Indigenous mining complicates Brazil’s fight against illegal gold
The Munduruku territory, a reservation the size of Switzerland on the Tapajos river, a major Amazon tributary, has become a hot spot for illegal mining.
Both Montage Gold (TSXV: MAU) and the Lundin family have made strategic investments in Sanu Gold (CSE: SANU) with a combined value of over C$10 million to support the Canadian junior miner’s exploration activities in Guinea.
Under a binding agreement signed Dec. 1, Montage would issue approximately 2.33 million shares priced at C$2.35 each (totalling about C$5.5 million) in exchange for an equivalent value of Sanu shares, to be valued at C$0.072 per share. Upon closing, Montage would become a 19.99% shareholder in Sanu, with approximately 76.3 million shares held.
Separately, the Lundin family and its associates would purchase roughly C$4.5 million of Sanu shares, also priced at C$0.072 each, through a private placement. This would make Lundin a 10% shareholder in Sanu upon closing.
Following the investments, Sanu Gold’s stock doubled from last week’s closing price of C$0.05 to C$0.10 on Monday morning, for a market capitalization of C$27.5 million ($19.5m).
Montage and Lundin now join AngloGold Ashanti (JSE: ANG) (NYSE: AU) and Capital DI Ltd. as Sanu’s key shareholders. In September, AngloGold and Capital DI each obtained a 14% and a 10% stake, respectively, through the participation of a C$5 million private placement.
The proceeds of the new investments will be used to advance geophysics and drilling on Sanu’s three exploration permits (Daina, Diguifara and Bantabaye) within the Siguiri Basin of Guinea, a world-class gold district hosting several producing mines and major discoveries such as AngloGold’s Siguiri, Nordgold’s Lefa and Predictive Discovery’s Bankan project.
To date, the company has defined gold-bearing structures (nearly 20 km of combined strike length) on each of its gold exploration permits, with multiple high-value drill targets identified and the aim of making the next multi-million-ounce discovery.
In addition, Martino De Ciccio, CEO of Montage, is expected to be appointed chairman of Sanu Gold’s board, while Silvia Bottero, its EVP of exploration, will join the new joint-technical committee at Sanu to help advance these projects.
In a press release Monday, De Ciccio said the partnership with Sanu “will allow Montage to leverage Sanu’s established presence in Guinea to accelerate its greenfield exploration strategy.”
“The Montage leadership is comprised of seasoned West African gold professionals, and this further highlights the potential of Sanu’s projects in Guinea,” Sanu Gold CEO Martin Pawlitschek added.
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