PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed gold miner Resolute Mining has made a A$22.5-million investment in TSX-listed Orca Gold, subscribing for 32.4-million shares in the Canada-based, but Africa-focused company.

The share placement, which is priced at C$0.675 a share, will give Resolute a 15% interest in Orca. The shares will be issued in two tranches.

Resolute MD and CEO John Welborn said on Monday that the investment in Orca was opportunistic and part of Resolute’s growth strategy.

Orca holds the Block 14 gold project, in the Sudan, which is capable of producing some 135 000 oz/y based on a 3.4-million-tonne-a-year operation. Orca is currently progressing a feasibility study for an expanded project, based on a six-million-tonne-a-year project, to produce an average 200 000 oz/y over a ten-year mine life.

“Orca is a first mover in a region which is host to the largest gold rush seen in Africa in centuries. Sudan’s increasing political stability and highly prospective under explored geology has seen the country rapidly emerging as the second largest producer of gold in Africa,” said Welborn.

He noted that current annual production from Sudan of more than three-million ounces of gold, is sourced from small scale and artisanal mining activity, similar to Resolute’s entry into Ghana and Tanzania in the late 1990s.

“Resolute has established an initial strategic interest in Orca and we look forward to working with their well credentialed management team with the aim of collaborating to unlock value. We believe the combination of our mutual exploration and development expertise and resources will materially advance the existing asset position and advance regional exploration and development opportunities.”

Welborn noted that Resolute’s ultimate ambition was to participate in the development of a major new gold mining district consistent with Resolute’s Golden Pride legacy, as a successful pioneer of the gold mining industry in East Africa.

Following the placement, Resolute will have the right to appoint a director to the Orca board.