Key Highlights

  • Skylark has signed binding earn-in agreements with Ivoire Geo Resources over the Amie and Yaou gold projects.
  • The agreements can lead to up to 97% of each project, subject to permit grants and regulatory approvals.
  • Skylark can earn an initial 51% in each project by sole-funding US$2 million of exploration within four years of permit grant.
  • Resource-linked payments apply only if significant gold resources are defined.

Skylark Minerals (ASX:SKM) announced on 9 November 2026 that it had signed binding earn-in agreements with Ivoire Geo Resources to acquire up to 97% of the Amie and Yaou gold projects in Côte d'Ivoire. The permit applications cover about 103 square kilometres at Yaou and 140 square kilometres at Amie, around Skylark's flagship Zaranou Gold Project.

Both agreements are subject to the grant of permits and regulatory approvals, so Skylark does not yet hold granted ground at either project.

How the earn-in works

Skylark can earn an initial 51% interest in each project by sole-funding US$2 million of exploration within four years of the relevant permit grant. By completing a prefeasibility study within seven years of grant, it can lift its interest to 80%.

The company also has an option to acquire a further 10% for US$2 million, taking it to 90%, and can move to 97% on a decision to mine. Ivoire Geo Resources would retain a 3% free-carried interest. The agreements carry no royalties.

Additional cash payments under each agreement total US$175,000, staged across execution, grant and anniversary milestones.

Resource-linked payments

Further payments are tied to resource outcomes. Skylark would pay US$1 million for a JORC-compliant gold resource above 1 million ounces, US$2 million for a resource above 2 million ounces, and US$500,000 if a 2-million-ounce resource averages more than 1.5 grams per tonne gold.

Milestone structures of this kind link payments to success, which reduces upfront costs for the buyer. They also give the vendor a share of value if the projects prove significant.

What is known about the ground

At Amie, historical aircore drilling outlined a gold-anomalous corridor about 3 kilometres long and 300 metres wide. Notable intercepts include 2 metres at 9.01g/t from 32 metres, 2 metres at 2.74g/t from 14 metres and 2 metres at 2.35g/t from 6 metres. Skylark plans to review and validate the historical data before surface geochemical sampling, mapping and reverse circulation drilling.

Yaou sits along an interpreted structural trend associated with the Sefwi greenstone belt, near Turaco Gold's (ASX:TCG) Afema Project. Initial work there will include mapping, geochemical sampling and geophysical interpretation.

The strategy

Executive Chair Nikolai Zelenski said the earn-ins were the type of attractive early-stage opportunities the company had been pursuing, and aligned with its strategy to build a multi-asset gold Business in Côte d'Ivoire.

He said the 1.2-million-ounce Zaranou project remained the flagship and immediate priority, but that Skylark was creating a project pipeline with potential to deliver further value. He added that both projects were close to existing operations, allowing early exploration to draw on existing teams, infrastructure and relationships.

Why Côte d'Ivoire

Côte d'Ivoire has become one of West Africa's most active gold exploration jurisdictions, with several new mines built in the past decade. The Sefwi belt extends from Ghana, where it hosts significant deposits, which helps explain interest in its Ivorian extension.

Qualifications

The permits are applications, and the timing of grant is uncertain. Historical aircore results are early-stage and need validation. Skylark has several projects competing for exploration funds.

The earn-in structure also allows Skylark to build its pipeline with relatively modest upfront cash. The main costs come later, once exploration has shown whether the projects justify further spending, and the resource-linked payments only apply if significant deposits are defined. That gives the company flexibility to drop either project if early results are disappointing. It also means Ivoire Geo Resources retains a meaningful interest at each stage, aligning both parties with exploration success.

What comes next

Skylark has called a general meeting, with notice issued on 11 November. Its next steps include awaiting permit grants, validating historical data at Amie and beginning surface work at both projects in 2027, while continuing to advance Zaranou.