JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Triple-listed Giyani Gold and the shareholders of Horizon Enerji and Sumo Coal have extended the closing date of a deal that will see the gold asset developer acquiring the Ceyhan project – a fully permitted crude oil storage and dry bulk cargo port development – in Turkey.

The parties last week signed an extension agreement that stipulated they would execute a definitive agreement by October 31 and, if all conditions were satisfied, it was expected that the transaction would close by December 31.

Southern Africa-focused Giyani Gold struck an all-scrip deal in August to acquire the development, simultaneously announcing that it would buy Sumo Coal, a cash-flow generating coal operator in South Africa.

Mining Weekly Online reported at the time that the company would acquire the assets by securing all the issued and outstanding shares of both Sumo Coal and Horizon Enerji, which owned the Ceyhan project. The transaction would be structured as a reverse takeover.

In terms of the deal, Giyani would undertake a debt and/or equity financing of up to $25-million, with a minimum of $15-million of this financing closing concurrently with the transaction, and the balance to close after the transaction was complete.

The associated dry bulk cargo port facility would allow the company to take advantage of the increasing demand for energy import port facilities in the high-growth Turkish market.

“With this transaction, Giyani and its Turkish partners are creating a Canadian midstream company, which will have access to a very exciting high-growth midstream oil and gas opportunity in a strategically important location at the upstream of European markets,” Giyani associate and consultant to the parties Bertan Atalay commented.

Giyani executive chairperson Duane Parnham added that the group had assembled a unique package of energy assets that will mould the company into a major player in the oil services and energy sector.

“We have delivered on our strategy of acquiring a cash-flow generating asset, which will elevate the profile of our company and remove exploration risk moving forward.

“The energy sector is strong and we anticipate that, as the sector continues to strengthen, our shareholders will be rewarded based on the superior projects Giyani is acquiring and the team we have assembled to progress them," he said.

Giyani also stated in August that it was mulling the consolidation of its shares on a basis that had yet to be determined.