Cora Gold reports progress across Sanankoro

(Sharecast News) - Cora Gold reported progress across its Sanankoro gold project in Mali during 2025 on Monday, with an updated feasibility study, larger reserve and subsequent financing steps giving the company a clearer route towards development.

The AIM-traded West Africa-focused gold company said its updated mineral resource estimate for Sanankoro, announced in January 2025, totalled 31.4m tonnes at 1.04 grams of gold per tonne for 1.04m ounces, a 13% increase in contained metal from the 2022 estimate.

Cora appointed New SENET in April 2025 to oversee an updated definitive feasibility study for Sanankoro.

As part of that work, the company announced an updated probable reserve of 531,000 ounces at 1.13 grams per tonne, based on a gold price of $2,200 per ounce, representing a 26% increase in contained metal from the maiden reserve announced in 2022.

The 2025 feasibility study, based on a gold price of $2,750 per ounce, indicated a post-tax net present value of $221m using an 8% discount rate, an internal rate of return of 65% and a 1.1-year payback period.

It also outlined a 10.2-year reserve mine life, average free cash flow of $67m per year for the first five years, life-of-mine free cash flow of $479m, and average production of 64,000 ounces per year over the first five years.

Life-of-mine cash costs were estimated at $948 per ounce, with all-in sustaining costs of $1,478 per ounce, and pre-production capital of $124m including mining pre-production costs and contingencies.

Metallurgical test work confirmed average life-of-mine gold recovery of 90.7% through a conventional 1.5m-tonne-per-year carbon-in-leach processing plant.

The company said a solar hybrid power option had been incorporated into the plant design, expected to reduce operating costs and carbon emissions by cutting diesel consumption by 40m litres over the life of the mine.

Cora also reported exploration progress at Madina Foulbé in Senegal, where work identified four strong gold anomalies with encouraging signs of significant underlying gold systems.

During 2025, Cora raised a combined £2.6m through two equity fundraises to advance Sanankoro towards construction readiness. After the year end, it raised a further £15.7m in March 2026, including a £13.7m strategic investment from Eagle Eye Asset Holdings, which became its largest shareholder with a 29.9% holding.

In April, Cora entered into a binding term sheet with Eagle Eye for a $120m gold stream to support development of Sanankoro.

Under the agreement, Eagle Eye would be entitled to purchase 30.44% of gold production for the life of the mine, reducing to 15.22% if half of the stream is drawn, at 20% of the prevailing spot gold price.

Cora retains the right to replace 50% of the stream with traditional senior debt for up to 240 days after receiving required approvals.

Chair Adam Davidson said Eagle Eye's investment and the subsequent stream represented a "transformational step" for the company, adding that the financing had significantly de-risked Sanankoro and established a clear route to a fully funded development.

"With the robust 2025 DFS and a clear execution pathway in place, the company is well positioned to unlock the next phase of value at Sanankoro," Davidson said.

He added that permitting continued to advance through constructive engagement with the government of Mali, describing it as the final key regulatory step before construction.

At 1047 BST, shares in Cora Gold were down 1.04% at 9.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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