Experts are speculating that Columbus Gold’s Montagne d’Or project in French Guiana is a prime takeover target for Nord Gold, while the recently released maiden resource estimate for Eastside in Nevada underlines the potential for this early-stage development project.
A string of recent news from Columbus Gold Corp. (CGT:TSX; CBGDF:OTCQX) prompted several experts to comment on prospects for Montagne d’Or in French Guiana, and also on recent progress made at Eastside in Nevada.
Analyst Michael Curran, in his research note of Dec. 5, observed that the Montagne d’Or project “is in a joint venture with Nord Gold N.V. (NORD-LSE, not rated, not covered), a global mid-tier gold producer, who can earn a 50.01% interest by spending US$30MM and completing a feasibility study by March 2017. . .the Montagne d’Or deposit, which hosts just under 5MMoz of gold resources, is part of the Paul Isnard property located in west-central French Guiana.”
James Kwantes of Resource Opportunities stated on Dec. 13 that “Montagne d’Or has excellent infrastructure and would be one of the highest-grade open pit gold projects in the Americas. At a US$1,200 gold price, a PEA for Montagne d’Or modelled an NPV of US$450 million (5% discount rate), after-tax IRR of 23% and annual gold production of 273,000 ounces in the first 10 years at all-in sustaining costs of US$711/oz. Capex would be US$366 million, with a 3-year payback.”
Kwantes believes “JV partner Nordgold is the natural acquirer for Columbus’ 44.99% stake in Montagne d’Or. Nordgold is a fast-growing and acquisitive Russian-based producer listed on the London Stock Exchange. . .Nordgold’s latest financials paint a picture of a thriving mining company generating healthy cash flow. . .the company’s Gross mine in Russia is expected to go into production in the first quarter of 2018, after …read more