Katoro Gold Plc says it is withdrawing from projects in Namibia and South Africa, citing unfavourable local ownership limitations and a strategic shift towards higher-value ventures.
“Given the challenges encountered in obtaining evidence of ownership title for the Namibian project, we have determined it prudent to cease further investment in this venture,” Katoro Gold CEO Louis Coetzee said.
This comes after in 2022 Katoro entered into a binding conditional agreement with Trans Namibian Mining and Minerals (Pty) Ltd to establish a 50-50 unincorporated joint venture.
The joint venture aimed to develop a mining and processing facility to export quality iron ore, with an envisaged capacity of 1.2 million metric tonnes per annum of 62+% iron (Fe) during the first four years of production.
Katoro emphasised its intention to pursue recovery of invested amounts from relevant third parties.
“The company reserves its rights to pursue recovery of any amounts invested to date from third parties where it is appropriate to do so, albeit the amounts invested to date are very modest given the limited progress achieved,” said Coetzee.
Similarly, following a review of the Blyvoor Project in South Africa, and given the new direction of Katoro, the company decided to cease any further investment in the project with immediate effect.
“There are two principal reasons for this: the difficulty navigating a complex commercial ownership situation with the original project vendors and notable local disturbances in the area of the project which would make pursuance of the project extremely challenging, even if the Company were able to resolve the commercial challenges to secure a project interest,” the company noted.
Katoro said the current focus is on a limited number of high impact exploration and development projects, rather than a diverse wide-ranging portfolio, enabling the allocation of working capital into a set of focused business interests in Tanzania.
While the company remains highly engaged concerning the Haneti Project, Katoro said identifying additional, potentially high-value project opportunities is a clear route to further grow the company’s interests and generate value for shareholders.
“The strong African and global technical capabilities accessible by the Company are opening up a wide range of possibilities, to develop existing interests and in the potential acquisition of new opportunities. This includes an ability to stake new ground in strategic locations and, if relevant, consider acquisitions or earn-ins on existing project interests,” a notice reads.
Katoro Gold PLC, formerly Opera Investments Plc, is a United Kingdom-based exploration company and listed on the London Stock Exchange.
