Perseus Mining Sells Sudan Gold Interest for US$260M, Sharpens Focus on Nyanzaga & African Core

• Perseus Mining has agreed to sell its 70% group interest in the Meyas Sand Gold Project (MSGP) in Sudan for a total cash consideration of US$260 million, with transaction completion scheduled for April 2026.
• The divestment proceeds will further strengthen a balance sheet that already held US$755 million in net cash and bullion as of December 2025, supporting a five-year capital expenditure programme of over US$800 million that the company confirms can be funded entirely from existing cash resources.
• The Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania is advancing on time and within budget, with critical path ball and semi-autogenous grinding mill fabrication ahead of schedule, first gold targeted for early 2027, and a 4.04 million ounce ore reserve underpinning a 16-year mine life.
• Perseus's three producing mines delivered a notional cash flow of US$301 million for the half year to December 2025 at a cash margin of US$1,592 per ounce, with a three-year average earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 59.3% against an Australian Securities Exchange gold peer median of 42.7%.
• The CMA Underground Project at the Yaouré Gold Mine in Côte d'Ivoire reached first ore production from the Blika portal in January 2026, with commercial production scheduled for the third quarter of fiscal year 2027 (FY27), providing access to higher-grade material to optimise the Yaouré processing facility.

Meyas Sand Divestment Redirects Resources to the Core Development Pipeline

Perseus Mining announced in March 2026 that it had entered into a Share Purchase Agreement to sell its 70% group interest in the Meyas Sand Gold Project (MSGP) in Sudan to Hong Kong Matrix Golden Fortune Mining Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Matrix Resources (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., for a total cash consideration of US$260 million. A deposit of US$10 million was received upon signing, with the remaining US$250 million payable on completion, scheduled for April 2026. Zhejiang Lygend Investment Co., Ltd., the ultimate parent of the Matrix Group, guarantees the buyer's obligations.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Perseus Mining, Craig Jones, commented on the strategic rationale:

"Perseus maintains the view that the MSGP is a high-quality gold project. The sale represents an important step for Perseus in its portfolio optimisation and allows allocation of resources to core assets and its growth strategy."

Perseus originally acquired the MSGP through the 100% purchase of Orca Gold Inc. in May 2022, and following a review of development and divestment options, concluded that the protracted armed conflict in Sudan had materially limited its ability to progress the project at a suitable scale. The sale price ensures Perseus recovers both its acquisition cost and subsequent project expenditure with a positive return. Because the resource and reserve estimates were classified as a foreign estimate under applicable reporting standards, the transaction will not affect the company's reported group Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) resource and reserve figures.

Cash-Generative Operations Support the Capital Deployment Cycle

Perseus’s funding case rests on a debt-free balance sheet and internally generated cash flow. As of December 2025, the company held US$755 million in net cash and bullion, with total liquidity of US$1.2 billion, including a US$400 million undrawn revolving credit facility arranged through a consortium of eight international banks. Management has stated that the full five-year capital expenditure programme of more than US$800 million can be funded entirely from existing cash resources, with the MSGP proceeds adding further capacity ahead of the primary construction phase at Nyanzaga.

 As Jones put it:

"The five-year outlook had well over $800 million of capital expenditure over the next five years, and we've got over $800 million of money in the bank. We're covering our costs at the same time as having some headroom as well."

That balance sheet is supported by three cash-generative mines. Yaouré, Sissingué, and Edikan produced 188,841 ounces in the half year to December 2025 at an all-in site cost of US$1,649 per ounce against an average realised gold price of US$3,241 per ounce, generating a cash margin of US$1,592 per ounce and notional cash flow of US$301 million. Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) was US$315.5 million, profit after tax was US$185.5 million, and operating cash flow was US$193.4 million on revenue of US$608.5 million. Full fiscal year 2026 guidance is reaffirmed at 400,000 to 440,000 ounces at a group all-in site cost of US$1,600 to US$1,760 per ounce.

Operationally, all three assets are in scheduled source transitions expected to improve unit costs through the second half of fiscal year 2026 (FY26). Yaouré has moved from the exhausted CMA open pit to the lower-grade Yara pit, with the transition to higher-grade underground feed addressed separately under the CMA Underground Project. Edikan is advancing into the higher-grade Enkasura pit following the resolution of access constraints, while Sissingué is transitioning to the higher-grade Bagoé (Antoinette) deposit. That performance is also reflected in peer comparisons: Perseus’s three-year average EBITDA margin of 59.3% compares with 42.7% for ASX peers and 42.9% for international peers; three-year average EBITDA per ounce of US$1,237 stands above the ASX peer median of US$904; and return on capital employed of 20.3% compares with 8.3% for ASX peers and 5.0% for international peers.

Nyanzaga Construction: Critical Path Items Ahead of Schedule

The Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania holds a 4.04 million-ounce ore reserve and a 4.71 million-ounce mineral resource, supported by a 73% ore reserve increase announced in February 2026 that extended the mine life to 16 years. The project is designed to produce more than 200,000 ounces per annum for 14 consecutive years from FY28 through FY41, at an average all-in site cost of US$1,621 per ounce (modelled at a US$ 3,000-per-ounce gold price).

Earthworks for the processing facilities and infrastructure are complete, concrete works for the ball mill, semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill, and crusher foundations are progressing, and fabrication of the critical path ball mills and SAG mills is running ahead of schedule. A contract has been awarded for the permanent power line and transformer, and the construction schedule tracks through ore delivery to the crushed ore stockpile in December 2026. First gold is targeted for early 2027.

Jones confirmed the project's status:

"The Nyanzaga project's progressing very well on time on budget, which is what we like, and we're looking at ramp-up gold production in January 2027, and everything's heading on track for that at the moment."

CMA Underground Extends Yaouré Into Higher-Grade Material

The CMA Underground Project at the Yaouré Gold Mine in Côte d'Ivoire, Perseus's first underground operation in the country, reached 800 metres of combined development across four decline portals by December 2025, with surface infrastructure complete and US$44.8 million incurred. First ore was mined from the Blika portal in January 2026, and commercial production is targeted for the third quarter of fiscal year 2027.

The project accesses higher-grade ore beneath the former CMA open pit, which is no longer accessible by surface methods. While underground unit costs exceed open-pit rates, the selective mining method and higher-grade feed progressively offset those costs at the Yaouré processing facility. Management confirmed that all underground cost parameters are incorporated within the study work, with no surprises to date.

Ore Reserve Growth Through Organic Exploration

Perseus's group ore reserve of 6.69 million ounces has been built substantially through drill-bit growth at each operating asset since the original investment decision. Mine life extensions from the original study baseline illustrate the track record: Yaouré from 9 years to 16 years (77%), Sissingué from 6 years to 12 years (100%), Edikan from 10 years to 20 years (100%), and Nyanzaga from 11 years to 16 years (45.5%). The company has not missed annual group production guidance since commencing multi-mine operations.

At the asset level, Yaouré holds a 1.44 million-ounce ore reserve over a 12-plus-year mine life; Edikan carries 0.98 million ounces over more than 7 years; and Sissingué holds 0.23 million ounces over approximately 5 years. The February 2026 reserve update followed ongoing exploration drilling that management had flagged as producing encouraging results, and management has indicated that further drilling continues.

Perseus also holds a 17.8% equity interest in Predictive Discovery Limited, the owner of the Bankan Gold Project in Guinea, which carries a 2.95 million-ounce ore reserve and a 4.14 million-ounce mineral resource. Perseus's initial investment of A$99.58 million had grown to approximately A$417.8 million in value as of February 2026.

Capital Returns Maintained Alongside Major Capital Expenditure

Perseus's capital management framework ranks priorities in sequence: optimising operating cash flow with all stakeholder commitments funded; maintaining balance sheet resilience, including a minimum 1% annual dividend yield; and allocating discretionary capital to asset optimisation, organic growth, and shareholder returns through special dividends or buybacks.

The interim dividend for the first half of FY26 was doubled to 5.0 Australian cents per share from 2.5 Australian cents per share for the same period in FY25, with an A$100 million share buyback programme renewed for the year. The US$260 million in MSGP proceeds have been flagged by the company as supporting consideration of further capital returns to shareholders alongside the active construction programmes at Nyanzaga and CMA Underground.

The Investment Thesis for Perseus Mining

• Perseus Mining has divested the Meyas Sand Gold Project for US$260 million, generating a positive return while removing exposure to the operational risks of the Sudan conflict and redirecting capital and management resources to the Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania and the CMA Underground Project in Côte d'Ivoire.
• The producing portfolio generated notional cash flow of US$301 million in the half year to December 2025, with a three-year average earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation margin of 59.3%, materially above the Australian Securities Exchange gold peer median of 42.7% and the international peer median of 42.9%.
• The Nyanzaga Gold Project holds a 4.04 million ounce ore reserve supporting more than 200,000 ounces per annum for 14 consecutive years at an average all-in site cost of US$1,621 per ounce (modelled at a US$3,000 per ounce gold price), with critical path mill fabrication running ahead of schedule and first gold targeted for early 2027.
• The CMA Underground Project at Yaouré reached first ore production in January 2026 and targets commercial production in the third quarter of fiscal year 2027, providing higher-grade feed to offset declining open-pit grades at the Yaouré processing facility.
• Perseus holds total liquidity of US$1.2 billion, carries zero debt, and has confirmed that its five-year capital expenditure programme of over US$800 million can be funded entirely from existing cash, without requiring external financing.
• The company doubled its interim dividend to 5.0 Australian cents per share for the first half of fiscal year 2026, renewed an A$100 million share buyback programme, and has flagged the Meyas Sand proceeds as supporting further capital return consideration, demonstrating that the growth programme and shareholder distributions are being funded simultaneously.

Perseus enters a defined capital deployment phase with two projects advancing concurrently, both on schedule and within budget. The financial capacity to fund construction internally while maintaining shareholder returns reduces execution risk considerably. Reserve replacement through organic drilling has extended mine lives beyond original projections at every operating asset, providing a credible production baseline that extends well into the next decade.

TL;DR

Perseus Mining is selling its MSGP in Sudan for US$260 million, recovering costs and generating a positive return. Proceeds will support two development projects: Nyanzaga Gold Project, Tanzania (targeting first gold in early 2027, with mill fabrication ahead of schedule) and CMA Underground Project, Côte d'Ivoire (achieved first ore in January 2026, targeting commercial production in the third quarter of fiscal year 2027). The three producing mines generated US$301 million in notional cash flow at US$1,592 per ounce in the second half of 2025. The company holds US$755 million in net cash and bullion (US$1.2 billion in total liquidity, zero debt) and can fund over US$800 million in its five-year capital expenditure programme from existing cash. The interim dividend was doubled to 5.0 Australian cents per share, and the A$100 million share buyback programme was renewed.

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