Canadian precious metals miner Fortuna Mining Corporation has expanded its footprint in West Africa by signing a binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) with DeSoto Resources Limited, an Australian-listed gold exploration company to establish an exploration alliance and joint venture across the highly prospective Siguiri Basin in Guinea.
Senior Vice President of Exploration at Fortuna, Paul Weedon said Guinea’s Siguiri Basin has demonstrated potential to host multi-million-ounce gold deposits in a country with a long mining history.
“This agreement with DeSoto provides Fortuna with an excellent entry into this highly prospective region, alongside a highly qualified and experienced team with a proven track record of discovery across West Africa.”
Under the agreement, a new joint venture company (JVCo) will be formed, with a board of up to four directors, two from each party, with the majority partner holding a casting vote. A 36-month period focused on identifying “Go Projects”, meaning significant discoveries warranting further development.
The company also revealed that once a Go Project is formed, JVCo will transition into a formal joint venture in which Fortuna will hold 70% and DeSoto will hold 30%, and Fortuna will solely fund exploration until the later three years or US$12.5 million in cumulative expenditure across Go Projects.
Fortuna Mining, which operates mines in various countries in America, is currently advancing the Diamba Sud Gold Project it acquired in 2023, and is situated within the highly promising Kenieba-Koudougou Inlier (KKI), a region known for hosting several world-class gold deposits across eastern Senegal and western Mali.
