Critical Resources (ASX:CRR) has secured exclusivity to acquire a 90% interest in the Gonini Gold Project, comprising roughly 164km² of granted exploitation rights in Suriname’s historic Sara Creek gold district.
The company entered into an exclusivity agreement with N.V. Gonini Mining for the transaction, making Critical Resources the first ASX-listed explorer in the South American country in several decades.
The project covers two granted exploitation rights in Sara Creek, where gold was originally discovered in 1876. Situated within the Marowijne greenstone belt, the tenure lies approximately 66km from Newmont‘s (NYSE:NEM) Merian mine and 88km from Zijin‘s (SSE: 601899) Rosebel mine.
Managing Director Tim Wither says the acquisition gives Critical Resources a ‘rare first-mover’ position on the ASX.
“This is a gold province with major mines, major discoveries, and growing strategic investment — but still a fraction of the modern exploration maturity seen elsewhere along the Guiana Shield greenstone belt,” Wither says.
“What excites us about Gonini is the combination of scale, historic mining activity, and geological position.
“Subject to negotiation and entering into a binding agreement and completion, we will have an interest in [approximately] 164 km² of granted exploitation rights across a recognised greenstone corridor, with artisanal workings, exposed saprolite and weathered bedrock, and an interpreted greenstone-granitoid contact.”
According to Critical Resources, the area hosts 150 years of small-scale mining history targeting alluvial, saprolite, and weathered-bedrock gold. Despite this history, the company notes that no modern exploration has been recorded across the rights to test underlying hard-rock potential.
Existing workings expose saprolite and weathered bedrock, establishing immediate targets for mapping and channel sampling.
Under the proposed acquisition terms, Critical Resources will pay US$50,000 ($70,372.43) on execution of a binding term sheet, followed by US$200,000 cash and 10 million CRR shares on completion.
Deferred consideration totals US$1.75 million over five years, accompanied by a US$2.5 million exploration expenditure commitment.
The company intends to immediately commence desktop structural studies and data compilation, with site visits and community engagement planned for the upcoming dry season. Exploration will focus on converting artisanal footprints into drill-ready hard-rock targets using systematic geochemistry, trenching, and geophysics.
Completion remains subject to standard conditions precedent, including legal, title, and technical due diligence, under a 60-day exclusivity period that is extendable by a further 30 days.
Critical Resources is a mining and technology company focused on discovering and developing critical minerals and next-generation technologies.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Main image: Critical Resources
