PERSISTENCEGOLD (ASX: 02489) has announced the signing of an investor agreement with GoldStone Resources Limited on July 5, 2026. The target company is incorporated in Jersey and listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market. Under the agreement, PERSISTENCEGOLD will acquire 351.6 million ordinary shares in the target company at a price of 0.01 British pounds per share, for a total consideration of 3.5159 million pounds. This transaction represents an aggregate 20.96% equity stake in GoldStone Resources.

As part of the acquisition, PERSISTENCEGOLD will gain the right to nominate one representative to the target company's board of directors, provided it maintains a shareholding of 15% or more. It is anticipated that Dr. Jeffrey Malaihollo will be appointed as a non-executive director of GoldStone Resources. This marks the first overseas investment for the group outside of China.

Strategic Rationale for the Acquisition

The board of directors views the target company as having significant potential for further development. The acquisition is expected to expand the group's resource reserves, diversify its business operations, and provide entry into the African mining exploration sector. GoldStone Resources is a mining and exploration company focused on the Ashanti Gold Belt in West Africa, Ghana.

Key Assets of the Target Company

The company's primary assets include the Homase Gold Mine and the Akrokeri Underground Gold Mine, located approximately 20 kilometers north of the third-party Obuasi mine along the same mineralized trend. GoldStone Resources has also entered into a binding memorandum of understanding to acquire a 50% interest in a gold project in Sierra Leone, adjacent to the third-party Boamuhun gold mine.

The Homase Gold Mine is currently an operating open-pit mine, utilizing heap leach methods to process the oxide portion of the deposit. It boasts JORC-compliant resources, including measured, indicated, and inferred categories, totaling approximately 10.6 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.77 grams of gold per tonne. This equates to roughly 600,000 troy ounces of contained gold.

The Akrokeri Underground Gold Mine was historically a high-grade operation, producing about 75,000 troy ounces of gold at an average recovered grade of approximately 24 grams per tonne before ceasing operations in 1909. A confirmed mineralized strike length of about 4.4 kilometers has been identified across the Homase and Akrokeri tenements, with historical drilling also confirming the presence of parallel gold-bearing structures. These additional target areas have not been fully explored, with the most recent drilling campaign completed in 2012.

Use of Investment Proceeds

The proceeds from PERSISTENCEGOLD's investment are expected to be used to advance the development of the Homase Gold Mine further. This includes conducting drilling activities below and around the Homase deposit to increase its JORC-compliant resource base and to initiate a feasibility study for mining the sulfide ore at the Homase Gold Mine.