The “Gold Coast” of West Africa, has become one of the most favourable regions for gold production in the world with significant mineral deposits hosted in the prolific gold belts and greenstone belts of the region. With over 150 million ounces of gold historically produced, investor interest in this region is growing rapidly. 

The prolific gold belts (and greenstone belts) of West Africa are host to several significant mineral deposits in both the exploration and production stages. Kinross, Iamgold, AngloGold Ashanti and Newmont Mining are a few of the well known companies that have attracted attention to the greenstone belts of West Africa. Known reserves and resources in the area include: Newmont Mining’s 19.1M oz Ahafo deposit, Kinross’ Chirano 4.4M oz Au deposit within the Sefwi Belt, and Golden Star Resources’ Hwini-Burtre deposit at the southern end of the Ashanti Belt. Other significant gold deposits include Perseus Mining’s cluster of deposits with over 5.7M oz Au and AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi gold mine which has produced 26M oz of gold to date and has current reserves and resources of over 30M oz.

Investor interest in the West African gold belts is growing in part because of the numerous junior exploration companies with strategic land packages along this mineral trend, some only a few kilometres from producing gold mines. With such a vast distribution of mineralization over four mineral belts, it is possible that one of these junior exploration companies is sitting on the next big gold discovery.

As it is, the “Gold Coast” of West Africa has become one of the most significant regions for mineral production in the world. The Ashanti Belt, Sefwi Belt, Asankrangwa Belt and the Kibi Belt make up the four main north-east trending gold belts, or the “Gold Coast” of West Africa. These belts stretch across Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Cote d’Ivoire with over 150 million ounces of historic gold production (Figure 1, gold belts of West Africa). Although these four mineral belts are the main theme of this note and are mainly situated in the heart of Ghana, the surrounding greenbelts such as those in Mali and Burkina Faso should not to be ignored. The five junior exploration companies profiled in this analysis represent a small fraction of the exploration activity in the greenstone belts of West Africa. All the companies have highly prospective projects to create shareholder value through further exploration success.

The five junior exploration companies profiled in this analysis represent a small fraction of the exploration activity in the greenstone belts of West Africa.  All the companies have highly prospective projects to create shareholder value through further exploration success.

1. Abzu Gold 2. Abzu Gold 3. Abzu Gold 4. Abzu Gold 5. Keegan Resources 6. Keegan Resources 7. Midland Minerals 8. Midland Minerals 9. PMI Gold 10. PMI Gold 11. Xtra-Gold

Read the complete analysis at http://www.europac.ca/commentary_analysis/special_reports_ca

Including complete coverage of the 5 junior mining companies, featuring:

• Company Profile
  
• Main Projects
  
• Secondary Projects
  
• Management
  
• Key Risks