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AFRICA DOWNUNDER PREVIEW

Endeavour of Semafo.
“We’ve been trying to buy it off Semafo for years,” Dinning said.
“It is only 5km away and has a multimillion-ounce resource on it.
There is a low-grade component but also a high-grade portion
of 500,000oz @ 6 g/t high-grade.
“Now that Endeavour has taken over Semafo, it has dropped
even further down the pecking order. Once they’ve had a
chance to look at it, I think they’ll realise it doesn’t make sense Sarama managing director Andrew Dinning (right) and Guy
Scherrer (senior geologist) speak with a local chief about the
to build two mines 5km apart. It should be with us or them, but
company’s activity in the area
we have to work out how to do it. Endeavour are commercial
and act decisively, so we are hopeful.
“We have got our hands full but if we saw the right opportunity,
“Together they add up to 5 moz with a lot of high grade and a lot we’d look at it,” he said. “The one thing we are interested in is
of runway geologically with different styles of deposits.” a more advanced asset. The Mali Lithium [Ltd] deal for Morila
Bantou aside, Dinning appears satisfied with the make-up of is a great one. We are looking at assets which might pop out of
the Sarama portfolio, although he wouldn’t dismiss a new the consolidation in West Africa but greenfields projects are not
acquisition if a suitable one was presented. a priority.”

Ethiopian empire awaits Megado

he renewed interest in African gold The Megado portfolio comprises six
Tstocks is not restricted to the traditional greenfields projects covering the same north-
exploration hotspots. south trending greenstone belts which host two
of the country’s most prolific gold mines; Lega
While the ASX-hosted African success stories Dembi and Sakaro, as well as Tulu Kapi.
of the last decade have largely been focused
on West Africa, newcomer Megado Gold Ltd is Bowden said the intricacies of the Ethiopian
finding investor support for its portfolio of early- tenement system meant it could be difficult to
stage assets on the other side of the continent identify and secure large land packages.
in Ethiopia. “You can’t peg thousands of square kilometres
Megado plans to list in October on the back of a in Ethiopia, you have to know what you want,”
$6 million IPO managed by Canaccord Genuity he said. “There is a good technical library at the
(Australia). Geological Survey but a lot of it is in hard copy
on the shelves, so you have to do the legwork.
The company will use the funds to kick-start
There are no countrywide geophysical
exploration on four gold projects it has acquired
datasets so you need to know what you’re
in Ethiopia, all selected by executive director
looking for. I’ve spent weeks in there, digging
Chris Bowden.
through the information.”
Bowden has form in the East African country,
That process eventually led to Megado
having led Ascom Precious Metals’ discovery
securing 95% of the ground it chased, leaving
of the 1.5 moz gold Dish Mountain deposit. He
Bowden with a 700sq km package to begin
lived in Ethiopia for five years during his time
exploration on.
with the private equity group, scouring most of
the Arabian Nubian Shield for gold prospects, “We are really excited to be back and see
and is eager to apply that knowledge to his new what targets we can deliver given our previous
venture. success,” he said. “The projects are all early
Megado has secured six licences stage but some have had previous work. We
“The portfolio came together through the can fast-track some, and two projects close to
combination of the team,” Bowden explained in Ethiopia
drill-ready and aim to start drilling them ASAP.
to GMJ. “Our previous work means we don’t
have to re-invent the wheel, we were simply applying the same “We have got teams in place doing work right now. We are not
methodology and contacts which led to the Dish Mountain heavily reliant on expats as we have experienced geologists who
discovery. We are quite excited about what that can deliver.” are super keen to get back to work.”
Gaining permits and permission shouldn’t be difficult given the
Ethiopia is far from an exploration hotspot but with Dish Mountain
Ethiopian Government’s support for the nascent mining sector.
and Kefi Mining plc’s multimillion-ounce Tulu Kapi project, as well
as several older mines which have posted more than 3 moz gold, “We are quite confident in the regulatory framework, it is quite
there is evidence of its prospectivity. competitive, and we would be glad to make a discovery in
Bowden believes Megado can benefit from its early-mover status Ethiopia,” Bowden said. “The Government is very proactive
in the country. towards mining and has very competitive free-carried terms,
royalties and corporate tax rates. The industry is in its formative
“Ethiopia is frontier territory for gold exploration so there are stages, but the Government is very supportive of the industry with
higher barriers to entry but given my experience there, we think the Prime Minister in particularly pushing it.”
Megado has a huge competitive advantage,” he said.
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