AKORA Resources granted key tenement renewal in major step forward for Bekisopa iron ore project
AKORA Resources (ASX: AKO) has been granted a key renewal for the main tenement of its 100%-owned Bekisopa direct shipping iron ore development in Madagascar.
The Madagascan Mining Ministry / Bureau du Cadastre Minier de Madagascar has renewed Bekisopa’s PR10430 tenement, the first permit renewed in the country for many years.
AKORA has also submitted an application for the renewal of tenement PRE3757 in the northern section of the Bekisopa project area and plans to do likewise with its other tenements later this year.
Significant milestone
Managing director and chief executive officer Paul Bibby said the renewal was a crucial move for AKORA and the Madagascan exploration and mining industry, which has been well supported by the World Bank and positive government leadership.
“We had confidence that the AKORA Bekisopa tenements would be renewed—the Madagascan government updated the mining code, delivered revised implementation procedures and is now processing the ‘first 100 tenement renewals’,” Mr Bibby said.
“We’re extremely pleased that Bekisopa’s main exploration tenement PR10430 was the first to be renewed under the updated code.”
“This is another major milestone for AKORA and we will now complete the necessary requirements and submit the application for the transformation of PR10430 into a mining permit.”
Key mining area
The recently released Bekisopa pre-feasibility study (PFS) showed that the main PR10430 tenement contains most of the exploration drilling and, importantly, the start-up mining areas.
The PFS confirmed the Bekisopa iron ore project has the capacity to produce 2 million tonnes of 61.6% iron average blended grade lump and fines iron ore products per annum for blast furnace steelmakers.
The study also identified strong financial returns of $1.25 billion, a net present value of $233 million and an internal rate of return of 86%.
FID on track
AKORA is now on track to take a final investment decision (FID) in mid-2026.
The company is targeting Q3 2027 for the first ore shipment.
It recently lifted the mineral resource indicated tonnage estimate to 8.5Mt at 55.4% iron, up from 4.4Mt at 60.9%.