Canadian mining company Fortuna Silver Mines has completed an A$89m ($57.05m) deal to take over Chesser Resources, which owns the Diamba Sud gold project in Senegal.
Announced in May 2023, the acquisition saw Chesser shareholders securing 0.0248 Fortuna shares for each share held, implying a value of A$0.142 each.
In total, Fortuna issued 15.54 million shares, which constitute a 5.1% stake.
With the acquisition of Chesser, Fortuna will expand its reach in West Africa and add the preliminary economic assessment stage Diamba Sud project.
Occupying 872km², the Diamba Sud gold project is a new and emerging gold discovery in the country. It is near to, and is claimed to share, similar geologic features of gold mines owned by Barrick Gold and B2Gold in Mali.
Diamba Sud has four open pittable gold deposits, along with several other targets that are yet to be tested. Fortuna aims to prioritise exploration to expand mineral resources before advancing it to the development stage.
Last year, Chesser released a mineral resource estimate, where it reported an indicated mineral resource estimate of ten million tonnes (mt) averaging 1.9 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold (Au) containing 625,000oz of gold and an inferred mineral resource estimate of 4.7mt averaging 1.5g/t Au containing 235,000oz of gold.
Fortuna Silver Mines president and CEO Jorge A Ganoza said: “With the acquisition of Chesser, Fortuna continues to strengthen its presence in West Africa. Senegal is a mining-friendly and highly prospective jurisdiction, and we are excited about the growth potential that Chesser’s Diamba Sud gold project provides.”
“We look forward to integrating Diamba Sud into our global portfolio, focusing on exploration to unlock value, and partnering with the local communities and stakeholders as we continue to advance the project.”
When the acquisition was first announced, Fortuna stated that the project’s scoping study had estimated a post-tax net present value of $218m and a 43% internal rate of return over a mine life of 7.5 years.
