Gold mining in West Africa comes with many challenges, not the least of which is maintaining a social license in a conflict-prone region.
Asara Resources Ltd (ASX:AS1, OTC:GMRMF) has ambitions to lead West Africa’s next gold rush and has a simple but effective ethos β “do no harm”.
Gold rush in West Africa
The global price of gold hit an all-time high in December last year, hitting $2,135.39 an ounce, on the back of a weak US dollar and expectations that the US Federal Reserve will soon start cutting interest rates.
Global conflict in the form of Russia’s war in Ukraine and heightened conflict in the Middle East have also contributed, boosting the price of gold as investors look for safe havens to park their capital.
With South Africa’s mines faltering, Ghana became Africa’s new top gold producer in 2019, ranking sixth in the world.
The West African country is far from the only state in the region to enjoy a recent influx of gold investment β ββBurkina Faso, Mali, Guinea, Senegal and Mauritania have received a lot of attention from gold miners in the past few years.
In 2021, gold companies exploring Africa increased their spending significantly β Endeavor by 100%, Newmont by 26%, Barrick by 9%, Resolute by 55% and B2Gold by 38%.
Shallow oxide gold
Asara’s flagship project, the Kada Project in Guinea, is well positioned to benefit from the new gold rush.
Shallow oxide gold in nature, the surrounding rock is soft, potentially making it extremely cost effective to free dig and mill. Gold recoveries have been reported as high as 97%, indicating that the mineralization is suitable for conventional coal leaching (CIL) processing.
The company has already established a resource of close to 1 million ounces of gold, with a mineral resource estimate covering just 11% of a 15km long gold anomaly during the tenure.
More than 100 square kilometers of the project remain unexplored, offering a strong pipeline of potential new gold prospects.
Asara also owns the Kouri Gold Project in Burkina Faso and the Paguanta and Loreto projects in Chile, although Loreto is being explored by a joint venture partner and the company intends to offload Paguanta to focus on its Western gold assets Africa.
Seven core values
Asara Resources operates on seven core values ββ- Inclusivity, Respect, Do No Harm, Perseverance, Trust, Integrity and Courage.
The company focuses on hiring local staff, engaging local services, improving local infrastructure and buying or sourcing local products wherever possible.
Asara also proudly sponsors local education and sports clubs and says it uses – “practice techniques of environmental restoration and sustainable exploration, ensuring the integrity of the local environment and trusting it to future generations”.
“We are guided by the values ββof diversity, inclusion, trust, respect and integrity,” the company’s website states.
Asara’s leadership certainly has plenty of experience in both gold mining and mining in this part of the world β its management team boasts more than a century of collective experience across a wide variety of commodities and regions, but with a particular focus on West African gold.
Non-executive chairman Brett Montgomery has served in a number of executive and non-executive roles in public companies in West Africa, Australia, North America, Europe and Indonesia.
Managing Director Tim Strong is a geologist with experience in gold, copper, cobalt, nickel, lead and zinc, focusing on West African shear-hosted orogenic gold.
Non-executive director Doug Jones is also a geologist with 45 years’ experience in Sub-Saharan and North Africa, Australia, Europe and the Americas. He is a JORC ‘point person’ with a PhD with experience ranging from project creation and grassroots exploration to resource definition and feasibility studies.
Director of Exploration – West Africa Richard Zongo is another geologist with 35 years’ experience in West Africa, including 26 years at senior level as lead geologist and/or country manager in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Ghana and Guinea.
He has worked for several Australian companies (Asara Resources, Tribune Resources, Vital Metals) and Canadian companies (Mutual Resources, Orezone Resources, Volta Resources (now B2Gold)).
With so much experience at the ready, the company is well positioned to pursue its strategy of rapidly developing development opportunities and expanding mineral resources for the Kada Gold Project.