(Ecofin Agency) - Teranga Gold has signed with the private firm Sodium Ltd, a memorandum of understanding to establish a joint venture to explore and develop the Afema gold permits in the Ivory Coast.

Under the terms of the agreement, Teranga can hold a 70% initial stake in the JV if it proceeds to an exploration campaign and community works on the Afema permits. The campaign will last 3 years and the firm would spend overall $11 million in its framework.

“Teranga won the joint venture rights to this highly sought-after land package following a competitive auction process. The addition of the Afema JV assets to our growth pipeline is an important step towards delivering organically on our vision of becoming a multi-asset, mid-tier West African gold producer," said Richard Young (picture), CEO of Teranga.

According to estimates dating back from June 2018, the Afema permits could hold 865,000 ounces of indicated gold resources and 806,000 ounces of inferred gold resources.

Louis-Nino Kansoun