Niger hands gold licences to Canadian

NIAMEY: Niger has awarded a total of six gold exploration licences to two Canadian firms, Cassidy Gold Corp and AMI Resources, and a third company from Ghana, according to a government statement.

The prospecting licences are in the west of the mostly desert nation, which has long produced uranium but remains one of the world's poorest and is looking to diversify mining operations.

Cassidy Gold Corp has secured permits for Boulkagou and Dogona 1 in Tillaberi region, according to a statement read on state television late on Wednesday.

AMI Resources, through its wholly owned operating subsidiary AMI Africa Exploration Ltd., has been awarded the Boksay and Sorbon Haoussa permits, it added.

Gecko Gold Niger, a local subsidiary of Ghana's Geodrill-Ghana, was awarded permits for Kossa I and Kossa II.

All three firms have pledged to invest over 2 million dollars in each concession over the first three years.

According to the statement, if gold is struck, Niger's government retains the right for up to a 40 percent stake in any joint venture, 10 percent of which would be for free.

Gold production in Niger is currently limited to Canada-listed Semafo, which has been mining at Samira Hill also in Tillaberi since 2004.

Over the last 10 years, Niger has sought to diversify the players in its resources sector, dominated for years by French nuclear giant Areva, and handed out some 159 mining and oil exploration permits.

Copyright Reuters, 2011