https://www.miningweekly.com
Financial|Gold|Projects|Resources
Financial|Gold|Projects|Resources
financial|gold|projects|resources

AJN Resources says only it can add lustre to Congolese gold assets

25th June 2020

By: Reuters

  

Font size: - +

JOHANNESBURG - Canada-listed junior miner AJN Resources dismissed an attempt to block the company's plan to buy five gold projects in Democratic Republic of Congo and said the country needed it to bring value to the assets.

Civil society groups on Thursday called on the President and Prime Minister to block a draft deal announced in early February, which cabinet meeting minutes showed last week is awaiting their approval.

Under the deal, AJN Resources' Congo unit would acquire stakes of between 30% and 35% in five gold projects in eastern Congo from state-owned gold company Société Minière de Kilo-Moto (SOKIMO) in exchange for a 60% stake in AJN.

AJN Resources says the agreement would help SOKIMO raise money on international markets to develop the projects.

CEO Klaus Eckhof dismissed a statement from five civil society groups under the banner "Le Congo n'est pas a vendre" (Congo is not for sale) as a joke and told Reuters by phone the assets would have little value without him.

"If I'm in the company [the assets] will have a big value, if I'm not in the company they will have a small value," he said.

The civil society groups said AJN lacks the financial clout and expertise necessary to revive SOKIMO.

"It seems like AJN needs SOKIMO more than SOKIMO needs AJN," Jimmy Munguriek, permanent secretary at Ituri province civil society group CdC/RN, said.

AJN Resources has a market capitalisation of C$9.723-million and its June 1 financial statement showed it made a $2.1 million loss in the nine months to April 30.

The February draft deal also set out AJN's purchase of Sokimo's 10% stake in the Kibali gold mine, which Barrick Gold operates. Barrick moved to block that purchase, causing AJN to scrap that part of the deal in early March.

AJN plans to acquire from Sokimo its 30% stakes in Zani-Kodo, Nizi, and Kibali South, and 35% stakes in Giro Goldfields and Wanga (Tendao).

Edited by Reuters

Comments

Showroom

Immersive Technologies
Immersive Technologies

Immersive Technologies is the world's largest, proven and tested supplier of simulator training solutions to the global resources industry.

VISIT SHOWROOM 
Stewarts & Lloyds
Stewarts & Lloyds

Stewarts & Lloyds today supplies steel and tube, pipe and fittings, valves, pumps, irrigation, fencing, profiling and roofing products. The cash...

VISIT SHOWROOM 

Latest Multimedia

sponsored by

Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
Hyphen, Eva mine, ferrochrome price make headlines
27th March 2024
Resources Watch
Resources Watch
27th March 2024

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION







sq:0.108 0.144s - 91pq - 2rq
Subscribe Now