost esti- mates in Yaouré’s October 2017 DFS. The DFS estimated a capital cost of US$264 million (including a contingency allow-

technical, financial, legal and environmental and social due diligence, which are targeted for completion by the end of the March quarter 2019. With key mining and environment licences in place, 100 % of the product pre-sold via offtake, strong government support, an EPC contract now executed and due diligence underway with Nedbank CIB, Strandline says it is well positioned to com- mercialise its first project in Tanzania. The Fungoni DFS confirmed the project will deliver strong financial returns, includ- ing EBITDA of US$115 million. „

The facility accounts for the majority of Fungoni’s total estimated development capital cost of US$32 million. Nedbank CIB has already commenced the detailed due-diligence process. The facility remains conditional upon docu- mentation and satisfactory completion of

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