Central Ashanti Gold Project "CAGP" (formerly Ayanfuri Gold Project).
Perseus holds 650sq km of tenements centred on the Ashanti Gold Belt, including the 122sqkm CAGP situated 25-65km south-west of the 60 million ounce Obuasi gold deposit.
Reserves and Resources
After acquiring an option over the CAGP in May 2006, Perseus increased gold resources from 200,000oz to 14Moz measured and indicated resources and 11Moz inferred resources by April 2009. The project has significant upside for further resource growth. A detailed feasibility study completed in July 2009 estimated:
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initial proven and probable gold reserves of 2.13 million ounces;
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production averaging 220,000oz p.a. in the first four years;
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cash costs (including government royalties) of US$494 per ounce.
This feasibility study was based on mining three of the eight resource areas at CAGP. Drilling is under way to enable completion of a phase 2 feasibility study upgrade, which will include all of the CAGP deposits.
Setting
The CAGP area is underlain by Birimian metasediments and metavolcaniclastics which are intruded by intermediate granitoids. The adjoining Reconnaissance Licences cover a broader section of Ashanti belt lithologies including Birimian metasediments, metavolcaniclastics, volcanics and Tarkwaian epiclastics and intrusives.
Gold mineralisation at CAGP occurs in quartz veins, stringers, stockworks and is disseminated in:
1. altered metagranodiorite intrusive bodies; and
2. typical "Ashanti" style shear zones within metavolcaniclastics.
The historical Ayanfuri gold mine produced over 300,000oz of gold from a shallow oxide heap leach operation which commenced in 1994. 23 shallow pits were mined, with most production from six granitoid intrusive orebodies ranging from 200m to 500m long and 30m to 120m wide.
