After hitting record highs of more than $1,422 U.S. per ounce on January 3, 2011, gold has fallen a bit from the headlines as it has been retracing with optimism growing regarding overall economic recovery.
Gold has always been, and probably always will be, a safe haven that investors run to in droves during any sort of economic crisis due to it primarily trending without impact of outside factors, such as economic cycles, that can wreak havoc with the typical securities. While it has fallen under $1,400 U.S. an ounce, most analysts are predicting that this will not last and are still long gold. In fact, it is back on the climb today.
New York-based Ardent Mines Ltd. (OTCBB:ADNT) is a company looking to capitalize on the future of Africa’s gold production. A month ago, Ardent announced the signing of a definitive agreement for exploration and exploitation of promising gold property in Tanzania that was previously prospected by both Anglo Gold and Barrick Gold.
The property in Tanzania shows indicative potential for 500,000 to 1,000,000 ounces of gold mineral reserves, including high grade areas. Being that Anglo and Barrick are major miners and gold prices were low at the time of prospecting, the mining giants did not continue further mining endeavors on the property because it simply did not meet their minimum requirements at the time.
Today, Ardent announced that it has agreed upon binding and exclusive terms to acquire Gold Hills Mining Ltda., a Brazilian corporation which owns mineral rights on four properties located in Northeastern Brazil, comprising a total area of approximately 3,500 Hectares, collectively to be known as the "Serra do Ouro" project.
Gold Hills owns properties in a gold-bearing shear zone, which hosts a 14 km trend of highly mineralized veins, with areas of gold grades in the 10 gr/MT range, underground galleries (built by the CPRM, an agency of Brazil's Ministry of Mines), shafts, and gold-bearing tailings with average grades in the 1 – 3 gr/MT range, yet to be fully evaluated. Gold Hills has secured all mineral rights, and has conducted preliminary geochemical and geophysical work on this area.
When determining an area for exploration, it only makes sense to listen to an expert. Luciano de Freitas Borges, the former National Secretary of Mines of Brazil, sits on the Ardent Board and is a strong supporter of the acquisition based on his knowledge of the area. Artisanal miners worked the area which provides historical data on gold production and, when combined with exploration data derived from the Brazilian Government, leads Mr. Borges to believe that the properties have significant potential.
Recent airborne geophysical surveys also strongly support the possibility that the main gold zone contains at least one million ounces of gold.
Moving forward with its plans to develop mines across the world, Ardent intends to close the acquisition of Gold Hills within two months and initiate drilling programs within the first 12 to 15 months after the closing.
Ardent has a very tight share structure with less than 15 million shares issued and outstanding. With a market cap of only $63 million U.S., this developmental miner may be hitting the radar of mining investors over the next year due to its growth potential as developments continue with its properties and the Company continues to search for other possible targets for acquisition.
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