AngloGold Ashanti Limited and Barrick Gold Corporation have concluded the sale of their interest in Morila Limited, which owns 80% of the Morila gold mine in Mali, to Firefinch Limited (previously named Mali Lithium Limited) for $28.8 million cash.

The state of Mali continues to hold the remaining 20%.

The net-proceeds to AngloGold Ashanti’s account will be $3.6 million taking into consideration shareholder loans and intercompany payables.

Firefinch will seek to extend Morila’s life by accessing satellite resources and adapting the mine’s infrastructure.

The company will employ all of Morila’s workforce, providing ongoing benefit to the mine’s local stakeholders.

The mine had been scheduled for closure in 2021.

The sale of Morila is aligned to AngloGold Ashanti’s strategic objective of streamlining its portfolio to focus its capital allocation on assets with longer life and lower costs.

Since it went into production in October 2000, Morila produced 6.9 million ounces of gold and paid more than $2.5 billion to stakeholders in the form of dividends and taxes.

Morila, which was operated by Barrick Gold, transitioned to a stockpile treatment operation in 2009 and began processing tailings in 2013.