Allied Gold shares nearly quadruple, Ethiopia mine ready for gold production

Peter Marrone, chairman and chief executive officer of Allied Gold Corporation, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss the company's outlook.

Shares of Allied Gold nearly quadrupled in the last year, sharply outperforming the TSX Gold Index, which has more than doubled.

The company’s shares traded at $10.65 on Jan. 22, 2025. On Thursday afternoon, they were up to$42.22.

Allied Gold continues to ramp up output at its existing mine in Western Mali, while nearing production at its Kurmuk gold project in Western Ethiopia, Peter Marrone, CEO of Allied Gold Corporation, told BNN Bloomberg.

“By April, we start commissioning this mine, and by the third quarter, we will be in production,” said Marrone.

Allied Gold reports it plans to increase Kurmuk’s resources to five million ounces by adding 1.5 million ounces over five years, supported by an annual$8 million exploration budget.

The company plans to maintain yearly production of 290,000 ounces starting in2026.

Marrone said Kurmuk is a relatively straightforward mine to build, but operating in a country without a long history of large-scale mining requires a sensitive approach, which the company did by working with local communities and governments.

Kurmuk mine will hire locally

The Kurmuk mine is located a few kilometers from the nearest settlement and no community settlement was required, said Marrone stressing that the company will be hiring locally.

“That’s a very important practice of ours as part of the policies of this company,” said Marrone.

He said that local workers will stay at a company-provided camp.

“Frankly, there is support for this mine and for mining in the country overall,” Marrone said.

Beyond mines in Ethiopia

Since going public in 2023, Allied Gold has focused on stabilizing its existing operations, said Marrone.

The company has three operating gold mines:

• Sadiola Gold Project in western Mali
• Ttwo-mine complex, Bonikro and Agbaou, in Côte d’Ivoire
• Kurmuk Gold Project in western Ethiopia.

Marrone said the company spent some capital on stripping waste rock in the Côte d’Ivoire mines to find easy to process gold underneath.

The Sadiola Gold Project in Western Mali is transitioning from an oxide mine to one that processes slightly harder fresh ore.

“That mine has already produced close to nine million ounces, but as it transitions, we have more than 10 million ounces already in inventory, and that number is likely to continue to grow,” said Marrone.

With new oxide discovery and production expansion, the mine is producing between 200,000 and 230,000 ounces per year, up from about 170,000 ounces in 2023.

A second phase of expansion could lift annual output toward 350,000 ounces while lowering costs, Marrone said.

Taking a reconciliatory approach with Mali

The mining sector in Mali has faced heightened scrutiny under a military-led government in recent years.

Barrick Gold’s Loulo-Gounkoto mine was shut down last year after a dispute with the Mali government before settling late last year.

The conflict was over alleged unfair contracts and unpaid taxes.

Marrone said Allied Gold took a reconciliatory approach with the government, recognizing that the government was looking to achieve the creation of a mining industry, rather than just companies coming in to extract gold.

He said the company signed a 10-year permit extension with the Malian government in late 2024 after entering a protocol agreement earlier that year.

“We’ve been in dialog with the government of the country on what else can be done on our part and on their part to further improve the mining situation in the country,” said Marrone.

“I believe that the government of the country recognizes that they’re trying to find a way to provide more take on the part of the state, while at the same time also encouraging mining,” Marrone said.