AngloGold Ashanti, IAMGOLD sell stake in Sadiola Gold Mine in Mali

AngloGold Ashanti (AGA) and its joint venture partner IAMGOLD (IMC) have signed a deal to sell their stake of 82% in the producing Sadiola Gold Mine in Mali to Allied Gold for $105 million, as per the latest mining acquisition news.

In this connection, AngloGold Ashanti and IAMGOLD are selling their interests in Société d’Exploitation des Mines d’Or de Sadiola (SEMOS), the holding company of the Mali gold mine in which the companies have stakes of 41% each. The remaining stake of 18% in SEMOS is held by the government of Mali.

The open pit Sadiola Gold Mine, which is located in the Kayes region of Western Mali, has been in production since 1996. The Mali gold project has been operated by the South African gold mining company AngloGold Ashanti.

The deal, which is subject to meeting of preceding conditions such as the receipt of certain approvals, is expected to be wrapped up by the end of April 2020.

Work at the Sadiola Gold Mine in Mali. Photo courtesy of Iamgold/Wikipedia.org.

Kelvin Dushnisky, CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, commenting on the sale of the Sadiola Gold Mine, said: “This transaction is in line with our disciplined capital allocation strategy as we move to streamline our portfolio and intensify our focus on assets that have potential to build critical mass in the long term. I’m pleased we have reached an agreement with Allied Gold, which has plans to secure the long- term future of Sadiola.”

The Sadiola gold project, which is located 77km south-southwest of Kayes, features a 4.9Mt per annum CIL gold processing plant, where the ore is eluted and smelted.

As of 31 December 2018, the Sadiola Gold Mine had 7.9 million ounces (135.4 million tonnes at 1.81 g/t) of mineral resources and ore reserves of 4.0 million ounces (63.8 million tonnes at 1.94 g/t) that are made up of oxide stockpiles and sulphide stockpiles and yet to be mined ore.

Production from the Sadiola Gold Mine attributable to AngloGold Ashanti, for the nine months ended 30 September 2019, was 39,000 ounces at an all in sustaining cost of $954 per ounce.

For the Canadian gold producer IAMGOLD, the gold mine in Mali accounts for nearly 10% of its production.

Commenting on the sale of the Sadiola Gold Mine, Gord Stothart – President and COO of IAMGOLD, said: “This transaction reflects our continuing efforts toward self-funding and focussed capital allocation. The Sadiola mine was the founding asset of IAMGOLD, and we are pleased to have reached this agreement with Allied Gold to secure its long-term future.”