Montage Gold partners with African Gold to advance Didievi Project, Côte d’Ivoire

Montage Gold Corp. [TSXV: MAU, OTCQX: MAUTF] has entered into a strategic partnership with African Gold Limited [ASX: A1G], given its highly attractive exploration portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire, including its high-grade Didievi project, obtaining an up to 19.9% interest in African Gold through the issuance of up to 2.19 million common shares of Montage representing a deemed consideration of up to approximately C$6.3 million.

Montage will be participating alongside a broader non-brokered private placement offering whereby an additional 26.3 million ordinary shares in African Gold will be issued to subscribers. Through the offering, African Gold will obtain aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$1.66 million based on a share issuance price of A$0.07. African Gold had a market capitalization of approximately A$29.4 million (US$18.5 million) prior to the Offering.

African Gold’s flagship Didievi project in Côte d’Ivoire is located close to established gold mining operations including Allied Gold’s Bonikro and Agbaou mines, as well as Perseus’ Yaoure mine.

African Gold is currently undertaking a 10,000-metre drill program at its Didievi project which continues to return high-grade extension intercepts on its main target, known as the Blaffo Guetto trend. The Didievi project hosts an Inferred Resource of 4.93Mt at 2.9 g/t Au containing 452,000 oz gold, as published by African Gold.

Through the strategic partnership, Silvia Bottero, EVP Exploration of Montage, will be appointed as Non-Executive Director to the Board of Directors of African Gold and Montage will become the operator of the Didievi project to take advantage of the significant synergies and expertise Montage can leverage in Côte d’Ivoire.

Martino De Ciccio, CEO of Montage, commented: “We are very pleased to form a strategic partnership with African Gold and work alongside them to rapidly unlock exploration value across their highly attractive portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire, including the high-grade Didievi project, by leveraging our presence and expertise in the country. Our strategic investment in African Gold follows a thorough review of potential partnerships in Côte d’Ivoire, based on a value-driven approach that considers risk-adjusted geological potential and is supported by technical due diligence.

“We continue to be pleased with the strong momentum generated across our business and look forward to unlocking significant exploration value at our flagship Koné project, while its build progresses on time and on budget. Additionally, we remain focused on sourcing future growth through greenfield exploration success. In line with this objective, and as part of our evaluation of strategic partnerships, we are continuing to make considerable progress in staking highly prospective exploration grounds in Côte d’Ivoire, to reinforce our presence in the country and leverage the expertise of our well-established exploration team.”
Montage has entered into a binding term sheet in respect of a transaction whereby Montage and African Gold will enter into an Investment Agreement, Investor Rights Agreement and Technical Services Agreement to give effect to the Share Exchange Transaction. The rights of Montage under the Investor Rights Agreement will persist so long as Montage holds at least 10% of the issued and outstanding African Gold ordinary shares with the exception of the ROFR which is subject only to Montage retaining a shareholding of any level in African Gold.

African Gold owns a highly prospective portfolio of exploration properties in Côte d’Ivoire, led by their flagship Didievi project, which has multi-million ounce potential. Strategically located close to established gold mining operations including Allied Gold’s Bonikro and Agbaou mines, as well as Perseus’ Yaoure project.

The Didievi project hosts an Inferred Resource of 4.93Mt at 2.9 g/t gold, representing 452,000oz of gold for its main target, known as the Blaffo Guetto trend. On October 15, 2024, African Gold reported drilling results from the Didievi Project, including: 65.0m at 5.6 g/t Au from 177m and 155.0m at 1.1 g/t Au with a notable interval of 52m at 2.9 g/t Au from 178m.

Previous drilling on Blaffo Guetto returned shallow intercepts on the Blaffo Guetto, including 65.0m at 5.6 g/t Au from 177m including 22m at 10.9 g/t Au; 155m at 1.1 g/t Au from 105m including 52m at 2.9 g/t Au from 178m and 31.4m at 3.5 g/t Au from 250m including 18m at 5.6 g/t Au from 252m. Refer to original press release for more drill results.

African Gold is currently undertaking a 10,000-metre drill program at its Didievi project, the largest in the company’s history which continues to return high-grade extension intercepts and is expected to be completed in April 2025, marking a significant milestone in African Gold’s growth strategy.

Montage Gold is focused on becoming a premier multi-asset African gold producer, with its flagship Koné project, located in Côte d’Ivoire, at the forefront. Based on the Updated Feasibility Study published in 2024, the Koné project has an estimated 16-year mine life and sizeable annual production of +300koz of gold over the first eight years and is expected to enter production in Q2-2027.