(Ecofin Agency) - Perseus Mining recently acquired stakes in a mining company operating in Guinea. Now, the firm let go of its stake in Montage Gold, the firm owning Côte d’Ivoire’s projected biggest mine. 

Perseus Mining sold its entire 9.6% stake in Canadian company Montage Gold, which owns the Koné gold project in Côte d'Ivoire. The firm announced on August 21 that it sold 33 million common shares to BMO Nesbitt Burns for $45 million.

The deal allows the Australian firm to reduce its exposure to the Ivorian mining sector, where it already operates two gold mines while diversifying its investments in Africa. Recently, the company acquired OreCorp and its Nyanzaga gold project in Tanzania.

Perseus said it will use the sale’s proceeds to strengthen its balance sheet. The firm has recently acquired a 13.82% stake in Predictive Discovery, which owns the Bankan gold project in Guinea. This project is expected to produce an average of 256,000 ounces of gold annually over 11 years, totaling around 80 tonnes.

"We are very pleased to have successfully sold Montage's non-core interest at a price that will more than offset the cost of our recent acquisition of a strategic interest in Predictive's Bankan gold project in Guinea, which we view as a potentially attractive gold development project," said Jeff Quartermaine, CEO of Perseus.

Perseus Mining operates the Yaouré and Sissingué gold mines in Côte d'Ivoire and the Edikan gold mine in Ghana. The company is also involved in the Meyas Sand gold project in Sudan.