Deals in brief

Hummingbird completes Kouroussa gold project acquisition

African gold producer, developer, and explorer Hummingbird Resources has completed the acquisition of Cassidy Gold Corporation’s Kouroussa gold project in Guinea.

Situated near the town of Kouroussa in the eastern Republic of Guinea, Kouroussa is a near-term development asset in the “prolific” Siguiri Basin.

It has a high grade mineral resource of 1.18 million ounces (Moz) of gold at over three grams per tonne, a lucrative pre-tax NPV10 of $110m.

The project has an internal rate of return (IRR) of 51.2%, based on a gold price of $1,350 per ounce.

Hummingbird CEO Dan Betts said: “We now eagerly await the awarding of the mining licence from the Government of Guinea and look forward to working with them to develop this exciting project as partners for the benefit of all stakeholders.

“Our dedicated project management team have started development plans and the permitting process as we highlighted in our recent 1H-2020 interim results.

“The completion of the acquisition gives us further confidence to advance with these initiatives to bring Kouroussa into production and transform Hummingbird into a multi-asset producing resources company.”

Hummingbird is now waiting to be awarded the mining licence for the project from the government of Guinea.

Once awarded, the African gold producer will pay the initial consideration of £10m ($13.3m), which will be satisfied through the issuance of about 35.25 million new ordinary shares in Hummingbird priced at 28.4p per each share.

In June, Hummingbird joined gold industry market development organisation World Gold Council’s (WGC’s) board of members.

In May last year, Hummingbird Resources proceeded with its Dugbe gold project after signing a mineral development agreement in Liberia.

Everledger enters partnership to bring trust to online diamond purchases

Everledger has partnered with JD.com, China’s largest online and offline retailer, and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) to help increase trust and transparency in diamond provenance and further confidence in online diamond purchases.

Artemis acquires Blackwater project from New Gold for $144m

Canadian mining firm New Gold has closed the sale of its Blackwater Gold Project in British Columbia to Artemis Gold for a total cash consideration of C$190m (approximately $144m).

The Blackwater Gold Project is located 160km south-west of Prince George and 100km south of Vanderhoof in central British Columbia. It is spread over 15,000ha on the northern flanks of Mt Davidson.

Canadian firm Midland signs nickel exploration funding deal with BHP

Canadian miner Midland Exploration’s subsidiary Midland Base Metals has executed a new funding deal with BHP subsidiary Rio Algom to advance nickel exploration activities in northern Quebec, Canada.

Under the first phase, Rio Algom will fund 100% of Midland’s exploration for nickel within the Nunavik territory up to C$1.4m ($1.06m), on an annual basis, for a minimum period of two years.

Shanta Gold completes purchase of Barrick’s gold projects in Kenya

East African mining firm Shanta Gold has completed the 100% acquisition of Barrick Gold’s subsidiary Acacia Exploration Kenya (AEKL).

The shares were acquired from three of Barrick’s subsidiaries.

Ivanhoe and China’s CNMC to examine exploration opportunities in Africa

Canadian mining company Ivanhoe Mines has signed an agreement with China Nonferrous Metal Mining to jointly explore, develop, or acquire mining projects in Africa.

The strategic partnership would also see the two companies being active in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), exploring production, smelting, and logistics opportunities.

Calibre agrees to acquire 70% of Eastern Borosi property from IAMGOLD

Gold mining and exploration company Calibre Mining has agreed to acquire Canadian miner Iamgold’s 70% interest in the Eastern Borosi gold-silver property.

The Eastern Borosi gold-silver property is located in the northeastern Nicaragua.