Aurum Resources and Mako Gold join forces to create West Africa-focused gold business

Aurum Resources (ASX: AUE) and Mako Gold (ASX: MKG) have announced a deal to join forces and create a well-funded emerging gold business focused on West Africa.

The proposed merger will be achieved through an off-market takeover bid, whereby Aurum will acquire 100% of the shares in Mako including Class A and Class B options.

Upon completion of the transaction, Aurum shareholders will hold approximately 79.5% equity in the merged entity and Mako shareholders 20.5%.

Takeover terms

Mako shareholders will receive one Aurum share for every 25.1 Mako shares held, representing an offer price of $0.018 per Mako share—a 112% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price of $0.00855

They will also receive an additional Aurum share for every 170 Class A options held (with an exercise price of $0.05 and expiring in June 2025) and one Aurum share for every 248 Class B options held (with an exercise price of $0.02 and a January 2025 expiry).

The new entity will have approximately 192 million shares on issue, with a pro forma market capitalisation of approximately $90 million and a cash balance of more than $20m to advance further resource definition at the flagship Napié and Boundiali gold projects in Côte d’Ivoire.

Napié has a current mineral resource estimate of 868,000 ounces grading 1.2 grams per tonne gold and Aurum has been targeting a maiden estimate at Boundiali by year-end.

Experienced team

The new entity will be spearheaded by an experienced board and management team with extensive gold mining experience from grassroots discovery through to resource drill-out, feasibility studies, project financing and production.

Mako non-executive director Steven Zaninovich will join the board of Aurum and use his mine development background to help progress Napié and Boundiali through to development.

Mako has appointed Euroz Hartleys as its financial adviser for the proposed merger and HopgoodGanim Lawyers as legal adviser, while Aurum has engaged Allion Partners as its legal adviser.

Advancing Napié

Aurum managing director Dr Caigen Wang said his team was keen to advance Mako’s Napié project.

“We believe Napié has the potential to quickly evolve into a multi-million-ounce project with a dedicated owner-operated, multi-rig drilling program which we can deliver at a cost significantly below standard contract rates,” he said.

“Between driving growth at Napié and being well on the path to delivering a maiden resource at Boundiali, we see great potential for this merger to create a strong gold developer in Côte d’Ivoire with two long-life assets in close proximity to each other.”

Unlocking potential

Mako managing director Peter Ledwidge also looked forward to unlocking the full potential of both projects.

“On closure of this proposed merger, Mako shareholders will remain a meaningful part of the expanded group, sharing in the continued upside to the growth in Napié and gaining exposure to the rapidly evolving Boundiali project,” he said.

He added that Mako directors would accept the takeover offer in respect of all shares and options they own or control, which represent 1.55% of total Mako shares on issue.

Resource growth

The Napié project area covers 224 square kilometres and comprises the Tchaga and Gogbala deposits along the Napié shear.

Recent rock chip sampling by Mako at the Komboro prospect returned very high grades of 170 grams per tonne, 41.92g/t and 6.27g/t, showing potential for resource growth in the under-explored northern part of the company’s permits.

Approximately 4.4km of the Napié shear’s total 30km length has been systematically drilled to date and included in the mineral resource estimate.

Once Aurum has achieved a 50.1% interest in Mako, it will commence diamond drilling (DD) at Napié using its owner-operated rigs.

Boundiali exploration

The Boundiali gold project is situated on the same greenstone belt as Resolute Mining’s (ASX: RSG) 11.5 million ounce Syama mine and Perseus Mining’s (ASX: PRU) 1.4Moz Sissingue development to the north.

The project’s BM and BD tenements are being aggressively explored using Aurum’s owner-operator DD model and more than 40,000m has been drilled since October 2023.

In September, the company reported high-grade gold intercepts – including the best to date – from a second-round campaign at BM Target 1, with a highlight of 11.46m at 6.67g/t from 162.54m including 1.46m at 45.04g/t.

Aurum has a total drilling capacity at Boundiali of 10,000m per month using six of its own rigs and has recently ordered an additional two new rigs, which are expected to boost that capacity by 30%.