JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The New York- and Johannesburg-listed AngloGold Ashanti has agreed to sell its interests in two gold projects in Côte d’Ivoire and simultaneously acquire a project in Guinea, alongside its Siguiri operations.

The agreement involves the sale of Centamin West Africa Holdings to mining company Resolute, from which it will acquire Toro Gold Guinée Sarlu, which owns the titles to the Mansala project in Guinea.

Centamin owns Côte d’Ivoire’s Doropo and Archean-Birimian Contact and AngloGold acquired an indirect interest in these two projects when it acquired Centamin in November.

“This transaction ensures we maintain our focus on disciplined capital allocation and driving efficiencies from our existing portfolio,” AngloGold Ashanti CEO Alberto Calderon stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

“It also ensures these projects are in good hands, to benefit all stakeholders,” Calderon added.

Mansala is anticipated to be developed as a brownfield project to provide an additional ore source to AngloGold Ashanti’s Siguiri operations and conditions that include the renewal of the Toro Gold Guinée Sarlu permits and Guinea government approval must be satisfied within 18 months from the completion of the sale.

The $175-million Doropo selling price is made up of $150-million cash plus either Mansala or another $25-million, should the 18-month acquisition time lapse.

Regarding Archean-Birimian Contact, $10-million cash must be paid on declaration of a compliant million-ounce mineral reserve on current tenements, and a 2% net smelter gold production royalty.

Doropo’s seven exploration permits cover 1 850 km² in north-east Côte d’Ivoire, 480 km north of Abidjan. Eleven of its 13 main resource cluster gold deposits covered by the licence are concentrated within a 7 km radius.

With prefeasibility and definitive feasibility studies competed, Doropo was awarded an environmental permit in June 2024 and its mining licence application is pending. It has a measured and indicated mineral resource of 0.9-million ounces of gold at an average grade of 1.02 g/t. Its inferred mineral resource is 0.3-million ounces at 1.23 g/t and its proven and probable mineral reserve 1.9-million ounces at 1.53 g/t.

Once developed, Doropo is expected to have average gold production of 167 000 oz/y over a ten-year mine life.

The Archean-Birimian Contact greenfield project, which covers 1 148 km² 460 km west of Doropo, has a 1.6-million-ounce inferred mineral resource at an average grade of 0.98 g/t.

Africa-focused Resolute owns Syama gold mine in Mali and Mako gold mine in Senegal.