Asante Gold (CSE: ASE), a gold producer active in Ghana, has secured financing of $470 million to clean up its financial structure, support the expansion of its mining operations at Bibiani and Chirano, and prepare for its listing on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV), scheduled for mid-August.
The transaction combines several financial instruments, including a senior debt of $150 million provided by Rand Merchant Bank (South Africa), up to $125 million of subordinated debt, with $75 million injected by Appian Capital, an investment company based in London, and a $50 million gold streaming agreement backed by the production of the two mines.
In parallel, Asante has mobilized $110 million in bridge financing from lenders based in the United Arab Emirates and Ghana, as well as nearly $85 million in equity, notably through Appian, with a potential raise of up to $130 million.
Some of the funds will be used to repay the debt incurred from Kinross Gold during the acquisition of the Chirano mine in 2022. This purchase, amounting to $225 million (in cash and shares), had granted Kinross an initial 9.9% stake in Asante. Now, a partial conversion of the debt into shares will increase this stake to nearly 18%, while repayment terms will be eased.
“This new influx of capital brings us closer to our goal of producing over 500,000 ounces of gold per year by 2028, with significantly reduced sustaining costs,” said Dave Anthony, CEO of Asante, who stated that the expansion of the Bibiani pit and underground work at Chirano will be accelerated on a mining footprint of 80 km².
In 2024, the company produced 76,000 ounces of gold and aims to double this volume in 2025 to reach 172,000 ounces. The commissioning of the sulfide processing plant at Bibiani is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025, with the ramp-up of underground production by 2026. Chirano, on the other hand, targets a threshold of over 200,000 ounces of gold per year within a two-year horizon.
