East African gold mining company Shanta Gold has completed the acquisition of 100% stake in Acacia Exploration Kenya (AEKL), a subsidiary of mining company Barrick Gold.
The 100% of the shares in AEKL were acquired from three of Barrick’s subsidiaries.
The transaction follows a definitive agreement signed by the companies to acquire AEKL in February this year.
Shanta Gold said that all of the closing conditions for the transaction are now satisfied, including the receipt of regulatory approvals in Kenya.
The primary asset of AEKL is a 100% interest in licences which includes an existing
high-grade NI 43-101 compliant resource. It covers 1,161km2 within the Lake Victoria greenstone gold field located in northwest Tanzania and southwest Kenya.
Barrick to become Shanta Gold’s fifth largest shareholder
The acquisition cost includes $7m in cash and $7.5m in Shanta Gold’s shares, and a 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty to Barrick over the life of mine.
The transaction enables Barrick to become Shanta Gold’s fifth largest shareholder with a 6.4% stake.
Shanta Gold CEO Eric Zurrin said: “The West Kenya acquisition is significant for Shanta Gold, creating an East African gold mining champion with realisable growth prospects and high asset quality across three attractive gold projects.
“Now that the Transaction is complete, we are turning our focus to integrating West Kenya into the Shanta portfolio and accelerating progress on the ground with plans to begin infill drilling and to further delineate the resource potential.
“We are committed to responsibly investing in Kenya and working with the Government, communities and local stakeholders.”
In July last year, the gold mining company has brought its Ilunga underground mine at the New Luika Gold project in south-western Tanzania into commercial production.
