JOHANNESBURG – Canadian junior AJN Resources will not proceed with its proposed acquisition of a 10 percent stake in the Kibali gold mine, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the company announced on Sunday.
AJN on February 6 announced that it had reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with State-owned Sokimo to acquire several rights in the DRC, including a 10 percent interest in the Kibali gold mine.
Global majors Barrick and AngloGold each own 45% of Kibali and said that they would not approve the sale or transfer of Sokimo’s shares in the joint venture.
News agency Reuters reported last week that Barrick had issued a cease-and-desist notice to AJN to block the transaction.
AJN’s stock surged threefold following the February 6 MoU announcement from C$0.35 a share to C$1.20 a share. The company’s share price reversed almost all those gains in the past week, as Barrick moved to block the transaction. The stock closed at C$0.40 a share on Friday – Mining Weekly
