Acquisition puts seven new West African gold | Australian Markets

Castle Minerals Limited has solidified its West African gold exploration strategy by buying the remaining 10 per cent of Mineralis Limited from African Resources SARL to attain full possession of the United Kingdom-based non-public company.

This transfer, introduced on September 1, offers Castle full control over Mineralis, which holds earn-in rights to seven gold exploration permits totalling 1842 sq. kilometres in Côte d’Ivoire, a area famend for its gold-rich Birimian greenstone belts.

The acquisition enhances Castle’s current Kpali and Kandia tasks in Ghana, positioning the company to capitalise on the underexplored potential of this rising gold frontier.

The permits embrace one granted exploration licence of 343.1 sq. kilometres and 6 functions. A northern group masking 1606 sq. kilometres sits about 25km south of Endeavour Mining’s 4.6-million-ounce Tanda-Iguela discovery, in an space with mapped gold occurrences however restricted systematic exploration.

The southern allow utility covers 236 sq. kilometres and lies on the Bibiani-Chirano belt extension, 50km from Kinross Gold’s 3.5-million-ounce Chirano gold mine. The geological setting has parallels to Turaco Gold’s 3.6-million-ounce Afema gold project.

Mineralis can earn up to a 90 per cent curiosity in every allow by funding up to 450 million West African francs (A$1.23 million) in exploration, with permits transferable to a 90:10 three way partnership upon reaching that threshold.

The transaction entails Castle issuing 583,333 shares and 1 million unlisted choices exercisable at $0.12 every and expiring on May 31, 2028, to African Resources. Additional shares and choices are contingent on 4 of the six allow functions being granted.

Performance rights tied to useful resource milestones embrace 625,000 shares for a 500,000-ounce gold useful resource and 1,041,667 for a 1-million-ounce useful resource, each at more than 1 gram per tonne (g/t) gold, together with $37,500 and $62,500, respectively, in money funds.

A $3.3 million placement, with $1.72 million already allotted, will fund early exploration, together with mapping, sampling and drilling in Côte d’Ivoire, in addition to ongoing auger and reverse circulation drilling in Ghana.

By securing full possession of Mineralis we have now strengthened our dedication to exploration in Côte d’Ivoire, one of West Africa’s most potential gold areas. We are wanting ahead to commencing exploration on the ground as quickly because the transaction settles.

Côte d’Ivoire’s secure, investment-friendly atmosphere, bolstered by fashionable mining rules and strong infrastructure, has attracted vital curiosity and $122 million in exploration investments in 2024.

The area’s Birimian belts have yielded main discoveries, but huge areas stay underexplored, offering Castle a prime alternative to establish additional worth within the ultra-prospective exploration terrain.

Recent high-grade outcomes at Castle’s Kpali project, together with 12 metres at 8.29g/t gold, underscore the potential for related success in Côte d’Ivoire, the place the company’s in-house experience and drill-ready targets improve its prospects.

This latest acquisition streamlines Castle’s West African strategy, enabling a unified exploration plan throughout a two-country platform. The company’s strengthened board, together with new non-executive chairman Steve Zaninovich and director Mohammed Niare, is driving growth.

With strong funding help buoyed by a latest $3.3 million placement and a well-established give attention to systematic exploration, Castle appears set to ship sustained news circulation via the rest of the 12 months and past, in a single of Africa’s most partaking and dynamic gold exploration areas.

It is getting set to speed up its Côte d’Ivoire exploration later within the 12 months and is about to kick off its deliberate auger drilling at its Ghanaian Kpali and Kandia ground, which will likely be adopted by a reverse circulation drilling program.

Castle’s acquisition of a huge chunk of new ground simply inside the Côte d’Ivoire border south of its Ghanaian tasks – a stone’s throw in West African phrases – positions the company to outline vital gold potential from two project areas with sturdy operational synergies and their common ultra-prospective Birimian greenstone belt geology.