London-listed Hamak Strategy has signed a binding term sheet, giving it exclusive rights to acquire the Akoko gold licence, a project in Ghana containing more than 250 000 oz of defined gold, as part of a proposed transaction valued at about $8/oz to $10/oz of contained metal.

The company said in a December 3 statement to shareholders that the term sheet was concluded with UK company CAA Mining, which held a purchase option over the Akoko licence through Ghanaian company Topago Mining.

Hamak said significant historical work at Akoko had previously outlined an inferred gold resource of 276 500 oz at an average grade of 1.6 g/t.

The company added that its own initial due diligence, based on information in the CAA data room, had produced a more conservative model indicating an indicated resource of 252 659 oz at 0.58 g/t.

Hamak said these figures formed the basis for entering into a 120-day exclusivity period, for which it would pay CAA £20 000, to complete further technical and legal due diligence on the asset.

According to Hamak, a successful due diligence process would commit the company to invest at least £500 000 in 2026 on exploration and confirmatory work at Akoko. The proposed work would aim to improve confidence in the resource estimates, assess whether the total could be increased, and complete an economic scoping study for a potential openpit and heap-leach mining operation.

Hamak said it would retain the right to exercise the option to acquire the licence at any time before December 14, 2026. The company said exercising the option would involve a cash payment of £50 000 to CAA, the issue of £1-million in new Hamak shares to CAA or its nominees at a 10% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price prior to the exercise notice, and a payment of $1.9-million to Topago.

Hamak said the shares issued to CAA would be subject to a six-month escrow period. The company added that the proposed acquisition price of cash and shares equated to between $8/oz and $10/oz of gold.

CAA will have the right to appoint its CEO Douglas Chikohora to the board of Hamak once the option has been exercised and the shares issued.

Hamak said CAA would also receive a net smelter royalty on production from Akoko once commercial output begins. The royalty would be 0.5% on the first 250 000 oz of gold produced and 1% on production from 250 000 oz to one-million ounces, capped at that level. Hamak said it would have the first right of refusal to buy the royalty.

“Hamak has secured the binding rights to acquire a high-potential gold project in the heart of one of the most prolific gold areas in West Africa. The current Akoko gold resource of over 250 000 oz provides a great opportunity for Hamak to quickly assess the economic viability of a low-cost openpit mining operation.

“Furthermore, based on the historical data and results, we see the potential for a much larger gold resource in the Akoko licence.”

“The relative acquisition cost of $8/oz to 10/oz of gold, we believe, provides shareholders with a significant value accretive transaction opportunity, particularly considering the current strong and positive outlook for the gold price,” Hamak executive director Karl Smithson said.

Hamak said the Akoko project was located 25 km south of Tarkwa in Ghana’s Ashanti greenstone belt, about 45 km west-northwest of Takoradi and about a three-hour drive from Accra. The area lay close to major mining centres at Tarkwa and Obuasi where equipment suppliers and accredited laboratory services were available.

The belt is known for its extensive gold mineralisation associated with rocks of the Birimian supergroup and the overlying Tarkwaian group, which have been structurally deformed during regional tectonic events.

Hamak noted that Ghana’s gold output was expected to rise by about 6.25% to about 5.1-million ounces this year, up from 4.8-million ounces in 2024.

It said much of this production came from mines in the Western Region, where Akoko was situated. Nearby operations included the Nzema mine, located 17 km west of Akoko, which exploited oxide and sulphide ores from openpits; the Iduapriem mine, 22 km to the north-northeast, which produced 237 000 oz in 2024; and the Tarkwa mine, about 30 km away, one of Ghana’s largest gold mines with reserves of 15.1 million ounces and production of 551 000 oz in 2024.

The company also referenced nearby mines at Damang, Prestea, Bogoso and Wassa, which form part of the region’s established gold-producing district.

Hamak said the geological features observed on the Akoko licence and mineralisation identified in past drilling supported the potential for the project to host economic gold deposits similar to those found elsewhere along the belt.