Perseus Mining Limited Upgrades Power Generating Capacity at Edikan Gold Mine in Ghana

PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA--(Marketwired - March 5, 2015) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Perseus Mining Limited ("Perseus" or the "Company") (TSX:PRU) (ASX:PRU) is pleased to advise that it has purchased four new Caterpillar diesel driven generators capable of producing in total up to 5.8MW of power to boost its on-site power generating capacity at its Edikan Gold Mine ("Edikan") in Ghana.

The equipment which was purchased from Mantrac Ghana Limited and associated infrastructure will cost approximately US$3.3M (including taxes) and once installed on site the four generators will be able to generate sufficient power to fully compensate for the power that Perseus is unable to draw from the national grid under measures introduced by the Ghanaian government in response to a country-wide power shortage.

Taking into account estimated delivery and installation time, this acquisition should ensure that the Edikan processing plant can operate unimpeded by power disruptions from approximately mid April 2015 onwards. The net incremental cost of generating power using the diesel fired generators is not estimated to be material in the context of Edikan's all-in sustaining cost of gold production.

Perseus has also commenced studying a range of alternative longer term energy solutions designed to provide Edikan with a secure supply of power that is not reliant on the national electricity grid. In the event that the recently purchased generators are no longer needed on the Edikan site, they may be re-deployed as the primary energy source for Perseus's Sissingué Gold Mine in neighbouring Côte d'Ivoire.

Background

In early December 2014, the Ghanaian government announced a plan to reduce the amount of power available to Perseus (and other mining companies operating in Ghana) by up to 25% in response to the country's power shortages. This arrangement remained in place until late January 2015, during which time the impact of reduced power availability on Perseus's gold production in December 2014 and January 2015 was minimal as a result of the use of an existing standby generator and managing the composition of ore fed to the SAG mill.