(Ecofin Agency) - Panthera Resources holds an 80% stake in Mali’s Kalaka and Bassala gold projects. The British company has just increased its stake in both assets and is now exploring its options for financing their development.

Panthera Resources, a British company, has increased its stake in Mali's Kalaka and Bassala gold projects. It now holds 85% of both assets after acquiring an additional 5%, respectively, from its local partner, Golden Spear Mali SARL.

In exchange for the stakes, Panthera will issue 135,200 new ordinary shares to Golden Spear and make a one-off payment of $10,000. The London-listed firm will also fund all future development-related expenses at Kalaka and Bassala until construction works for a gold mine begin.

By increasing its stakes in the projects, Panthera hopes to speed up talks to attract a strategic investor. Negotiations are underway to raise funds to develop Panthera's Malian portfolio, particularly its exploration activities, which have been scaled back due to difficulties encountered by the company on a project in India. Panthera may transfer part of its project stakes to the new investor. 

"The company is well positioned in its discussions with third parties to potentially fund and/or reorganize its current interest in West African gold assets. If successful, these discussions could enable the company to extract significant value from its West African gold portfolio," said Mark Bolton, CEO of Panthera Resources.

The Bassala and Kalaka gold projects are both located in southern Mali, in a region that hosts most of the country's major gold mines. Although exploration work to date has failed to identify a deposit, Panthera indicates that Kalaka has the potential to host up to 3 million ounces of gold.

Panthera is also present at the Bido and Labola gold projects in Burkina Faso.

It is worth noting that until last month, Panthera’s stake in the Kalaka project was 40%. 

Emiliano Tossou

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