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Firefinch darts refinch darts

onto West African nto West African
o

gold sceneold scene
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wo transformative corporate deals and two in-
Tcountry coups – it has been quite the 12 months
for Firefinch Ltd in Mali and a full throttle introduction
for new managing director Michael Anderson.

nderson was appointed in May with Bestowed as “Morila the Gorilla” by vour of Firefinch after raising the capital)
AFirefinch on the cusp of a new era. Barrick chief executive Mark Bristow dur- ahead of Africa Down Under in October
Having taken its Goulamina lithium pro- ing its days under Randgold Resources’ 2020, Cowden drew obvious parallels to
ject towards DFS in early 2020, a falling stewardship, the Morila mine was the recent domestic success stories such as
price environment had left the company landlocked West African nation’s first Northern Star Resources Ltd and Evolu-
adrift in the market. Chairman Alistair world-class operation, producing 7.45 tion Mining Ltd.
Cowden and the board decided to switch moz gold @ 3.82 g/t over nearly two dec- “The best buying you can do is from
focus back to gold. ades of production. a receiver or a major,” Cowden said at
By September 2020, investors found A resource of 1.3 moz gold remains the time. “There are a lot of people in
out just how dramatic the switch had in the main Morila orebody with tail- this town [Perth] who have made a lot
been with the company announcing a ings adding a further 77,000oz gold and of money out of buying assets from the
$US70 million capital raising to fund a three satellite pits containing another majors.”
$US30 million deal to acquire the Mo- 113,000oz gold. For Anderson, the style of acquisition
rila gold mine from majors Barrick Gold In introducing the rebadged company may have parallels to Australian stories
Corp and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (it dropped the Mali Lithium tag in fa- but the opportunity now in front of Fire-

Page 20 aUgUST 2021 aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT