Key Highlights

  • Eminence Minerals exercised its Options under all three option agreements to earn an initial 30 per cent interest in five gold projects in Côte d'Ivoire.
  • The portfolio covers about 1,508 square kilometres, of which about 871 square kilometres is granted tenure.
  • Exercise consideration totals US$45,000 in cash and US$45,000 in shares, with 1,252,895 shares to be issued at A$0.0512 after the annual general meeting.

Eminence Minerals (ASX:EMA) has told the market that it has completed Due Diligence on five gold projects in Côte d'Ivoire and exercised its options under all three option agreements to earn an initial 30 per cent interest in each. The portfolio covers about 1,508 square kilometres, of which about 871 square kilometres is granted tenure. The company said exploration will begin on the granted ground, and that it will be sole operator across all five projects.

Before exercising, Eminence said it examined permit title and status, the corporate standing of each vendor, encumbrances and corporate structure, any active litigation, tax liens or environmental enforcement orders, and the executed option agreements. The projects are Tarato, Kounouman, Banandje, Sarhala and Tonkpi, held by three vendors: Riverside Mining SARL, Stargate Atlantis Minerals SARL and Thoth Mining Inc.

Consideration for the initial 30 per cent

The exercise consideration totals US$45,000 in cash and US$45,000 in shares. Riverside Mining and Stargate Atlantis Minerals each receive US$10,000 in cash and US$10,000 in shares, while Thoth Mining receives US$25,000 of each. In total, 1,252,895 shares will be issued, priced at A$0.0512, which the company described as the higher of the 20-day volume-weighted average price and A$0.043. The shares will be issued after the annual general meeting, once the company's share issuance capacity has been reset.

Conditions still to be met

The company said completion of the 30 per cent interests is subject to three conditions precedent: incorporation of an Eminence Minerals Côte d'Ivoire subsidiary, Shareholder approval under ASX Listing Rule 7.1 for the consideration securities, and notification to the Mining Administration of Côte d'Ivoire for the transfer of at least a 5 per cent interest. The parties have agreed that the Listing Rule approval, which will be sought at the next AGM, will not delay Eminence's right to the initial 30 per cent.

Four permits are granted: PR1016 and PR1026 at Tarato, PR1047 at Banandje and PR1041 at Sarhala. The remainder, including Kounouman and Tonkpi, remain applications, and the company noted that application areas are subject to final government documentation and grant.

Path to a larger stake

Eminence Minerals (ASX:EMA) can lift its interest to 50, 70 and then 85 per cent through staged annual cash and share payments. Excluding performance-linked amounts, which are payable only on defined drilling and Mineral Resource milestones, the company put aggregate consideration for the earn-in to 85 per cent at about US$490,000, made up of US$255,000 in cash and US$235,000 in shares.

The Mining Code gives the State a free Carried Interest in any exploitation permit holder. Assuming a 10 per cent State stake, Eminence's 85 per cent would fall to 76.5 per cent and the vendor's 15 per cent to 13.5 per cent, with the figures adjusted if a different percentage applies. Eminence will fund exploration until a decision to mine, which follows a bankable feasibility study, at which point a joint venture agreement is to be signed. The vendor may then convert its interest into a net smelter return Royalty at 1 per cent for each 10 per cent of equity, so converting the full 15 per cent would give a 1.5 per cent royalty and lift Eminence's interest to 90 per cent, with the State retaining 10 per cent.

Exploration plan and caveats

Priority areas are the granted permits at Tarato, Banandje and Sarhala. Initial work includes data compilation, satellite imagery interpretation, mapping and geochemical sampling to rank targets. Work on the application areas at Kounouman, Banandje and Tonkpi depends on grant and access arrangements.

In October 2026 the company's field geologist recorded artisanal shafts, trenches and pits on PR1016 at Tarato and within the PR1014 application at Kounouman. Eminence said these workings have not been sampled and no gold has been assayed, so they do not represent a resource. It said regional transactions it cited are context only and not evidence of mineralisation on its own projects.