Perseus Mining Limited - Drill hole includes 28m at 8.1g/t and 25m at 4.0g/t gold (open at depth) at Mbengué in C?'te d'Ivoire

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PERTH, Western Australia, June 27, 2013 /CNW/ - Perseus Mining Limited ("Perseus" or the "Company") (TSX & ASX:PRU) is pleased to announce a number of encouraging intercepts from recent exploration activities in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. Highlights of the announcement are set out below, and the full text of the report is available on the Company's website www.perseusmining.com and under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com

Highlights¹

Mbengué East Project:
A significant RC hole drilled at the K1 Prospect of the Kanadi Anomaly, returned:

Mahalé Project:
Anomalous results from shallow first pass AC drilling at the Bélé Prospect included:

Napié Project:
Anomalous RAB holes drilled at the Gogbala and Komoro Prospects included:

¹Refer to Tables 1 to 3 below for details of the intercepts

Comments from Perseus's Managing Director, Jeff Quartermaine

"The impressive intercepts in drill hole MKRC079, part of the first pass of follow-up RC drilling on our Mbengué tenement, are highly encouraging given the extent of anomalism at Kanadi and its location near to the Tongon Gold Mine, the largest known gold deposit in Côte d'Ivoire. Hole MKRC079 is not only significant for the width of the intercepts and the fact that the hole ended in mineralisation, but also because of the relatively high grades that are not often seen in West Africa. The drill results from the Bélé prospect are also highly encouraging given the early stage of drilling on that tenement.

Exploration of both Kanadi and Bélé will be followed up as a matter of priority by our exploration team, as both tenements are located within potential trucking distance of the proposed Sissingué Gold Mine plant site.

While it is still early days at both Mbengué and Mahalé, these drill results appear to be very material, and if the prospects can be advanced with further drilling, it could create significant value for the shareholders of our Company."

MBENGUÉ EAST PROJECT

An RC drilling program is in progress on the 5 km by 2 km Kanadi gold in soil anomaly located 7 kilometres north of Randgold Resources Limited's Tongon mine, to follow up anomalous results from first pass air core ("AC") and reverse circulation ("RC") drilling and recent auger drilling programs. Since September 2012, approximately 14,250 meters of first pass AC and RC has tested areas of the large Kanadi soil anomaly yielding a number of anomalous intercepts, previously reported. During March and April of 2013, a 14,600 meter auger drilling program was also conducted in order to better define targets between the generally very broadly spaced scout drilling lines.

From mid-May, a program of follow up RC drilling has commenced a more detailed evaluation of a number of the stronger first-pass drilling results and auger anomalism with approximately 3,700 meters drilled to date. One RC hole in this program, MKRC079, testing the K1 Prospect where several AC holes returned significant results, has returned very significant intercepts of 28 meters at 8.1g/t from 16 meters plus 25 meters at 4.0g/t from 58 meters. The mineralisation is hosted in mafic volcanics/volcaniclastics on the margins of a 25 meter thick granodiorite intrusive and is associated with quartz veining and fine grained disseminated pyrite.

Drill hole MKRC079 ended in mineralisation and was the last hole of the drill fence with the mineralisation still open on section. Previous AC drill fences approximately 140 meters to the NE and SW returned several significant intercepts on strike with MKRC079, including 3m at 7.0g/t Au at the bottom of MKAC093 and 11m at 1.6g/t Au at the bottom of MKAC109, both previously reported. Anomalous auger drilling results on strike up to 1.2 kilometres to the northeast have been tested with several RC holes with pending results.

The tenor and width of the open ended mineralisation in drill hole MKRC079 highlights the potential for the K1 zone to develop into a significant prospect with further drill testing, while planned follow-up on other zones of anomalous first pass auger, AC and RC drilling in the large Kanadi anomaly may yield additional prospects for further evaluation.

Table 1: Mbengué East Project, Recent Exploration Drilling Results

MAHALÉ PROJECT

A program of scout AC drilling recently commenced on the Mahalé license that is situated 20 kilometres west of the Tengrela East license, with approximately 4,700 meters drilled since early May 2013. The principal target is the Bélé Prospect, a 4 x 3 kilometre area of fairly modest gold in soil anomalism. A 4,900 meter program of auger drilling completed in February has highlighted a number of targets for follow up with AC drilling, most of which correlate well with gold in soil anomalism.

Several anomalous AC drill intercepts were returned from the first fence of drilling completed. Five AC holes drilled in a row (MHAC006 through 010) returned intercepts of 6m at 1.8g/t, 9m at 2.0g/t, 16m at 1.2g/t, 13m at 1.7g/t and 9m at 3.7g/t Au. The mineralisation appears to be sub-horizontal, hosted in altered granite and associated with minor quartz veining and sulphides.

Out of the 218 AC holes drilled to date, assays are still pending for 120 holes. Some of the strongest soil and auger anomalism has not yet been drilled due to crop harvesting. Ongoing drilling will test these areas and follow up on the encouraging AC drilling results returned thus far. Given that the Bélé Prospect is 43 kilometres distance from the proposed Sissingué Gold Mine ("SGM"), a discovery with significant grade could be economically trucked with a positive impact on the SGM.

Table 2: Mahalé Project, Recent Exploration Drilling Results

NAPIÉ PROJECT

RAB drilling has been ongoing on the Napié license since February 2013 with approximately 22,500 meters drilled to date to evaluate a 30+ kilometre long trend of gold in soil anomalism which bisects the property in a north-northeast direction.  A 10,300 meter auger drilling program was also completed at Napié in May 2013 in order to confirm and refine the soil anomalism for follow up drill testing.

Numerous anomalous RAB intercepts from Napié have been reported to date. A number of recent significant RAB intercepts are listed in Table 3, including up to 12m at 2.4g/t and 9m at 2.8g/t Au from the Gogbala and Komoro Prospects respectively. Gold mineralization at Napié is often associated with quartz veining plus pyrite in granodiortic to dioritic intrusives, and is occasionally hosted by E-W trending quartz veins cross-cutting the regional structures.

With 30+ km of gold in soil and RAB anomalism to explore for a potentially economic concentration of mineralisation which is likely to be associated with zones of structural complexity along this otherwise linear feature, a high resolution helicopter-borne magnetics and radiometrics survey has been contracted to New Resolution Geophysics of South Africa and is expected to commence in 4 to 5 weeks.

Table 3: Napié Project, Recent Exploration Drilling Results

Jeff Quartermaine
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer

Competent Person Statement: The information in this report that relates to exploration results, mineral resources or ore reserves is based on information compiled by Mr Kevin Thomson, who is a Professional Geoscientist with the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario.  Mr Thomson is an employee of the Company.  Mr Thomson has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'") and to qualify as a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").  Mr Thomson consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. For a description of Perseus' data verification process, quality assurance and quality control measures, the effective date of the mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates contained herein, details of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the mineral resources and reserves set out in this report and the extent to which the estimate of mineral resources or mineral reserves set out herein may be materially affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issues, readers are directed to the technical report entitled "Technical Report - Central Ashanti Gold Project, Ghana" dated May 30, 2011 and the technical report entitled ''Technical Report - Tengréla Gold Project, Côte d'Ivoire'' dated December 22, 2010 in relation to the Edikan Gold Mine (formerly the Central Ashanti Gold Project) and the Tengréla Gold Project respectively.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information: This report contains forward-looking information which is based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made by the Company regarding, among other things: the price of gold, continuing commercial production at the Edikan Gold Mine without any major disruption, development of a mine at Tengréla, the receipt of required governmental approvals, the accuracy of capital and operating cost estimates, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used by the Company. Although management believes that the assumptions made by the Company and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the actual market price of gold, the actual results of current exploration, the actual results of future exploration,  changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable.  Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration and development activities, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms.   Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.  Perseus does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Perseus Mining Limited