Page 5 - pd292-Apr21-mag-web

neWs

Solid gold

built from

solid assets

got there at the moment. Unless you
have an event that specifically creates
volume then I think we are just going to
have to be patient.”
A total of 395,136oz gold @ AISC of
$1,074/oz from Syama sulphide and
oxide (Mali) and Mako (Senegal) was
Resolute’s production profile in 2020,
The Perth Mint manager of business development and industry research Cameron with guidance for 2021 being 350,000-
Alexander was on hand to present Perseus Mining managing director Jeff Quartermaine 375,000oz at a forecast AISC between
with the 2020 GMJ Miner of the Year Award alongside Paydirt editor Dominic Piper $1,200-1,275/oz, inclusive of corporate
overheads.
After divesting Ravenswood, Resolute
aving turned the company’s fortunes is an ongoing question but there is no
Haround in these past few years, Per- doubt about Quartermaine’s thoughts on is in a good position to pay down debt
seus Mining Ltd managing director Jeff the matter. (net debt of $230 million, according to
Quartermaine is well versed in what it “It doesn’t matter where you are listed; 2020 financial results), while its operat-
takes to run a successful gold mining it is all about performance,” Quarter- ing cash flow of $199 million also stiffens
business. maine told the 150-strong crowd at the its balance sheet. The situation will im-
Best-in class ESG principles, high- March iteration of Paydirt Unlocked in prove further if it can offload its Bibiani
quality staff, access to finance and fa- Perth. The panel featured Perseus, West gold project in Ghana.
vourable market conditions are criteria African Resources Ltd (WAF) and Reso- An aim of reducing debt by $150 mil-
Quartermaine points to as the pillars of lute Mining Ltd. lion, an exploration budget of $17 mil-
Perseus’ success. However, underwrit- “The connection to London as the lion and further improvements at Syama
ing it all is a solid asset base. preferred home from a West African make the to-do list for Resolute this year,
Perseus has that in spades and is soon perspective is based on the fact of be- as will the role of chief executive with
to become a 500,000 ozpa gold produc- ing in the same time zone and that Aus- Gale still serving in an interim capacity,
er in West Africa thanks to its Sissingue tralia and Canada have industries in their six months after John Welborn left the
(northern Cote d’Ivoire), Yaoure (central backyard [while the UK doesn’t]. Howev- company.
Cote d’Ivoire) and Edikan (Ghana) mines. er, people will come where there is qual- Once leadership matters are resolved,
The three operations accounted for ity and they will change to where there the Resolute chief executive will need to
NPAT of $49.1 million from production of is quality.” outline the company’s growth strategy
137,386/oz at $US1,000/oz AISC in the Resolute added an LSE listing to its and inevitably the subject of M&A will
company’s December half-year results. ASX base two years ago, a move which rear.
Results from the latest reporting period coincided with its plans to exit Raven- Resolute has shown flair to back explo-
are consistent with the positive trajec- swood in Queensland and transition into ration companies across Africa with sig-
tory Perseus has been on since 2017; a a purely African-centric play. nificant stakes in Orca Gold Inc (15.4%,
timeframe in which the company’s stock The weight of interest from an LSE Sudan), Oklo Resources Ltd (10.8%,
has appreciated more than 400% to the perspective is yet to arrive for Resolute, Mali), Manas Resources Ltd (24.7%,
pleasure of its global followers. however, interim chief executive Stuart Cote d’Ivoire) and Loncor Resources
Despite a single listing on the ASX, Gale believes the strategy will bear fruit Inc (26.4%, DRC) demonstrating the ap-
Perseus has built a worldwide following, in time. petite it has for scouring opportunities
with 40% of its registry taken up by the “It made a whole lot of sense and still across the continent.
US-based investment community, 30% does, but you still have to crack that mar- While only 12 months into production at
in UK and more broadly across Europe, ket and that has been one of the chal- its Sanbrado gold mine in Burkina Faso,
while interest domestically largely ac- lenges in the last couple of years; to re- the seamless transition from developer
counts for the remaining share of the ally create the liquidity in those markets,” to producer means Richard Hyde’s WAF
register. Gale said. is also in the thick of M&A conversations.
Which exchange offers African-fo- “I expect to see liquidity improve on the Hyde is focused on ensuring year
cused companies the best exposure LSE over a period of time, but it hasn’t two production at Sanbrado – guid-
ance of 250,000-280,000oz @ AISC

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