Ecora agress to sell Dugbe Gold Project royalty

(Sharecast News) - Ecora Resources announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to sell its 2% net smelter return royalty over the Dugbe Gold Project in Liberia for up to $20m, enabling it to unlock value from a non-core asset and accelerate debt reduction. The London-listed firm said the deal, with a subsidiary of Elemental Altus Royalties Corporation, included an upfront cash payment of $16.5m and contingent payments of up to $3.5m, linked to the start of construction and commercial production.

It said the contingent consideration would also be payable in full if the project were built to a smaller scale than outlined in the June 2022 feasibility study after cumulative production reached 150,000 ounces of gold.

Ecora acquired the Dugbe royalty in 2012, with a carrying value of $5.9m as of 31 December 2024.

Completion of the transaction was expected in the coming days.

"The transaction unlocks value from a development stage asset in a non-core commodity and will enable us to accelerate the group's deleveraging, as well as providing further flexibility to acquire cash generative royalties within our targeted commodity basket in time," said chief executive Marc Bishop Lafleche.

"The transaction highlights the substantial value within Ecora's wider royalty portfolio outside the core producing assets."

At 1226 BST, shares in Ecora Resources were up 4.08% at 76.39p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.