Orca Gold Receives Ministerial Approval for the Acquisition of the Kinross Cote d'Ivoire Property Portfolio

Orca Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE:ORG) (“Orca” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that Monsieur Jean Claude Brou, Minister of Industry and Mines of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire (the “Minister”), has approved the transfer of a wholly-owned Kinross Gold Corporation (“Kinross”) subsidiary that holds the Morondo and Korokaha North exploration licenses and the Korokaha South application to Orca. In addition, the Minister has advised the Company that formal written approval is in process for the transfer of the remaining Ivorian exploration assets contemplated under the share purchase agreement between wholly-owned subsidiaries of Kinross, Orca and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orca (the “SPA”) (see Company news release on February 1, 2017). Collectively, the exploration properties covered by the SPA form a strategic portfolio for Orca’s expansion in West Africa.
As quoted in the press release:

Commenting on the approval by the government of Côte d’Ivoire to the agreement with Kinross, Rick Clark, CEO and Director of Orca, said, “We very much appreciate the confidence His Excellency, the Minister of Industry and Mines, has shown in our Company and we look forward to aggressively advancing our new property portfolio in this geologically prospective country. The consent by the Minister to our agreement with Kinross expands Orca’s operations to another highly prospective geological environment in Africa. The original Red Back team first pegged these properties back in 2009 and we are keen to get back on the ground and explore their potential. We are also pleased to welcome Kinross as a significant shareholder of Orca and look forward to reporting to all our shareholders on the progress of our exploration efforts in Côte d’Ivoire.”

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