Orea signs definitive agreement to acquire Nordgold's interest in world-class Montagne d'Or gold project

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(Kitco News) - On Wednesday, Orea Mining (TSX: OREA) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Nordgold's 55.01% interest (for a total of 100%) in the Montagne d'Or joint-venture company ("HoldingCo") in French Guiana, France.

The company said that HoldingCo holds 100% of the Montagne d'Or permitting stage, 5-million-ounce open pit gold mine development project, adding that Montagne d'Or "…has good grade, excellent metallurgy, and there is considerable potential to increase ounces by infill and expansion drilling."

According to a company press release, under the definitive agreement, HoldingCo has settled 24.6 million Euro (~CAN$35.6 million) that was owed to Nordgold with no cash outlays by Orea.

"In addition, consideration is entirely at the back-end, whereby Orea will only be obligated to pay Nordgold CAN$100 million when Orea receives all permits and authorizations necessary for the construction, operation, production and related sales of a mine that produces a minimum of 100,000 ounces of gold per year," the company said in a statement.

"If Nordgold's shareholders are still under sanctions at the time of the CAN$100 million payment, then the funds will only be processed in compliance with applicable sanction regulations, including being paid to a blocked bank account," it added.

Importantly, Orea pointed out that the definitive agreement was signed with the approval of the French treasury (DG Trésor) which is responsible for overseeing matters related to Russian sanctions.

"Comfort related to sanctions was also obtained from the UK treasury (OFSI), and the US Treasury (OFAC) has been kept informed of all developments, following the signing of the initial letter agreement with Nordgold which was executed under a General Licence that was granted by OFAC in June 2022," the company noted.

Orea is a gold exploration and development company operating in a prospective and underexplored segment of the Guiana Shield, South America. In French Guiana, Orea holds a 100% interest in the world-class Montagne d'Or mine development project.