Australian Miner Perseus Sign Deal with Saudi’s ABM on Gold Exploration

Australian miner Perseus Mining, an Australian miner focussed on producing, developing and exploring gold in Africa, on Wednesday said that it has entered into a cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Ajlan & Bros Mining & Metals Company (ABM), the mining division of Ajlan Brothers.

As per the agreement, Perseus and ABM will jointly investigate co-investment in projects located in Saudi Arabia and also those projects located in the African countries such as Algeria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan.

While the preference of the venture is to assess projects that have published either a preliminary feasibility study or detailed feasibility study and can be advanced to development in the medium term using Perseus’s in house exploration and development skills, consideration will also be given to earlier stage projects, particularly those located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where the government has an active programme of offering prospective exploration projects to private enterprise organisations through a public tender process.

Perseus’s Chairman and CEO Jeff Quartermaine said that the agreement represents an important milestone as his company’s continues its evolution into a geographically diversified explorer, developer and producer of gold.

“To date, we have focussed our organic growth programmes on land located close to our existing mine infrastructure at our three operating mines in Ghana and Côte dÍvoire,” he said.

He continued: “While this has proved very beneficial to Perseus in terms of immediately replacing ore reserves depleted through our operating activities which produce in excess of 500,000 ounces of gold per year, this recent initiative opens up a new area of endeavour in some of the most prolific, under-explored mineral provinces in the world.

“To be gaining access to these areas in partnership with a Saudi based company gives us a high level of confidence that we will be well equipped to manage the culturally different settings that we may encounter and to navigate the challenges that arise in these jurisdictions from time to time,” he added.

Saudi Arabia has been very supportive of companies based in the Kingdom who wish to venture into the field of minerals exploration, development and production and in conjunction with Perseus, a proven performer in West Africa, both companies are looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship, he said.

Saudi Supports Private Sector

The Saudi Arabia’s government has been encouraging private sector to develop the mining industry as part of its 2030 vision aimed at diversifying its economy, and earning carbon offsets by investing in critical minerals.

In December, Toronto-listed Platinum Group Metals signed a cooperation agreement with ABM to explore construction of platinum group metals smelter and base metals refinery in Saudi Arabia rather than South Africa.

Perseus has already embarked on a global expansion strategy and acquired stake worth $150.77 million in February 2022 in Orca Mining, a Toronto-listed gold exploration firm that had developed the Meyas Sand gold project in Sudan.  

It also unveiled plans to move into East Africa with an all-cash offer for Orecorp which has the Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania in January this year.

Quartermaine said at the time that if the acquisition of Orecorp was completed, Perseus would have three operating mines producing gold at a rate of over 535,000 ounces per year in the 2023 financial year, as well as two projects in development.