Easy digging: Toubani to raise $3.8m for its near-surface 2.4Moz Kobada gold project in Mali

$3.8m will be raised through a two-tranche institutional placement at 12c per share
Funds will be used to complete a DFS for Toubani’s flagship, 2.4Moz Kobada gold project in southern Mali
77% of the gold is near-surface and down to a depth of just 150m below ground

West Africa is primed for a gold rush, and Toubani Resources is sitting on what could be Mali’s largest undeveloped oxide gold mine.

Gold explorer Toubani Resources (ASX:TRE) has raised $3.8m to accelerate development at its Kobada gold project in southern Mali, West Africa, one of the most prolific regions for untouched gold in the world.

In a two-tranche placement, Toubani will issue 32m chess depositary interests (CDIs) at 12c per share with directors intending to subscribe to the raise themselves.

Low capex and easy to mine

Toubani reckons it’s undervalued compared to its peers, with a free diggable resource at just US$4/oz enterprise to resource value.

The resource currently stands at an impressive 87Mt @ 0.86g/t for 2.4Moz.

The grade might seem low, but its soft material and so are the depths the mining needs to go beneath the surface.

77% of the mineral resource is found down to just 150m below ground across the 4.5km Kobada Main open pit.

A 1.5Moz portion of the resource is also proven to be free dig, soft oxide which can be mined easier and at bulk-tonnage rates, which underpins increased production and lower costs.

Also aiding the economic viability of Kobada is its lean capital profile, low stripping ratios and lower consumable and reagent consumption.

Funds will go towards completing an update to the definitive feasibility study (DFS) for Kobada, and further to prove up more oxide resources from inferred to indicated category.

The 2021 DFS outlined a +100,000oz per annum operation at US$972/oz AISC over the first 10 years, which Toubani is confident of demonstrating a step change through its study work.

“We are excited to be moving into this phase of Toubani’s evolution underpinned by the recently announced significant oxide gold resource and with a clear line of sight on the potential of Kobada as a gold project dominated by free dig, free milling and soft rock material of scale.” Toubani CEO Phil Russo said.

“We look forward to surfacing this value and showcasing the attractiveness of Kobada in the months ahead.

West Africa, and Africa generally, continues to be a destination for mine builds and M&A activity with Toubani continuing to advance Kobada down the path towards being an asset of significance in the region.”

The project also has huge upside. Recently, Toubani more than doubled strike extent from 5km to 11km on the back of a successful drilling campaign that also defined new areas of gold mineralisation.

This article was developed in collaboration with Toubani Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.