Turaco Gold (ASX:TCG) just expanded Afema by 30% along the Sefwi Belt

A 366km2 option sits next to the 4.65Moz resource underpinning a 200,000ozpa PFS

Turaco Gold (ASX:TCG) has exercised its option rights over exploration permit PR1074 in Côte d’Ivoire, lifting the total Afema Project footprint by 30% to more than 1,600km2. The cost is modest, US$100,000 in scrip now for a 12-month option, with a back-end of 2.25 million shares and a 2% NSR if the company elects to complete the acquisition.

The detail that matters sits in the geology, not the option terms. The 366km2 permit is contiguous with Afema and covers extensions of the Sefwi Greenstone Belt, the same belt that hosts most of Ghana’s multi-million-ounce gold mines.

This is the first major Afema update since the 17 June PFS positioned the project as a 200,000oz per annum producer over a 10-year plus mine life. Turaco is now using a position of strength to lock up adjacent ground before any exploration success forces the price up.

For investors, the read is straightforward. The development story is funded by the existing 4.65Moz resource and the 1.91Moz Probable Reserve, while the exploration upside has just grown by a third at almost no upfront cost.

Why locking up 366km2 of Sefwi Belt ground for US$100k is a sharp deal

Optioning a 366km2 permit on a world-class greenstone belt for US$100,000 in scrip is the kind of deal you only get when you are already the dominant operator in the district. Pioneer Minerals had limited ability to monetise the ground without the processing infrastructure and resource base that sits next door.

The 12-month option window also gives Turaco time to run cheap, scalable early-stage work before committing the 2.25 million shares and 2% NSR. Stream sediment sampling followed by soil sampling is standard reconnaissance, but on Sefwi Belt ground it is the work that historically generates the drill targets that matter.

The strategic logic is simple. Any ounces discovered here flow into the same Afema processing hub, so the marginal cost of conversion is lower than it would be for any other operator on the same ground.

The PFS changes the lens through which this exploration spend should be valued

Last week’s PFS confirmed Afema as a 200,000ozpa development with a 10-year plus mine life, built on a 1.91Moz Probable Reserve at a US$2,000/oz gold price assumption. That gold price assumption now looks conservative against current spot levels, which is the kind of cushion development-stage investors should appreciate.

Once a project crosses the PFS threshold, exploration spend is no longer about proving a concept. It becomes about extending mine life and feeding a processing plant whose capacity is being designed right now.

That is the lens to use on PR1074. Every ounce delineated here has a direct path to revenue through infrastructure that is already being engineered, rather than sitting on the books as a future capex problem.

The risks investors should not wave away

Côte d’Ivoire jurisdiction risk is the first item on most institutional checklists. The country has been one of West Africa’s more stable mining jurisdictions for the past decade, but Turaco still carries the political and currency exposures that come with any African development story.

Execution risk on the development itself is the larger near-term concern. Moving from PFS to DFS to financing to construction is where most single-asset gold developers stumble, and we would want to see a clear funding pathway communicated before construction decisions are made.

On the new permit specifically, reconnaissance results will take time. Investors should not expect drill-ready targets from PR1074 in calendar 2026.

The Investors Takeaway for Turaco Gold

What changed today is the shape of the investment case. Turaco was already a 4.65Moz developer with a credible 200,000ozpa PFS. Now it is a 4.65Moz developer with 1,600km2 of contiguous Sefwi Belt ground and a clear plan to convert that into the next leg of resource growth.

The catalysts to watch from here are sequential. The CY2026 resource update is the next obvious one, with management already flagging further growth from Baffia, Niamienlessa and Affienou. After that, reconnaissance data from PR1074 and the move from PFS to DFS are what will determine whether Turaco re-rates from a junior developer to a serious mid-tier candidate.

Investors can read our previous coverage of Turaco’s Woulo Woulo and Herman drilling at stocksdownunder, which sets the context for how quickly this resource has been growing.