Cardinal Resources (ASX, TSX: CDV) announced Monday that its Namdini mining licence has officially received sovereign parliamentary ratification in Ghana.
“This ratification and the recent issuing of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) permit, along with our water extraction permit and relocation action plan approval, places the Namdini gold project into an extremely secure and solid position for development,” Cardinal CEO and managing director Archie Koimtsidis stated in a press release.
A large-scale mining licence covering the Namdini project was granted to Cardinal by Ghana’s Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in 2017. It originally covered 19 sqkm in the Dakoto area of the Talensi District in the Upper East Region of Ghana, and has now been expanded to 63 sqkm, the maximum allowable.
The expanded licence is granted for an initial period of 15 years commencing in 2020 and is renewable. This expansion would allow the company to improve and de-risk mine and infrastructure design and optimize financial outcomes, Cardinal says.
A feasibility study on the Namdini project last year estimated that it would produce about 4.2 million ounces of gold over a mine life of 15 years, with an estimated 1.1 million ounces expected over the first three years of the operation. The development cost was estimated at $390 million.
Meanwhile, the recently launched takeover offer by Russia’s Nordgold is currently being “considered in detail” by the board, Cardinal says. The Australia-based miner also has an offer from Shandong Gold Mining, one of China’s biggest gold producers.