Perseus Mining
(ASX:PRU) has acquired a 15 per cent interest in African gold developer Orca Gold from Resolute Mining for $19.6 million.
Orca’s key assets include a 70 per cent interest in the Block 14 Gold Project in northern Sudan and a 31.5 per cent interest in Montage Gold Corp, which owns the Koné Gold Project in northern Côte d’Ivoire.
The transaction was executed at a price of about 44.8 Canadian cents per Orca share.
Perseus has agreed to provide Orca with a $US5 million short-term loan facility. Orca plans to use the loan for working capital and for further exploration and development activities at Block 14.
“The acquisition of the 15 per cent interest in Orca provides Perseus with a pivotal position in Orca that gives us a platform from which to further evaluate what appears to be a very exciting potential growth opportunity,” said Perseus managing director and chief executive Jeff Quartermaine.
“Perseus has recently achieved an annualised gold production rate of 500,000 ounces of gold per year from its three existing operating mines, and while it expects to be able to maintain this level of production based on exploration success around its existing gold mines, we are always seeking to identify value accretive inorganic growth opportunities. We believe that Orca could represent such an opportunity.”
Shares in Perseus Mining
(ASX:PRU) are trading 1.4 per cent lower at $1.45.
