Volt Resources enters west African gold space with ‘exciting’ acquisition
Volt Resources will acquire six permits covering 388sq km in Guinea’s Birimian Greenstone Belt.
Flake graphite developer Volt Resources (ASX: VRC) is the latest explorer to take advantage of the rocketing gold price with news this morning it had agreed to acquire an “exciting” gold project in west Africa.
The project comprises six permits and covers 388 square kilometres in Guinea’s Birimian Greenstone Belt, with the Kouroussa and Kouroussa West permits bordering Predictive Discovery’s (ASX: PDI) Kaninko project where an intercept of 46m at 6.58 grams per tonne gold was unearthed.
Artisanal miners are active on Kouroussa and combined with the nearby Fadougou permit, Volt believes it will have a strategic landholding in a “highly prospective area”.
Another permit known as Konsolon hosts an 8km gold in soil anomaly and has returned gold in grab samples.
The Nzimi permit is 16km south-east of the known Tri K 1.1 million ounce deposit. Volt noted the geology at Nzimi is analogous to nearby resources and mines.
Additionally, the Monebo lease is close to gold occurrences and is also within the “highly prospective” region.
Volt has already began planning exploration activities for the permits.
Acquisition terms
To secure the project, Volt will acquire private company Gold Republic which indirectly owns 100% of the permits.
Volt will issue the vendor 121.7 million ordinary shares and provide a 2% net smelter royalty covering the permit area and an additional 10km radius of the permit boundaries.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Volt to acquire a gold project with permits in a highly prospective and under explored area,” Volt managing director Trevor Matthews said.
“The addition of a new gold focus provides shareholders with exposure to one of the best performing metals on financial markets and the benefits of diversification in a period of economic uncertainty,” he added.
To fund initial exploration at the project, Volt has raised $800,000 (before costs) via a share placement to sophisticated investors.
The acquisition remains subject to successful due diligence.
Bunyu graphite project
Despite its entry into the gold space, Volt noted it remained committed to developing its Bunyu graphite project in Tanzania.
“With Alphier Capital, I am continuing to advance the graphite funding process, and this remains a key focus for the company,” Mr Matthews said.
Under the proposed stage one development at Bunyu, Volt plans to produce 23,700 tonnes per annum of graphite products.