PRU - Perseus Mining

[arminius]

i tend to have faith in people. the brains behind persus are included.
to my way of thinking, to consider spinning off K gold in the manner prescribed, they must be certain of an absolute truckload in africa. if i won a brand new audi s6 id be inclined to get rid of the v8 calias for cheap, even though the holdens a damn good car.

she'll be right.

 

[jman2007]

i tend to have faith in people. the brains behind persus are included.
to my way of thinking, to consider spinning off K gold in the manner prescribed, they must be certain of an absolute truckload in africa. if i won a brand new audi s6 id be inclined to get rid of the v8 calias for cheap, even though the holdens a damn good car.

she'll be right.

Not a bad analogy arminius,

I agree with most of what you are saying in principle, yes they are best known in the market for their African ventures and the huge discoveries they've been unearthing. I think the issue some of us have on this thread is the slight disdain PRU have shown their shareholders, especially the measley pro-rata entitlement they offered for shares in Manas. IMO, it could have been handled a lot better, i.e. a small bonus issue of shares, and/or some shares offered at a discounted price. The gesture would have been well recieved by PRU holders I'm sure.

Just my

 

[flyboy77]

Agreed, it should have been handled a LOT better.

Over confidence, arrogance, petulance perhaps........?

 

[JTLP]

So PRU had a high of 1.60 and are current sitting on 1.16. Where do people think from here, especially concerning the spin off?

Interesting to note an announcement from the ASX:
"20,732m of drilling has been completed in Ghana and Ivory Coast in the 35 days to November 30, including about 8,500m of core drilling. Nearly all results from this large amount of drilling are still pending."

That was on the 12th of December and still haven't come through. Also of note was today's announcement regarding the director purchasing more shares. Coincidence?

Looking to enter PRU soon, especially given there market cap, resource size and outlook. (hoping to produce gold when financially viable). "Ayanfuri as of Sept 2007 stood at 2.61Moz (indicated 637,500 oz; inferred 1,972,800 oz)." (thanks Jman2007).

Whats your thoughts on it Jman?

 

[jman2007]

So PRU had a high of 1.60 and are current sitting on 1.16. Where do people think from here, especially concerning the spin off?

Interesting to note an announcement from the ASX:
"20,732m of drilling has been completed in Ghana and Ivory Coast in the 35 days to November 30, including about 8,500m of core drilling. Nearly all results from this large amount of drilling are still pending."

That was on the 12th of December and still haven't come through. Also of note was today's announcement regarding the director purchasing more shares. Coincidence?

Looking to enter PRU soon, especially given there market cap, resource size and outlook. (hoping to produce gold when financially viable). "Ayanfuri as of Sept 2007 stood at 2.61Moz (indicated 637,500 oz; inferred 1,972,800 oz)." (thanks Jman2007).

Whats your thoughts on it Jman?

Hi JTLP,

Yes sp is a little soft atm, if I had some spare cash I might even consider buying some more shares. Although I am still resonably bullish re PRU's performance in 2008. Good point re the pending drilling results and one of the Directors increasing his interest...

Between Sept06 and Sept07 PRU spent A$12.7M on exploration, a fairly impressive figure considering their market cap. At Ayanfuri for instance, 2Moz has been discovered in the last 12 months alone, and to top it off, PRU are planning an overall 50% increase in exploration and infill drilling during 2008, to 160,000m! A huge amount... Back to Ayanfuri, bear in mind 4 rigs are now on site.

I'd also be keeping an eye on Tengrela in the Ivory coast as well, currently 619,000oz inferred resource. The Sissingue East prospect geologically speaking, lies just to the south and along strike from the 6.4Moz Syama mine. PRU are of the opinion that Sissingue overall could potentially host 3+Moz.

I am really looking forward to the detailed feasibilities for Ayanfuri and Grumesa and production timetables, due out some time this year??

Well that's my little snapshot for now
jman

 

[flyboy77]

"Reasonably bullish"?

The spin off aside, this company is RIPE, yes RIPE, for a takeover - tomorrow, next week, next month......

This is an (almost) unbelievable story. It was 1.60 back in late November with a LOT OF NEWS to come out - DRILL RESULTS - not spruik like many others. Today 1.05.

A drop of some 35%!!

Let's not forget the TSX Listing planned for February!

I do wish they'd shelve the spin off and capital raising - madness in the current state of market.....

 

[jman2007]

Lol flyboy!...

Mate I'm glad you are a perenial optimist, a lot of investors are having a good hard look at themselves in the mirror and wondering why they ever got involved in shares!! I'm barely keeping my head above water as well btw!... too scared to look at my commsec account 2day!

Agreed, PRU drilling results are keenly awaited, at 1.05 starting to look quite juicy for another entry, but in this current market you'd be thinking twice perhaps, pyschological barrier of 1.00 might provide a level of support.

jman

 

[flyboy77]

jman - PRU has got the gold in the ground. That's all that matters really.

I'm buying bits and pieces on the 'dips' (how low can Joe go?)

 

[jman2007]

Very interesting...

Reginald Norman Gillard, a PRU Director has picked himself up another nice packet of 400,000 (yes that's right!) fully paid ordinary shares. He held 10,000 shares prior to this.

Balcatta Boys Ltd also increased their holding to 112,500 ordinary shares up from 75,000. Gillard is also a Director in Balcatta Boys Ltd. I believe these are the lads who have spawned Contact Uranium (CGX) and who own the Corachapi deposit in Peru.

Thoughts anyone?.... imo something is going on, I'm not willing to speculate on takeover opportunites or anything like that, but I favour a pending market release by PRU.

jman

 

[JTLP]

If a director buys, there has to be a week inbetween ann's yes?

If that is the case, I will throw more money down perhaps on friday...being a cheeky boy and all

 

[jman2007]

If a director buys, there has to be a week inbetween ann's yes?

If that is the case, I will throw more money down perhaps on friday...being a cheeky boy and all

JTLP,

I am not 100% sure on the wording of the rules for the minimum time period between when a Director buys and a Company annoucement.

Can someone confirm this pls?...

Thanks
jman

 

[JTLP]

LOL...i guess there is no timing between ann's!!!

That was sneaky sneaky! Haha oh well the grades seem to be pretty good...Lets see PRU go up up and away!

 

[jman2007]

Well I saw that he made the transaction on the 18/01/08, so well outside the 1-week window. Still it's good to know that by piecing bits of info together investors at least have a chance of forming some kind of hypothesis.

2.4g/t in itself isn't a stunning grade (even though some companies would calling this "high grade" ore), but the fact that the hole returned 2.4g/t over 150m is very significant, extending the resource down plunge while still remaining open at depth. Looking good for similar plunging ore bodies along strike too.

jman

 

[jman2007]

Well hats of to Perseus,

The raising of another $10M is nothing spectaclar in itself imo, but the fact that they have some significant instituitional support is significant, albeit from current holders, especially given the market climate and the difficulties other juniors are facing.

Aussie TSX listings are going through an interesting time, I think Canadian/US investors will be much more analytical re who they invest in in 2008, and will prefer robust fundamentals and projects over "blue-sky" promises. I think PRU mangement are reasonably aware of this, and will be pushing for more "measured" and less "indicated" in their resource re-calulations at Grumesa and Ayanfuri. Extn and infill drillling underway now.

Must be hard work trotting around their leases without tripping over a drilling rig, they're hoping to mobilise over 10 in total in their West African projects. Hmmm, what I would give to be on the ground over there with PRU, perhaps I'll wrangle a trip to Africa one day!

jman

 

[vegemite]

Get set for more West African action
By Michael Quinn, 24 March 2008

FURTHER corporate action in West Africa could be triggered by Lihir Gold’s announced takeout of Equigold, with Gold Fields one of the majors that’s been actively canvassing opportunities in the region over the past six months. Juniors such as Perseus Mining and Gryphon Minerals could be the sorts to figure in the thoughts of those with M&A on their mind.Insiders say the South African-based major has been on the lookout for both companies and properties in Ghana, and, speaking from Russia, Gold Fields’ exploration and business development VP Tommy McKeith confirmed to HighGrade the company had been “tooling” up its Accra office in light of a “renewed effort in West Africa”.

McKeith said Gold Fields, which last year divested the advanced Essakane project in Burkina Faso and which had a major operating presence in the region with its Ghanaian Tarkwa and Damang operations, particularly liked the potential of Ghana and Mali. (In the latter it has a joint venture with Dublin-based Glencar Mining).

While McKeith unsurprisingly wouldn’t be drawn further, Australian Securities Exchange-listed Perseus would be one junior that would likely hold attraction to M&A predators. Its Ayanfuri project in Ghana is targeted to have more than four million ounces by the end of the year, with a new resource calculation due next month, a pre-feasibility out in June and a full feasibility completed by October.

Perseus managing director Mark Calderwood said while there were plenty of “tyre kickers” around, the company wasn’t interested in transactions at current price levels.

Perseus was this week capitalised at about $A150 million, about half its value according to Cormack Securities, with the Canadian broker writing a site visit note on the stock this week ahead of a possible Toronto listing aimed for in the first half of the year – though Calderwood said the company might only raise half the $C40-50 million it previously mooted, not because of lack of appetite he assured, but rather, recent trading price levels.

Significantly, Calderwood said Lihir Gold “wasn’t the only big Australian” taking a look in the region, though he declined to comment further. (Merrill Lynch this week cited Newcrest Mining as a possible counter-bidder for the $A1.1 billion-valued Equigold in reference to the Lihir transaction).
Other international heavyweights active in Ghana and elsewhere in West Africa include AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont Mining Corp, with Newmont’s initial scepticism of the region when it took over Normandy Mining earlier this decade now well and truly a bygone sentiment.

Aside from its major Ghana operations, Newmont is also a big shareholder in Gryphon Minerals, whose Banfora project in Burkina Faso continues to show big promise – as shown by hits like the 12m grading 8.66gpt from surface released this week.

Though it is early days, Banfora is seen as having potential to hold +5Moz (see HighGrade Jan 28-Feb 3 edition), with Gryphon this week capitalised at $A40 million.

A big shareholder in both Gryphon and Perseus is Macquarie Bank.

Canadian companies active in West Africa include Red Back Mining Inc (capitalised at $C1.5 billion), Golden Star Resources ($C920 million), Orezone Resources ($C550 million), Etruscan Resources ($C300 million), and High River Gold Mines ($C900 million).

London-listed Randgold Resources ($US3.8 billion) is another West African miner that insiders claim is taking a close look at its radar, with operational and development projects in Mali and Cote d’Ivoire, and an emerging prospect in Senegal. (Also working in Senegal is Melbourne-based Mineral Deposits, a $A400 million company currently in the throes of constructing an initial 200,000oz per annum gold mine as well as being the owner of an undeveloped Senegalese zircon project).

Meanwhile, Resolute Mining ($A600 million) is in the home straight redeveloping its Syama project in Ghana, a former Randgold asset that’s being comprehensively re-jigged and which is targeted to be in full production by year’s end at a rate of 250,000oz per annum. Resolute is also in joint venture with Etruscan on promising ground south of Syama.

Those that are active in West Africa don’t rule out changes to fiscal regimes and the like as a result of the activities of governments elsewhere in Africa and the world – particularly those gaining headlines at the moment in Central Africa.

However, the overriding point of the Lihir-Equigold transaction is that West Africa has re-emerged as the least risky region in the world for companies seeking the most significant growth opportunities in the gold sector. Credit Suisse summed the situation with its take on the Lihir deal.

“County risk aside, the Bonikro operation (owned by Equigold) and ground position shows significant potential for resource growth, reserve growth and production growth. This time around [compared to Lihir’s acquisition of Ballarat Goldfields] Lihir has acquired production and cash flow certainty and a significant exploration option. Given the very large and prospective ground position in the Ivory Coast controlled by Equigold, with 700km of strike exposure to the right rocks which host numerous world class deposits, we would not be surprised to see a competing offer.”

Similar sentiments on the potential for both the exploration and competing bids were expressed by other analysts.

“A key point that was emphasised when we met Equigold management earlier this week is the extensive and highly prospective tenements extending over 700km of strike in the Birrimian Greenstone Belt in Ivory Coast,” Merrill Lynch said. “This belt is highly productive, extending through West Africa, including the famous Ashanti mine in Ghana.

Arthur Hood, Lihir CEO, stated he would like to double or triple the $US8 million pa exploration budget for Ivory Coast. Equigold management beieves they already have an indicated 1Moz resource outside Bonikro’s 1.36Moz.”

 

[vegemite]

Have been tempted to add to my holdings recently with the price weakness, so these reports have pushed me to purchase a few more PRUO. Good luck to all,

Cheers, V

Blind find a wake-up call

By Michael Quinn, 24 March 2008

CANADIAN analysts have been impressed by a site visit to Perseus Mining’s flagship Ayanfuri gold project in Ghana, describing it as on the verge of being a world class discovery and noting the important implications of a recent exploration breakthrough made by the Australian-based junior.

Development studies at Ayanfuri are underway and set to be completed this year for a 200,000oz per annum project, though Cormack Securities’ analysts David Stein and Mike Kozak believe there is potential for the operation to be “much larger” over time.

Resources currently total 2.6 million ounces, with a new calculation due next month, while a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange has also been seriously mooted.

The Cormack analysts particularly highlighted the importance of a recent, blind AF Gap discovery.

“The market greeted the discovery of the AF Gap zone in late 2007 as yet another small zone, where Perseus quickly collected a resource of 421,000oz,” Stein and Kozak said. “However, we now believe that it may be more important. AF Gap represents the first significant blind discovery on the property and opens up the potential for more similar zones. The other major zones in the resource were previous openpits that Perseus has extended at depth and along strike, which were originally found with geochemistry and RAB and RC drilling. AF Gap had a subtle geochemical signature and hence was never drilled by prior operators, yet it has become perhaps the best deposit in terms of overall size and grade.”

The analysts point out that like most of the other zones, AF Gap is hosted in granite situated on a regional SW trend.

“The granite hosted the gold deposits in Abnabna, Fobinso and AF Gap is like the same unit. However, the mineralisation is not uniform, creating zones of economic mineralisation with lower grade and thinner zones in between,” they said. “While the AF regional structure appears so far to be richly mineralised (total resource of almost 1Moz in only 1.5km of strike), at least two other parallel structures have been identified … (and) on each of the three identified mineralised trends, Perseus has 15-20km of strike length, mostly to the SW to explore.”

The Mampon target was cited by the Cormack analysts as a demonstration of that concept. At Mampon, located about 1.5km south-west of the edge of the Abnabna zone, Perseus hit one highly encouraging hole of 10m grading 14gpt, as well as thicker zones of low grade.

“At first glance, the geology encountered at Mampon is not ideal, the zones of granite are much skinnier than in the AF area, however, the rich mineralisation suggests that Perseus may be close to another find,” Stein and Kozak said. “The strike length of AF Gap on surface is only 200m, and it could contain 500,000oz, so we see excellent potential for more zones over time.”

The Cormack analysts also suggested an important similarity to Red Back Mining’s Chirano mine to the west.

“The largest gold deposits are hosted by intrusive rocks (called ‘granites’ at Ayanfuri), which are mixed with the regional package of sedimentary rocks,” the analysts said. “While gold deposits are also found in the sediments, the granites tend to be broadly mineralised and gold deposited at depth is expected to be free-milling ore (based on existing metallurgical tests), rather than the refractory sulphide ore that are so common in the Ashanti Belt.”

Perseus, which also holds the nearby Grumesa project and the Tengrela project in northern Cote d’Ivoire, was this week capitalised at about $A150 million. The company raised $10 million earlier this month – half from established shareholder Macquarie Bank – having begun 2008 with $A7.4 million.

 

[jman2007]

Have been tempted to add to my holdings recently with the price weakness, so these reports have pushed me to purchase a few more PRUO. Good luck to all

.

Hi vegemite,

Yes I'm not overly surprised to learn of a mooted M&A interest from outside parties...expecially at the current sp levels. The AF Gap breakthough sounds like it was well recieved by analysts and investors in the stock, the Canadians in particular seem rather bulish that the Ayanfuri resource recalulation due out soon will deliver some substansial resource upgrades as well.

I saw these two articles you posted on Highgrade this morning, you may want to run it by Joe (site administrator) re the legitimacy of posting articles that other people pay a subscription for, as I think he is trying to crack down in this kind of thing due to copyright violations etc...

Cheers
jman

 

[Sean K]

Some very nice intercepts here, not too far from surface.

Wide Drill Intercepts

Tengrela Gold Project, Ivory Coast

Highlights
• Wide-spaced diamond drilling has intercepted extensive gold mineralisation at the Sissingue prospect to depths of at least 180m vertical.
• Hole SD003 intercepted 142.5m at 1.8g/t Au from 76.5m including 68m at 2.7g/t Au.
• Hole SD006 intercepted 105.5m at 1.9g/t Au from 54m including 77m at 2.4g/t Au.
• High grade sub-intervals from SD003 included 4m at 27.6g/t, 2m at 10g/t and 1m at 23.5g/t Au while sub-intervals from SD006 included 9m at 6.3g/t, 10m at 3.1g/t and 1m at 12.2g/t Au.

Looks pretty prospective, will be interesting to see if the higher grades can be replicated.

 

[jman2007]

Some nice results just released,

A new Greenfields discovery at Ayanfuri, called Poku. Grades were reported as 24m @ 24.3g/t from 48m, very nice ....

Sample quality looks good, so we can probably discount smearing of grades (which can happen if the RC samples are wet). This wont be included in the Ayanfuri resource upgrade due out by the end of the month, but the upside looks very exciting when you consider the number of untested anomalies around Ayanfuri.

The market seems to have reacted strongly to the news, up 11c so far today.

Cheers
jman

 

[flyboy77]

Resource upgrade due at Ayanfuri within 2 weeks?

May well be part of the quarterly report but my guess is that it will justify a stand alone ASX release....

Question is how big will the number be and will it finally get the market attention that this story warrants!