PERTH: Dalaroo Metals Ltd (ASX: DAL) announced Wednesday it will acquire four advanced gold exploration permits in Côte d’Ivoire, West Africa, marking a strategic expansion into one of the continent’s most prospective gold provinces.
The acquisition includes two granted tenements and two applications totaling 1,368 square kilometers across the Birimian Greenstone Belts. The permits—Djekanou, Yamoussoukro, Kokoumbo, and Molonou—are located near major multi-million-ounce deposits such as Yaouré and Bonikro.
Dalaroo will leverage extensive historical exploration data from previous operators, including ASX-listed Predictive Discovery Ltd. The Kokoumbo Project, the most advanced of the four, has seen 30 diamond drill holes and over 42,000 soil samples, with notable intercepts such as 7.5 meters at 16.0 g/t gold from surface (hole KOD001).
“This acquisition marks a major step forward for Dalaroo as we build a high-quality gold portfolio in Côte d’Ivoire,” said Chairman David Quinlivan, who will retire at the upcoming AGM. “We are leveraging strong in-country expertise and partnerships to accelerate early-stage work and set up meaningful drilling campaigns.”
Under the binding agreement with Red Rock Exploration, Dalaroo will issue 13.25 million shares and pay a resource definition royalty of A$2 per ounce of JORC-compliant indicated resources. The deal is subject to shareholder and ministerial approvals.
The company also announced a $1.35 million placement at $0.055 per share, with free-attaching options exercisable at $0.036. 62 Capital acted as sole lead manager.
Dalaroo plans aggressive exploration across the new permits, aiming to define an initial JORC-compliant resource. However, the company cautioned that no mineral resource has yet been estimated.