Gold: Australian miner Perseus reports $1.18 billion economic contribution across Africa

Australian gold producer Perseus Mining says it delivered about $1.18 billion in direct economic value to its African host countries during the 2026 financial year, marking a 46% increase from the previous year.

The company, which operates across Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire and is developing a major gold project in Tanzania, reported the figure as part of its 2026 annual and sustainability reports.

The contribution highlights the growing economic footprint of the Australian-listed miner as gold prices and production continue to support strong financial performance across its African portfolio.

Côte d’Ivoire received the largest economic contribution, with $556.5 million generated through Perseus’s activities in the country.

The company operates the Sissingué and Yaouré gold mines, making Côte d’Ivoire a central pillar of its African operations.

Yaouré alone produced 152,850 ounces of gold during the 2026 financial year, accounting for 38% of Perseus’s total group production. The company has also extended the mine’s expected life to at least 2035 and has begun developing the CMA Underground project.

Perseus describes the CMA Underground development as Côte d’Ivoire’s first modern mechanised underground gold mine, with commercial production expected during the 2027 financial year. 

Ghana accounted for $397.4 million of Perseus’s economic contribution during the year.

The company’s Edikan Gold Mine was its first African operation and began commercial production in 2012. The mine has since produced more than 2 million ounces of gold.

Perseus’s contribution to Ghana includes payments to local suppliers, employee wages and benefits, taxes, royalties and other payments to the government.

The company reported that it spent heavily with local suppliers across its African operations, with total local procurement reaching about $714 million during FY26.

Tanzania accounted for $229.4 million of the reported contribution, even though Perseus has not yet started commercial gold production there.

The company is developing the Nyanzaga Gold Project, which is expected to become its fourth operating mine, with first gold production scheduled for January 2027.

Perseus increased Nyanzaga’s ore reserves by 73% during FY26 to 4.1 million ounces and extended the project’s expected mine life from 11 to 16 years.

The project is expected to become an increasingly important part of Perseus’s growth strategy in East Africa.

The increase in economic contribution came during a year of strong financial performance for Perseus.

The company reported a net profit after tax of $480.5 million for FY26, up 14% from the previous year, while revenue reached $1.484 billion, an increase of 19%.

Perseus produced 404,998 ounces of gold during the year at an all-in site cost of $1,750 per ounce.

The company also reported about $1.03 billion in cash and bullion at the end of June 2026, alongside an undrawn $400 million debt facility.

Perseus’s reported economic contribution goes beyond the value of the gold it produces.

The company says its $1.19 billion contribution included payments to local suppliers, wages and salaries, government taxes and royalties, community investments and other economic flows.

Around 95% of its workforce is locally employed, while local procurement represented 86% of its purchasing during the year.

For host countries, the figures illustrate how large-scale mining can generate economic activity well beyond the mine site through suppliers, employment, government revenues and infrastructure.

For Perseus, the expansion of its African portfolio also reflects a broader strategy of building a multi-mine, multi-country gold producer focused on West and East Africa.

With Yaouré expanding in Côte d’Ivoire, Edikan continuing operations in Ghana and Nyanzaga approaching production in Tanzania, the company is positioning itself for another phase of growth across the continent.

The challenge will now be to translate that expansion into sustained economic benefits for host countries while maintaining production, controlling costs and meeting increasingly demanding environmental and social expectations.