Chengtun Surges as It Plans $190M Congo Gold Mine Takeover

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Shares of Chengtun Mining Group increased after the Chinese energy metals trading and mining company announced a plan to invest CAD 261 million (approximately USD 190 million) to fully acquire Canadian exploration firm Loncor Gold. The acquisition aims to take control of the Adumbi Gold Mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, accelerating the project’s development and commissioning process.

The company’s stock in Shanghai jumped 5.9 percent to CNY 11.03 (around USD 1.58) per share during midday trading today, marking a 134 percent rise year-to-date.

Chengtun intends to establish a subsidiary in Canada, offering CAD 1.38 (about 98 US cents) per share to buy all issued and outstanding common shares, including any diluted shares, of Loncor in a cash deal. Following the acquisition, the company plans to privatize the exploration firm.

Loncor is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and the OTCQX market in the United States.

The transaction is expected to close within approximately six months of signing the agreement. Loncor owns an 85 percent stake in the Adumbi deposit; the remaining shares are held by the government of the DRC and other minority shareholders.

Located in the western Ituri province of the DRC within the Ngayu Archean Greenstone Belt, the Adumbi Gold Mine is part of a region known for several large and very large gold discoveries. The mine possesses a proven indicated mineral resource of 1.88 million ounces of gold with an average grade of 2.08 grams per ton of ore, alongside inferred resources of 2.09 million ounces, with significant room for resource growth.

Loncor’s development plan includes constructing a mineral processing plant with an annual capacity of 3.6 million tons of ore near the mine.

Chengtun specializes in the extraction and processing of metal mineral resources like copper, cobalt, nickel, and zinc. It operates the Kalongwe Copper-Cobalt Mine in the DRC and owns local processing facilities for copper and cobalt.