(Ecofin Agency) - Mining firm Perseus Mining plans to produce its first gold at its Sissingué project, in Cote d’Ivoire, in December 2017. This was revealed in the firm’s quarterly update, in which Perseus also announced its plans to develop the project on a large scale.

The $100 million project should produce 385,000 oz of gold, at $632/oz for 5.25 years, after first production. Also, the project will have a post-tax internal profitability rate of 27%, at an average price of $1,200/oz.

The firm also said negotiations with a “highly considered entrepreneur” were well advanced for an engineering, procurement and contracting (ECP) contract. This contract stipulates that works on the site will start in the current quarter.

Perseus also provided operational update for its Edikan (Ghana) and Yaouré (Cote d’Ivoire) projects. At Edikan, it produced 77,208 oz of gold, from January to June, a result that exceeds, slightly, April’s revised forecast of 75,000 oz. Moreover, the company plans to start a 42,000 m drilling program, in the third week of July 2016.

Perseus Mining is listed in the Toronto stock exchange, TSX, and also in the Australian market, ASX.

Louis-Nino Kansoun