Australian gold miner Resolute Mining has announced that it has agreed to sell the Bibiani Gold Mine in Ghana to Canadian gold developer Asante Gold Corporation for $90million.
In a statement issued on August 5, Resolute said both parties are committed to ensuring an orderly transition of ownership at Bibiani.
The deal will be financed as follows: US$30 million deposit (already received by Resolute to be applied upon completion); US$30 million on or before 6 months from completion; and US$30 million on or before 12 months from completion.
“Asante is dedicated to injecting the necessary capital to achieve the rapid restart of Bibiani, which is not expected to result in any immediate changes to employment or contract relationships,” Resolute said in a statement.
“Asante has strong ties to Ghana, with Ghanaian citizens holding a significant shareholding, and board and executive roles. Asante has announced plans to co-list its shares on the Ghana Stock Exchange”.
The agreement has been approved by Ghana’s Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources and is expected to be completed in the next 10 days.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Samuel A. Jinapor said: “I commend the recent approach of Resolute and Asante in their dealings with the Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources and am pleased to support the transition of ownership of Bibiani to Asante.”
Abortive sale
Bibiani is owned by Mensin Gold Bibiani Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Resolute. Resolute currently owns 100% of Mensin Gold Bibiani Limited through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Resolute (Bibiani) Pty Ltd. The Government of Ghana is entitled to a 10% free carried interest in Mensin Gold Bibiani Limited.
Since assuming ownership in 2014, Resolute has embarked on two surface and underground resource drilling programs to re-assess the underground mine potential and in June 2018 released an update to its June 2016 feasibility study. This update demonstrated the potential for Bibiani to produce ~100,000oz per annum at a Life-of-Mine All-In Sustaining Cost of US$764/oz over a 10-year mine life.
In December 2020 Resolute announced that it had agreed to sell its interest in Bibiani, through the sale of shares in Mensin Bibiani Pty Limited to Chijin International (HK) Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chifeng, for US$105 million.
However that deal was terminated in April this year by Chifeng on the grounds that the mining lease had been revoked or terminated or the validity or legality of the mining lease had been materially impacted, Resolute Mining said in an April 20 statement.
On March 24, Resolute said it had received a letter from the Minerals Commission that on the instructions of the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources the mining lease for the Bibiani Gold Mine stood terminated, but by April 14, Resolute stated that the Minister had notified the company that the mining lease for Bibiani had been restored.
