Marvel Gold’s sale of Mali assets falls through

Australia’s Marvel Gold (ASX: MVL) announced on Wednesday that the planned sale of its gold projects in Mali will not proceed as intended due to recent developments affecting miners operating in the West African country.

The junior miner had signed a binding agreement with Precious Metal Consulting and Engineering LLC (PMCE) last month to sell its interests in the Tabakorole and Yanfolila gold projects in Mali for A$3 million ($2.7 million). 

The move was part of Marvel Gold’s strategy to explore new opportunities outside Mali, as the ruling military junta who took power in a 2020 coup has taken an increasingly hard line against foreign miners, including Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) B2Gold Corp (TSX: BTO; NYSE-A: BTG), Allied Gold (TSX: AAUC), AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) and Resolute Mining (ASX: RSG; LSE: RSG).

Mali’s junta last year adopted a new mining code that allows the government to increase its stake in existing gold mines to 35% to secure more income from foreign companies working in Mali.

The latest company to suffer the effects of the new policy was Australia’s Resolute Mining, whose CEO and two other employees were held in Mali until alleged owed taxes were paid. The standoff ended this week with Resolute agreeing to pay $160 million to Mali’s government.

Despite the setback in the sale of the Tabakorole and Yanfolila projects, both Marvel Gold and PMCE have agreed to continue negotiations on a non-exclusive basis to explore whether the deal can proceed under revised terms.

Marvel’s shares were flat at A1¢ apiece on Wednesday in Sydney, valuing the company at A$8.6 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of less than A0.006¢ to A1¢.