The acquisition is expected to expand B2Gold’s footprint with additional 1,405km² of highly prospective greenstone belts in Mali, West Africa, including Oklo’s Dandoko Project
B2Gold to acquire Oklo Resources. (Credit: Rolf Dobberstein from Pixabay)
Canadian mining company B2Gold has entered into a binding scheme implementation deed (SID) to acquire Australia-based Oklo Resources in a deal worth A$90m ($64m).
Under the terms of the SID, B2Gold will acquire all the outstanding shares of Oklo at a price of 17.25 cents per share, by way of a board recommended scheme of arrangement.
The transaction price represents a 127% premium to Oklo’s closing price of 7.6 cents per share, said the company.
Oklo shareholders are expected to receive 0.0206 of a B2Gold common share and A$0.0525 in cash for each share held.
In addition, the Canadian company will also issue up to 10,754,284 shares to Oklo shareholders upon implementation of the agreement.
Oklo managing director Simon Taylor said: “The B2Gold proposal was welcomed by the Oklo Directors and comes at an opportune time for Oklo shareholders to crystalise value and de-risk their investment in the Company.
“Dandoko is at an inflection point and this transaction removes the risks associated with project development, future capital raisings and other risks faced by a junior gold explorer in a foreign jurisdiction.
“B2Gold has proven operating capabilities in Mali and the Oklo Directors are proud to be handing the Dandoko Project over to a new custodian with confidence.”
The transaction is expected to expand B2Gold’s footprint with additional 1,405km² of highly prospective greenstone belts in Mali, West Africa, including Oklo’s Dandoko Project.
Oklo’s properties are located on a subparallel, north-trending structure east of the Senegal-Mali Shear Zone, around 25km from the Fekola mine and 25km from the Anaconda area.
According to Oklo’s initial JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), its Dandoko project is estimated to contain 11.3Mt at 1.83g/t gold for 668.5kOz contained gold.
B2Gold is currently conducting a Mali drill programme in the area, by investing $35.5m for drilling up to 225,000 metres depth.
The transaction is expected to be implemented in September 2022, subject to approval by Oklo shareholders, and satisfying certain customary conditions.