Development of Perseus Mining’s third gold mine, Yaouré, in Côte d’Ivoire, is ramping up with the award of a mining services contract to EPSA Internacional SA.

The announcement comes shortly after Australia- and Canada-listed Perseus signed the mining convention for the $265 million project.

EPSA, a privately-owned, global earthmoving and mining contractor headquartered in Spain, provides a range of mining, civil works and earthmoving services to a bluechip list of mining clients located in 15 countries, according to Perseus. The company employs around 4,000 and has nearly 1,600 pieces of equipment available for deployment.

The mining services contract will run for a period of 65 months commencing on November 1, 2020, and envisages the movement of approximately 170 Mt of material, including 27 Mt of ore containing more than 1.5 Moz of gold, Perseus said.

EPSA is expected to commence mobilising equipment to site in the March 2020 quarter, after which it will employ and train a predominantly Ivorian workforce in preparation for the formal commencement of the contract later in the year, according to Perseus.

Perseus’s Managing Director and CEO, Jeff Quartermaine said the company was “delighted” to be working with EPSA, “an international mining company of true substance, whose client list currently includes major gold mining companies such as Newmont Goldcorp, Agnico Eagle and Yamana Gold”.

To win this contract, EPSA competed in a highly competitive tender process involving eight very good mining contractors, according to Quartermaine.

“As well as offering a competitive price, EPSA currently has equipment available for immediate mobilisation and has a proven track record of establishing greenfield mining sites in jurisdictions where employment and training of personnel from local catchment communities is a priority.”

When Yaouré is fully operational, Perseus will be producing in excess of 500,000 oz/y, Quartermaine said, adding that the average all-in site cost of producing gold at Yaouré over the first five years of the mine is forecast to be $734/oz.