Shanta Gold acquires Acacia Exploration (Kenya) from Barrick Gold

Shanta Gold, an East Africa-focused gold producer, has wrapped up its previously announced acquisition of Acacia Exploration (Kenya) from three subsidiaries of Barrick Gold.

The deal gives Shanta Gold ownership of Acacia Exploration’s main asset, which is a 100% interest in licences that include an existing high-grade NI 43-101 compliant resource in West Kenya.

The consideration for the acquisition is made up of $7 million cash, $7.5 million worth shares in Shanta Gold issued to Barrick Gold at 10.5p per share, and a 2% life of mine net smelter return (NSR) royalty over the West Kenya project.

In line with the terms of the deal, 54,650,211 shares in Shanta Gold have been issued to Barrick Gold resulting in a stake of 6.4% in the former.

Eric Zurrin – CEO of Shanta Gold said: “The West Kenya acquisition is significant for Shanta Gold, creating an East African gold mining champion with realisable growth prospects and high asset quality across three attractive gold projects.

“Now that the Transaction is complete, we are turning our focus to integrating West Kenya into the Shanta portfolio and accelerating progress on the ground with plans to begin infill drilling and to further delineate the resource potential. We are committed to responsibly investing in Kenya and working with the Government, communities and local stakeholders.”