Modern Mining December 2024

GOLD OUTLOOK

Cora Gold takes assets up the value curve By Nelendhre Moodley Exploration and development company, Cora Gold, used the time the Malian government took to make changes to its mining codes to ramp up its exploration portfolio, which consists of its Madina Foulbé exploration permit in the Kenieba Project Area – located in east Senegal – and its Sanankoro Gold Project in south Mali, CEO Bert Monro, tells Modern Mining . T he government of Mali placed a moratorium on exploration permits when it began the process of initiating changes to its mining laws in November 2022. Prior to the moratorium, Cora Gold was in the

process of advancing its flagship asset, Sanankoro Gold Project, which would have seen the explorer pouring first gold at the end of 2025. The new mining code was passed in July this year and miners with existing projects have been the first in line for permit conversion while gold exploration and development companies, like Cora Gold, are in the waiting line for permitting approval. A mining permit will allow the company once again to get the ball rolling on its flagship asset. The new code allows the government to take a 10% stake in mining projects and the option to buy an additional 20% within the first two years of a mine’s commercial production. A further 5% stake could be ceded to locals, taking state and private Malian interests in new projects to 35%, from up to 20%. According to Monro, several operating mining companies have already come to agreements with the Government since the new code has been put in place. “Given that we have several contiguous exploration opportunities on our tenement, our plan is to amalgamate them into a single 100 km² permit. We are currently in discussions with the Malian government and hope to have our mining permit in place in 2025.” Resource upgrade Madina Foulbé’ Cora Gold recently completed a reconnaissance Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling programme at the Tambor gold anomaly - one of four key target areas within the company’s Madina Foulbé exploration

Cora Gold CEO Bert Monro.

Cora Gold team inspects the site.

permit that lies in the Kenieba Project Area. The permit is close to several Tier 1 gold deposits located within the Mako Geological Belt of the Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier, including Endeavour Mining’s Sabodala-Massawa gold mine and the high-grade open-pit Massawa Gold Project jointly owned by Barrick Gold (83.25%), Compagnie Senegalaise de Transports Transatlantiques Afrique de l’Ouest (CSSTAO) (6.75%), and the Government of Senegal (10%). According to Monro, forty shallow holes were drilled at 10 prospective targets within the large 3 km long +1 km wide Tambor gold soil anomaly. This year’s drill programme was designed to test for in-situ gold mineralisation beneath the soil and termite anomaly to understand the broader exploration potential of the gold system that generated the large and high-grade gold-in-soil anomaly at Tambor. Six of the 10 targets drilled were successful in returning anomalous to economic intercepts. Now that the company has proved the potential for widespread mineralisation of economic widths

14  MODERN MINING  www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | DECEMBER 2024