PERTH: Toubani Resources Ltd. has agreed to acquire a 19.9% interest in Avanti Gold Corp. through a share swap, gaining exposure to a high-grade gold development project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the company announced Monday.
Under the agreement, Toubani will issue 72.9 million of its shares and 36.45 million options, exercisable at 0.60 Australian dollars and expiring in three years, in exchange for 44.5 million common shares of Avanti, a Canadian-listed gold explorer. The transaction is expected to close by July 20, 2026, subject to customary conditions.
Avanti owns 73.5% of the Misisi Gold Project in eastern DRC, which contains the Akyanga Deposit. The deposit holds an inferred mineral resource estimate of 40.8 million metric tons at 2.37 grams per ton gold, containing 3.1 million ounces, according to a NI 43-101 technical report dated August 2023.
The Misisi project spans 133 square kilometers of granted mining licenses and lies within the Kibara Gold Belt, 140 kilometers north of Kalemie. More than 20,000 meters of drilling have been completed at Akyanga, and Avanti is currently conducting a 42,000-meter drill program with two diamond rigs on site.
Toubani Managing Director Phil Russo said the investment provides strategic exposure to one of Africa’s premier gold development assets while the company remains focused on bringing its flagship Kobada project in Mali into production by 2027.
“Our team’s strengths in resource delineation, engineering studies, funding and construction — combined with our existing operational knowledge and experience in the DRC — position us to support the acceleration of the Misisi project,” Russo said in a statement. “Avanti’s Misisi project is an attractive asset in a jurisdiction that is very much ‘open for business.’”
The Akyanga mineral resource estimate is reported under Canadian NI 43-101 standards and is not reported in accordance with the JORC Code, the Australian reporting standard. Toubani said a competent person has not done sufficient work to classify the Akyanga estimate as mineral resources under JORC, and there is no guarantee that further evaluation will allow it to be reported under that standard.
Canaccord Genuity acted as exclusive financial adviser to Toubani on the transaction. Thomsons provided Australian legal counsel, and Stikeman Elliott LLP served as Canadian legal counsel.
Toubani Resources is an Australian-listed development company focused on advancing gold projects in Africa. Its Kobada Gold Project in southern Mali hosts 2.2 million ounces in mineral resources across a 4.5-kilometer strike length, predominantly oxide and open-pittable material.
