(MENAFN- Investor Ideas) Recently, Sanu Gold Corp. announced additional results from its flagship Bantabaye gold exploration permit. Read to see this gold stock's upcoming catalysts.
Sanu Gold Corp. (SANU:CSE;SNGCF:OTCQB) has announced additional results from its flagship Bantabaye gold exploration permit. In a news release, the company revealed that samples obtained from the permit, which is located in Guinea, West Africa, showed 1.2 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 40 meters (m), including 5.4 g/t Au over 4m from channel sampling and 189.7 g/t Au from rock chip sampling.
President and CEO Martin Pawlitschek said of the results, "We continue to see good gold grades over broad widths from channel sampling across Bantabaye's Target 7. Within the 700m long Target 7 to Target 3 corridor, we see a zone of strongly altered and mineralized volcanics that has been a fofor intense artisanal mining. The ongoing mining of visible gold from this area, combined with results from initial drilling, channel sampling, and rock chip sampling, demonstrate the prospectivity of the shear-hosted gold system at Bantabaye."
In the Number One Gold Mining Region
According to the release, "Channel BANT-TR-03 sampled a 40m long exposure of saprolitized bedrock at 1m intervals from new exposures at Target 7 created by the construction of drill roads and pads." Its goal was to "further test the mineralized felsic intrusive intersected by the first phase of reverse circulation ("RC") drilling."
The results show that that channel "contains highly sheared, strongly hydrothermally altered and locally brecciated felsic intrusive with quartz veinlet stockworks and box work after sulfide."
Channel BANT-TR-03 is located 15m southeast of trench BANT-TR-01, which returned 1.1 g/t Au over 43m, including 4.2 g/t Au over 6m.
Additional rock chip grab samples were collected from saprolitized felsic intrusive rock at Target 7 and returned values of up to 189.7 g/t Au. Target 7 is located within a 700m-long area that is used extensively by small-scale artisanal miners.
The company previously announced drilling at Target 7 for a total of 1,603m in 14 RC holes. Highlights from these drilling results include 0.91 g/t Au over 9m, including 1.55 g/t Au over 1m and 2.11 g/t Au over 2m (BANT-RC-23), and 0.87 g/t Au over 13m, including 1.65 g/t Au over 3m and further downhole 3.47 g/t Au over 1m (BANT-RC-22).
According to its website, Sanu Gold is a junior gold exploration company with a foon multi-million-ounce gold discoveries located in the world-class Siguiri basin in Africa. The Sanu team has over 50 years of combined experience in "West African gold exploration, development, and production" and currently has three high-grade projects in Guinea: Bantabaye, Daina , and Diguifara .
Sanu also notes that "West Africa is the number one gold mining region in the world, with higher annual gold production than the major gold producing countries such as China, Russia, Australia, Canada and the U.S.A." Guinea's Siguiri Basin is "an underexplored part of the West African gold belt" and has multiple new mines going into production.
Why Gold Stocks?
In a September 11 newsletter, Richard Mills of Ahead of the Herd asked: "Is gold still a worthy investment?"
He mentioned gold's "somewhat subdued" performance in recent months and its "moderate gain" of 6%. He explained that "the answer rests on the kind of portfolio we're talking about, as well as the timeframe of the investment."
Mills also quoted Investopedia saying, "Taking into consideration these factors, gold works best as part of a diversified portfolio, particularly when it is acting as a hedge against a falling stock market."
Stockhead also reported that local gold in Australia is currently paying near-record prices. The report noted, "Should these current levels hold, Aussie miners could be looking at another big income bump in FY24."
Multiple Upcoming Catalysts
The company plans to undertake additional drilling at the Bantabaye Gold Exploration Permit and the Daina Gold Exploration Permit.
It also expects to achieve the second tranche of ownership on each of its three permits (Bantabaye, Daina, and Diguifara). Sanu currently owns 51% of each permit; once the second tranche is complete, they will own 75% of each. This is expected to happen very soon, in the third quarter of 2023.
Sanu has high insider ownership, with 40% of shares held directly or indirectly by officers, directors, and associates of the company. Its stock is currently "significantly undervalued" while the company evaluates the next drilling on its new discoveries.
Ownership and Share Structure
Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Sanu Gold Corp. has a market cap of CA$4.86 million. It has 69.5 million shares, 5.8 million warrants, and 5.7 million options.
According to data from Reuters, insiders and management at the company own around 17% of the total shares outstanding. The largest individual insider shareholder is Fatou Sylla Gueye, with over 7% ownership and 5.10 million shares. Martin Joachim Pawlitschek owns 4.19% with 2.91 million shares, Vince Sorace owns 3.60% with 2.50 million shares, Galen Stuart McNamara owns 0.97% with 0.68 million shares, Gavin Cooper owns 0.58% with 0.40 million shares, and Fiona C. Childe owns 0.26% with 0.18 million shares.
Institutional investors own around 7% of the company. The largest institutional shareholders are Commodity Capital AG, with nearly 4% and 2.62 million shares.Global Investors has around 2% and 1.29 million, and Palos Management has around 1% ownership, with 0.80 million.
The company does not report any strategic investors or partnerships. The remaining shares are held by retail and high-net-worth investors.
The company's monthly burn rate is CA$150,000. Its monthly drilling cost varies according to how much drilling they do at any one time, but the average all-in drill cost is US$120 million.
During the February 2023 financing, 5.556 million warrants were issued, as well as 276,440 broker's warrants.
There are 69.45 million shares outstanding, with 57.69 million free-float traded shares. The company has a market cap of CA$4.17 million, and it trades in the 52-week period between CA$0.06 and CA$0.46.