Cora Gold Moves Sanankoro to Engineering Phase

Cora Gold Limited has initiated detailed engineering design work at its flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in southern Mali, a critical step toward formal development. This progression follows the company's receipt of the Environmental Permit and Exploitation License for the project in late 2025, de-risking the path to construction. The Sanankoro project hosts a JORC-compliant resource of 1.8 million ounces of gold and is designed as a conventional open-pit heap leach operation with a planned throughput of 4 million tonnes per annum. The move from permitting into engineering signals a transition from validation to execution for the junior miner.

Context — why this matters now

The decision to advance into engineering design reflects a specific catalyst chain rooted in Mali's regulatory environment and gold price stability. Mali's mining ministry issued the Exploitation (Mining) License for Sanankoro to Cora Gold on 12 December 2025, a non-negotiable prerequisite for any detailed engineering commitment. This followed the granting of the Environmental Permit earlier that quarter, collectively clearing a major permitting hurdle that has stalled other regional projects for years. The current macro backdrop for gold, with prices consolidating above $2,300 per ounce, provides a favorable revenue outlook for new producers, improving project economics and debt financing prospects.

The last comparable engineering commitment by a junior gold developer in Mali was GoviEx Uranium's advancement of the Madaouela project in 2023, which followed a similar permitting milestone. For Cora Gold, the trigger was the formal, documented receipt of state-sanctioned licenses, converting geological potential into a legally sanctioned, financeable asset. This shift matters because it moves Sanankoro from a prospect in the portfolio of a junior explorer to a near-term production candidate in the world's fastest-growing major gold-producing region.

Data — what the numbers show

The Sanankoro project's economic and physical scale provides concrete metrics for the engineering work now underway. The project's 2024 Feasibility Study outlined a 1.8 million ounce gold resource across the Sanankoro, Selin, and Zone A deposits. The study proposed an initial mine life of 8.5 years, with average annual production of 117,000 ounces for the first five years. All-in sustaining costs were projected at $1,027 per ounce, which, against a spot gold price of $2,340, implies a strong operating margin exceeding $1,300 per ounce.

Metric	Pre-Feasibility (2023)	Feasibility Study (2024)	Change
Avg Annual Production (oz, Years 1-5)	108,000	117,000	+8.3%
Pre-Production Capex ($m)	$152	$166	+9.2%

The capital intensity of the project sits at approximately $1,420 per annual ounce of production, which compares favorably to the peer median of around $1,600/oz for West African open-pit projects. Cora Gold's market capitalization as of late May 2026 is approximately £45 million, valuing its in-ground resource at roughly $25 per ounce, a significant discount to the transaction average of $65/oz for permitted development assets in the region. This valuation gap highlights both the perceived jurisdictional risk and the funding challenge ahead.

Analysis — what it means for markets / sectors / tickers

The engineering phase directly benefits specialist engineering and procurement firms with West African gold experience. Companies like DRA Global, which conducted the feasibility study, and Lycopodium are likely front-runners for detailed design contracts, representing tangible near-term revenue. Equipment suppliers for crushing, conveying, and heap leach systems, such as Metso and FLSmidth, stand to gain from future purchase orders. Conversely, prolonged engineering or cost overruns could pressure Cora Gold's limited cash position, currently reported at £8.5 million, necessitating dilutive equity raises that would weigh on the share price.

A key limitation is the project's dependency on securing approximately $166 million in project financing in a higher interest rate environment. Debt providers will scrutinize engineering deliverables before committing capital, creating a potential timing gap. The counter-argument is that Mali, despite political volatility, has a consistent track record of not revoking issued mining licenses, providing some comfort to financiers. Market positioning shows speculative capital flowing into West African gold developers with permits, as seen in recent rallies for companies like Predictive Discovery. Short interest in Cora Gold remains minimal, but the stock exhibits high volatility around financing news.

Outlook — what to watch next

The immediate catalyst is the completion of the detailed engineering design package, expected by Q4 2026. This deliverable is essential for locking in firm capital cost estimates and launching a formal project financing process with banks and streaming companies. The subsequent milestone is securing binding debt commitments, with a target for financial close by mid-2027. A failed financing round by that date would signal major investor skepticism and likely force a project sale or farm-out.

Levels to watch include the gold price relative to the project's $1,027/oz AISC; a sustained drop below $2,000 would severely impair financing appeal. For Cora Gold's stock (CORA.L), key technical support rests at the 200-day moving average near 4.2p, while a breakout above 6.5p would suggest market confidence in the engineering timeline. The performance of peer developers, like Orezone Gold Corporation which successfully brought its Bomboré mine into production in Burkina Faso, will serve as a benchmark for Cora's ability to execute.