Avanti Gold’s Misisi project celebrates 10 years on CSE

Investors and Avanti Gold (CSE: AGC; US-OTC: AVTGF) management this week marked 10 years of its Misisi project being held by a succession of Canadian listed entities.  

Misisi is one of the few large gold development projects controlled by a Western-listed company in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). While the central African country is best known as a leading source of cobalt, copper and other critical metals, it also hosts several large gold belts that have drawn international explorers. Misisi sits on the Kibara gold belt in eastern DRC’s South Kivu province, about 1,500 km from the capital Kinshasa.

“It’s probably one of the most amazing projects still available in Africa,” Avanti CEO Mohamed Cisse told The Northern Miner on Monday at the Canadian Securities Exchange in Toronto. “Because of the challenges in DRC and challenges in financing, people couldn’t get it done. We managed to put a team together and we’ve got a plan to drill 42,000 metres this year.”

Resource update

Avanti now has two rigs drilling at Misisi and six more on their way in the coming weeks. The drill program is aimed at upgrading inferred resources to potentially measured and indicated, Cisse said.

A resource update is targeted for the end of the year and a preliminary economic assessment for early next year.

Misisi’s main Akyanga deposit hosts 40.8 million inferred tonnes grading 2.37 grams gold per tonne for 3.1 million ounces of contained metal.

Safe access

While South Kivu province faces security concerns, the company accesses Misisi from the city of Kalemie further south, avoiding the conflict zones to the north. It sources much of its logistics from Tanzania to the east.

“It’s really safe for us to [go] from Kalemie to the project site,” Cisse said. “We’ve had no issues of conflict, and we’ve got the support from the community.”

Misisi was first acquired by Anvil Mining in 2004, before private company Casa Mining gained an earn-in option in 2009 and defined much of the Akyanga resource. Arc Minerals (AIM: ARCM) took control of Casa in 2018 and Misisi passed through two private companies before Valorem Resources acquired Regency Mining in 2023. Valorem changed its name to Avanti in 2023.