Kodal Minerals PLC (LON:KOD) has acquired the Fatou Gold Project in southern Mali.
Fatou already has a historical compliant NI 43-101 resource of more than 350,000 ounces that is expected to increase based on a funded nine-month drilling programme, Kodal said.
The project consists of the Fininko concession, which covers 100 square kilometres (sq km), and the Foutière Convention, covering 200 sq km.
Kodal intends to kick-off a gold exploration programme at Fatou as soon as possible.
To that end, it is considering a funding proposal of up to US$2.5mln from financing specialist Riverfort.
The funding remains subject to due diligence and a final contract being agreed but currently, it is envisaged that Riverfort will have the option at some point in the future to convert the funding to a 40% stake in a gold joint venture with Kodal or convert it into Kodal shares at a price yet to be determined.
Bernard Aylward, the chief executive officer of Kodal, said the funding would allow Kodal to speed up exploration of its gold projects “with a clear aim of defining mineral resources and demonstrating expansion and mining potential”.
The creation of a joint venture will allow Kodal to explore opportunities to achieve value for the gold assets in the future, he added.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Kodal to acquire an advanced gold project that has immediate drill targets for testing and that complements our existing gold project portfolio in southern Mali and northern Côte d'Ivoire,” Aylward said, in reference to the Fatou project.
“This acquisition is part of Kodal's strategy to demonstrate the value of our gold assets in West Africa whilst simultaneously establishing our first mining operation at our Bougouni Lithium Project in southern Mali,” Aylward said.
"Kodal's existing gold assets are located within the highly prospective Birimian sequence of West Africa. At our Dabakala project in Cote d'Ivoire, we are currently completing infill geochemical sampling on a large-scale geochemical anomaly, 10km strike by 800m width, in a previously untested region. In Mali, our Nangalasso project contains gold mineralised drill intersections requiring follow-up and extension drilling which will be included in the expanded gold exploration programme,” Aylward told investors.
He added that the company’s primary focus remains the Bougouni Lithium Project, where the company is maintaining regular communications with the government concerning the company’s mining licence application. Approval of the request is anticipated “in the near term”.