AngloGold Ashanti in JV deal to develop AGK gold project in DR Congo

AngloGold Ashanti (LSE, ASX: AGG; NYSE: AU) has entered into a definitive JV (joint venture) agreement with l'Office des Mines d'Or de Kilo-Moto (OKIMO) over the development of the Ashanti Goldfields Kilo (AGK) project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the transfer of the exploitation permits to AGK.

Under the agreement, AngloGold and OKIMO will jointly develop the AGK project through the joint company AGK, in which AngloGold will hold an 86.22% interest and OKIMO the remaining 13.78%. The exploitation permits cover some 6,000 sq km (square kilometres) in the Ituri district in the north-eastern DRC, including the Mongbwalu project, where a mineral resource of some 3 Moz (million ounces) has been identified by previous exploration work with further exploration and feasibility studies currently taking place.

“This agreement allows us to move forward with an enormously prospective exploration programme from which we expect to develop another world class gold project,” said chief executive of AngloGold Ashanti Mark Cutifani.

AGK has agreed to return about 30% of the project area to OKIMO through greenfields exploration programs that are planned throughout the AGK project area. AngloGold will also have the right to explore an area of 121 sq km around the towns of Bambu and Nizi, though it will not be included in the AGK project.

Should AngloGold Ashanti identify deposits having an inferred mineral resource of more than 1.5 Moz, such deposits will be developed in terms of a separate JV agreement.

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/14918/anglogold-ashanti-in-jv-deal-to-develop-agk-gold-project-in-dr-congo-14918.html