High Guinea Gold SARLU (HGG), the joint venture entity driving the exploration alliance between DeSoto Resources Ltd. and Fortuna Mining Corp., has secured its first major gold acquisition package in West Africa.
HGG has entered into a binding agreement with local operator Wassolon Mining Group SAU to acquire up to seven highly prospective gold projects in Guinea.
The extensive portfolio covers approximately 591.43 square kilometres within the Siguiri Basin, an area widely regarded by geologists as one of the world’s most active and productive gold provinces with massive potential for open-pittable discoveries.
The acquisition has been structured as a staged, risk-managed transaction. Total consideration for the seven project areas is valued at US$574,682, alongside a separate US$30,000 securing fee.
To buffer the joint venture against typical regional regulatory risks, subsequent payments are strictly tied to tenure progression, the successful conversion of reconnaissance authorisations into formal exploration permits, and specific field milestones.
The transaction includes an initial three-month exclusivity and due diligence period, allowing HGG to deploy its technical team to validate licence boundaries in the Guinea mining cadastre, compile historical geological data, and rank priority drilling targets.
DeSoto Managing Director Chris Swallow said the package perfectly encapsulates the rationale behind the joint venture, which initially gives Fortuna a 70 per cent stake and DeSoto a 30 per cent stake.
Under the alliance terms, Fortuna will sole-fund up to US$12.5 million in exploration over the next three years.
“The objective was to combine DeSoto’s in-country capability, technical team and project generation experience with Fortuna’s West African operating experience and exploration funding capacity,” Swallow said.
“The selected projects provide exposure to a large and prospective land position in the Siguiri Basin, while the transaction structure appropriately balances opportunity with the tenure and exploration risks that are typical at this stage of project acquisition in Guinea.”
