GLOBAL gold miner AngloGold Ashanti has sold its Doropo and Archean-Birimian Contact (ABC) projects in Côte d’Ivoire to Resolute Mining in exchange for cash and Resolute’s Mansala project in Guinea.
AngloGold said the rationale for the sale was that it is increasing its focus on projects in the US. However, it still has several mines in central, west and north Africa. The Mansala project in Guinea is adjacent to AngloGold’s Siguiri mine, so it will provide an additional source of ore.
Initial exploration work on Doropo and ABC was done by Centamin, the owner of the Sukari mine in Egypt. AngloGold bought Centamin last year for $2.5bn in cash and shares.
Doropo, which already has a completed definitive feasibility study (DFS), will be sold for $175m in tranches. Of this, $150m will be settled by a combination of cash from Resolute, using its existing cash resources and an external loan, and either the Mansala project or $25m cash if the Mansala acquisition cannot be completed within 18 months.
Mansala still requires its permits to be renewed and approval from the government of Guinea for the transfer of ownership.
Resolute said it was eager to get more exposure to Côte d’Ivoire, a stable and well-established mining jurisdiction where it already has an exploration portfolio. Its current operating mines are Syama in Mali and Mako in Senegal.
It said after the transfer of Mansala ownership it would no longer have a presence in Guinea but it will continue to look for opportunities there and still believes in the gold prospectivity of the Siguiri Basin.
Resolute’s MD and CEO Chris Eger said the plan is to do further work on the DFS, which at this stage suggests a viable open pit operation producing an average of 167,000 ounces of golda year at an average all-in sustaining cost of $1,047/oz over ten years.
When developed, Doropo would bring Resolute’s annual production over 500,000 oz/year. A final investment decision would be taken by the end of this year, targeting first production by mid-2028.
