Vancouver – Goldbelt Resources (GLD-V, GLDRF-O) has entered an agreement to acquire all the exploration assets of Barrick Gold (ABX-T, ABX-N) in the West African countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea.
Neither terms of the deal nor specific projects descriptions were tabled in Goldbelts announcement but the acquisitions are expected to compliment the companys current tenement-holdings of 4,441 sq. km in Burkina Faso.
The juniors Belahouro tenement, located 220 km north of the capital Ouagadougou and about 45 km south of the Mali border, is the most advanced of its licence areas. It contains ten projects, five of which have established gold resources.
A recent prefeasibility study on the Inata project reviewed 9.2 million tonnes of proven and probable reserves grading 2.15 grams gold per tonne for about 635,000 contained oz. of gold. Open pit operations are modeled to produce 107,000 oz. annually over the first five years of operation in the projected 6.1-year mine-life. Cash operating costs are expected to come in at US$290 per oz.
Following the news, Goldbelt shares closed up 12 to $1.20 apiece on very modest volume. The company posts a $77-million market capitalization based on its 63.8-million shares outstanding with the stock seeing a 52-week trading range of 85-to-$1.55.
Be the first to comment on "Goldbelt to grab Barricks West African assets"