Birim Goldfields and Goldcrest Resources have entered into an agreement to merge the companies by means of an amalgamation that has been approved by the boards of both companies respectively. They believe that the merger will have the following benefits:
- An extensive property portfolio covering 25 properties in Ghana and Burkina Faso. All are located on highly prospective Birimian gold belts, similar to those that have delivered several world class gold mines in West Africa over the last 15 years
- Multiple first class exploration targets, including a project where a recently defined NI43-101 compliant resource is being extended, six advanced drill prospects, nine drill-ready targets and over 40 first class anomalies that can be advanced to the drill-ready stage.
The combined company will be well positioned for growth and have the financial strength and flexibility, with over $16.5 Million in cash and over $10.5 Million in marketable securities, to take advantage of consolidation and acquisition opportunities in Africa. Another benefit will be increased share trading liquidity and market capitalisation that is attractive to a wider range of investors than that offered by the individual companies.
In a joint statement Vic King, President and CEO of Birim, and Kevin Bullock, President and CEO of Goldcrest, stated “The merged entity brings together properties, people and funding that will provide the basis for a more substantial company capable of playing an exciting and leading exploration role in the West African region, where relatively recent successes have led to the development of a number of significant gold mines”.
Management of the new company will be led by a team consisting of Kevin Bullock as President and CEO, Victor King as COO, Robert Whittall as CFO, and Guy Franceschi as Vice President, Exploration. Denis Simoneau will be Chairman of the new board of six directors. Birim has nominated three directors including Denis Simoneau, Victor King and Lewis Lawrick and Goldcrest has nominated three directors including Kevin Bullock, Robert Whittall and Gordon Bogden.
Early entrance into West Africa enabled Birim to accumulate an interesting portfolio of 19 properties along the Bui and Sefwi Gold Belts in Ghana as well as the Hounde Gold Belt in Burkina Faso. Both Ghana and Burkina Faso are mining-friendly countries that have the proven capacity to deliver worldclass deposits, especially over the past 15 years. Goldcrest is exploring two highly prospective gold concessions in Burkina Faso and is aggressively advancing exploration on its Gaoua copper-gold project which contains a 15 km mineralised corridor that includes significant copper-gold porphyry mineralisation.
