EcoGraf (ASX: EGR) has reached a key milestone for a farm-in agreement with global mining giant AngloGold Ashanti through the granting of prospecting licences for the Golden Eagle project in Tanzania.
Receipt of the licences was a condition precedent to the agreement the two parties announced in May 2024, under which AngloGold Ashanti will earn a 70% interest in the project by investing approximately $13.5 million (US$9m) over five years on the licences, with EcoGraf retaining 30%.
One of the world’s largest gold miners, AngloGold Ashanti owns the Geita project—Tanzania’s largest gold mine, which produced 483,000oz in 2024—and is expected to target a number of untested gold prospects, shear zones, and faults that crosscut Golden Eagle.
Rich Gold Neighbourhood
The three Golden Eagle licences cover 575 square kilometres in one of Tanzania’s richest gold neighbourhoods, with the 70Moz Archean Lake Victoria goldfields on their eastern margin.
They are also located in the same structural corridor as the 3.4Moz Golden Pride gold mine— the first modern large-scale gold mine in Tanzania, which EcoGraf managing director Andrew Spinks was deeply involved with during its 15-year operation.
Previous exploration suggests the project area includes a continuation of the banded iron formation that dominates the high-grade Winston gold deposit.
Winston has previously returned drill intercepts of 16 metres at 55.23 grams per tonne gold from 116m.
Strong Tanzanian Position
Golden Eagle is just one of a number of prospective gold and critical metals opportunities EcoGraf is investigating in Tanzania.
The company also believes the Northern Frontier project has the potential to host significant nickel and lithium exploration potential.
Mr Spinks said the AngloGold Ashanti agreement would allow EcoGraf to continue realising value from Golden Eagle while it focuses on developing its nearby Epanko graphite project and vertically integrated HFfree battery anode materials business for the lithium-ion battery market.
He said the deal also provides the company with ongoing upside exposure to the rising gold price.
