News

June 09, 2008

Volta Resources Emerges From A Merger Which Will Give It A Very Strong Position In West Africa

By Charles Wyatt

Canadian-listed Volta Resources is the result of a marriage agreed at the last Indaba between Birim Goldfields and Goldcrest Resources. “We liked what we saw in each other”, says Kevin Bullock, chief executive of the new company, “and took it from there”. Victor King, a quiet South African, nods in agreement as Kevin explains to Minews the logic of putting the two companies together. Kevin has been involved in mining in North America as well as West Africa where he was general manager for IAMgold before joining up with a few fellow travelers to found Goldcrest. As a mining engineer he has obvious strengths to bring to the development of mines and this melds well with Victor, who is a geologist. Some geologist too, as he was part of the Gold Fields team which took the Tarkwa project in Ghana from a small state-owned underground mine to production of 697,149 ounces of gold at cash costs of US$333 per ounce last year.

The number of mergers among juniors is pitifully few, given the advantages in terms of funding, share trading liquidity and range of expertise. A few beers may have pushed this one along at Indaba, but the lack of ego is clear from the fact that the board of directors is divided equally down the middle between the two companies. So often time is spent on jostling for position and trying to squeeze the last penny out of a deal that the longer term potential gets overlooked. Volta Resources...