Roxgold (TSE: ROXG) announced Thursday that the deal to acquire from Newcrest a portfolio of 11 exploration permits in C??te d'Ivoire, including the S?(C)gu?(C)la gold project, has completed.
The Canadian miner paid $20 million upfront, to be followed by a $10 million deferred payment due when S?(C)gu?(C)la reaches production.
S?(C)gu?(C)la is Roxgold's second major project after the Yaramoko gold mine in Burkina Faso, also in West Africa. S?(C)gu?(C)la is located approximately 240 kilometres north-west of Yamoussoukro, the political capital of C??te d'Ivoire, and approximately 480 kilometres north-west of Abidjan, the commercial capital of the country.
"The S?(C)gu?(C)la gold project provides a second key asset with significant growth potential both in the near term through the near-surface Antenna deposit and attractive satellite opportunities as well as a highly prospective large land package," John Dorward, Roxgold's President and CEO said in a statement.
The Antenna deposit hosts an inferred resource of 5.8 million tonnes at an average of 2.3 grams per tonne of gold, in addition to other satellite opportunities.
Drilling is set to begin April 24 on multiple exploration targets, the miner said.