Manas Resources, an Australia-based gold producer, said it signed two separate agreements relating to the sale of its mining assets in the Kyrgyz Republic. The sales will bring Manas total consideration of $10.5 million.
The company signed a binding term sheet with Chinese state-owned enterprise Guizhou Geological and Mineral Resources Development Co. for the sale of all assets apart from the Savoyardy project for cash consideration of $10 million. A separate agreement has been for signed with an individual, Xijin Han, for the Savoyardy assets for cash consideration of $500,000.
Manas has been investigating opportunities to extract value from the Shambesai project in the Kyrgyz Republic. A number of options have been assessed including partnership, joint venture, divestment or the continued development of the project by way of debt financing.
Advanced discussions were held with a number of prospective financiers with regards to these various options. However, given the challenges involved in financing greenfields development projects in the Kyrgyz Republic and the relative merits of the ASX-listed company’s recently announced acquisition of the Victoria gold project in Tanzania, the directors believe that divestment of the Kyrgyz assets will deliver the best outcome.
