Modern Mining January 2021

GOLD

Mali’s golden rewards for adventurous investors

Despite Mali’s documented political and terrorist activity struggles, the country has against all odds achieved continuous gold production for more than 30 years, becoming one of the top gold producing nations in Africa. Thanks to the country’s rich mining history, companies and investors the world over are keen to increase their exposure to Mali’s gold sector, including three London-based junior miners – Kodal Minerals, Contango Holdings and Cora Gold Limited. By Munesu Shoko .

A s home to a wealth of natural resources and precious metals, and in particular, gold, Africa has always played a significant role in the global mining space. One West African country that has been steadily building its status as a globally significant gold producer over recent decades is Mali. Mali hosts some of the world’s most prestigious miners, including Barrick Gold, Resolute Mining and AngloGold Ashanti, among others, which operate various high grade and sizeable resource assets. Operating on a smaller scale but proving there is plenty of undiscovered opportunity in the gold

sphere, Mali is home to operations run by some of the most promising London listed growth companies. Thanks to the country’s rich mining history, companies and investors the world over have been keen to increase exposure to Mali gold – including Kodal Minerals, Contango Holdings and Cora Gold. To provide context, Kodal Minerals in December last year acquired the Fatou Gold Project in southern Mali, an advanced asset with historic resources of 350 000 oz that are expected to grow significantly subject to an upcoming funded and comprehensive nine-month drilling programme. In October last year, Contango Holdings, the London listed natural resource development company, also announced the acquisition of the Garalo Gold Project in Mali for US$1-million. Garalo is another success story, following the news that the potential resource is 460% larger than previ- ously estimated due to reinterpretation of historic data. The potential resource at Garalo could now exceed 1,8-million oz, which would certainly put the company on the map and firmly in the eye of the aforementioned mining majors operating in the country. Cora Gold has also made significant progress at its Sanankoro Gold Mine project during the year and agreed a US$21-million term sheet with Lionhead Capital Advisors to fund future development at the project, an extremely strong endorsement of the company from an experienced investment group. Further exploration continues at Sanankoro, with the Cora seeking to unlock more value out of what is regarded as the company’s flagship project. Investment destination of choice Despite the current political turmoil, military coups, terrorist activity and labour action, Mali remains a destination of choice for London listed junior min- ers. What makes Mali tick? Bernard Aylward, CEO of Kodal Minerals, says Mali remains a favoured destination for gold investment due to the quality of the gold discoveries, the long life of mines and the ability to move through the exploration discovery

Drilling at Cora Gold’s Madina Foulbe permit.

30  MODERN MINING  January 2021