Perseus Mining - Rapidly Expanding Gold Growth Story

• Perseus Mining Chairman & CEO Jeff Quartermaine discusses the company's growth plans and outlook for the gold market
• Perseus is expanding production and mine life at its West Africa operations and developing the newly acquired Nyanzaga project in Tanzania
• Nyanzaga acquisition provides growth potential; Perseus plans to expand throughput and mine life beyond previous owner's plans
• Perseus has entered a cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia's investment conglomerate Ajlan Brothers to jointly explore and develop projects in the prolific Arabian-Nubian Shield
• Maintaining strong operational performance at existing mines remains the core focus for Perseus

As gold prices soar to $2,400 per ounce, Perseus Mining (ASX/TSX:PRU) finds itself in an enviable position. The mid-tier West African gold producer is firing on all cylinders - expanding production at its existing operations, developing a major new project in Tanzania, and partnering with Saudi Arabia's largest conglomerate to explore one of the world's most prospective and underexplored gold regions.

In a wide-ranging interview, Chairman and CEO Jeff Quartermaine laid out Perseus' multipronged strategy to take advantage of buoyant gold prices and grow into a leading international gold miner. With a robust balance sheet, experienced management team, and growth initiatives gaining momentum, Perseus presents a compelling opportunity for investors seeking exposure to rising gold prices through a dynamic, well-managed producer.

Interview with Chairman & CEO, Jeff Quartermaine

Riding the Gold Bull

While reluctant to forecast gold's trajectory, Quartermaine sees underlying support for prices from economic and geopolitical uncertainty.

"There's certainly concern out there about the state of security and the global economies. Those are things that all seem to point to higher precious metals prices."

Regardless of the gold price outlook, Quartermaine emphasized that Perseus' focus remains on being a low-cost producer.

"What drives our business is producing gold at the lowest possible cost..."

Undervalued Despite Strengths

Criticism has been levelled at Perseus in the past, given its African operating base and history of short mine lives, but the company responded by acquiring two additional projects. Quartermaine now believes this perception discount is outdated and unwarranted. He listed Perseus' strengths: its growing scale as a top 15 global gold producer, high-quality portfolio, strong cash flows, promising growth pipeline, and talented management team and workforce.

Perseus has worked diligently to address investor concerns head-on, particularly with the acquisitions in Côte d'Ivoire (Yaouré) and Tanzania (Nyanzaga) with 10-15-year mine lives. "Progressively, we are upgrading the quality of our asset portfolio...soon we will have a very dark, black tick in that box."

Nyanzaga: The Growth Engine

Perseus' acquisition of the Nyanzaga gold project in Tanzania from OreCorp is the centrepiece of its growth strategy. Quartermaine effused about Nyanzaga's potential to become a long-life, high-volume operation that exceeds expectations. "Nyanzaga could be a lot better than people expected it to be, just like when we bought Yaouré and there were a lot of naysayers."

While OreCorp laid solid groundwork, Quartermaine sees opportunities to expand Nyanzaga's scale and economics. Over the next 6-8 months, Perseus will conduct infill drilling to boost the resource, complete engineering and design work, and advance resettlement. The company targets its first production in 2025.

"We're looking at spending similar amounts of capital to OreCorp, just spending it on different things," Quartermaine explained. "They looked at an underground mine; we're looking at a larger open pit and expanded plant throughput." He estimated capex at $450-500 million, but sees potential for savings. "We've got enough money to pay for it on the balance sheet today, but obviously if we spend less, that's a plus."

Arabian Frontier

Perseus recently forged a landmark alliance with Ajlan & Bros Mining & Metals Company, the mining division of a Kingdom of Saudi Arabia based investment conglomerate company, Ajlan Brothers, to jointly explore and develop projects in the underexplored Arabian-Nubian Shield. Quartermaine believes the partnership is a potential game-changer.

"Geologically, this region is amazingly prolific but hasn't been explored due to dubious geopolitics," he remarked. Working with a respected Saudi group gives us confidence in having a different relationship and better cultural understanding with host countries. It brings together a lot of important attributes—our experience and capability with their funding, ambition, and geopolitical air cover."

The Ajlan tie-up notably covers Sudan (along with other northern African countries, such as Algeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Egypt), where Perseus is earning a 70% stake in the promising Meyas Sand Gold project. Quartermaine hinted the partners could join forces to develop Meyas, reducing Perseus' sole risk. More broadly, he sees the partnership as a major value creation lever for Perseus: "This could be a case of 2 and 2 equals 6 rather than 4 or 5."

Existing Operations Remain the Key

While these growth initiatives get investors excited, Quartermaine stressed that delivering from current mines remains job #1. "If we don't operate and deliver to plan, all the rest becomes somewhat academic."

He highlighted initiatives to extend mine lives at the Edikan and Sissingué mines in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire beyond their stated reserves. These include near-mine exploration on newly acquired permits, cost management to process lower-grade ore, and expanding pits using higher gold price assumptions. At Edikan, for example, Perseus is pushing to extend the mine life from 5 to 10 years.

"We're not bad at converting resources into reserves," Quartermaine quipped, noting Perseus' track record of growing mine lives. "As a company, we want to extend asset lives. And our employees, as providers for their families, want to keep their jobs longer. So we're all similarly motivated."

Investment Thesis for Perseus Mining

• Leveraged exposure to rising gold prices through an established, low-cost West African producer with a strong growth pipeline
• Nanzaga project offers the potential to boost production and mine life at attractive economics significantly; catalyst-rich with engineering, resource drilling and construction milestones over the next 2 years
• Strategic partnership with Saudi mining group Alsalam provides a unique opportunity to unlock value in the underexplored Arabian-Nubian Shield; potential to joint venture Sudan development
• Initiatives in place to extend mine lives at existing Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire operations through exploration, mine plan optimization and pit expansions
• Attractive valuation with potential for re-rating as growth projects de-risked and perception gaps close; strong balance sheet and cash flows support growth initiatives

Perseus Mining offers investors a compelling opportunity to gain leveraged exposure to the rising gold price through a disciplined, well-managed producer with a robust growth pipeline. With its newly-acquired Nanzaga project in Tanzania and landmark exploration alliance with Saudi Arabia's Ajlan group, Perseus is positioning itself for transformational growth over the next few years. At the same time, the company remains focused on optimizing its existing Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire mines to extend mine lives and maintain a low-cost base. With a strong balance sheet, proven management team, and strategic initiatives gathering momentum, Perseus appears poised to re-rate higher and emerge as an industry leader in the gold bull market.