(Ecofin Agency) - Resolute Mining, active in Africa’s gold sector, announced today April 4, that it clinched a binding agreement to acquire 27% interest in Loncor Resources’ equity, a Canadian company active in the Ngayu Archean greenstone belt, in DRC.

Under the terms of agreement, Loncor will expand its existing asset base, by acquiring 100% interest in two Congolese companies which hold additional exploration permits in the Ngayu gold belt.

In addition, Resolute will subscribe 26 million common shares of the Company for a total amount of C$2.6 million and exchange $2.5 million of its own shares for an additional 25 million shares of Loncor.

John Welborn (photo), Resolute’s CEO, said that this investment in Loncor is opportunistic and is part of his company’s strategy in the region. “We are convinced that these Archean greenstone belts will host future gold mines,” he said, adding that the agreement is part of the same framework as that concluded in 2016 with Kilo Goldmines.

 For the record, Northeastern DRC, where the Ngayu belt is located, is reputed as a very rich but under-explored region. The region hosts Kibali gold mine owned by Randgold Resources and AngloGold Ashanti.

Louis-Nino Kansoun