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PDI Gold (ASX: PDI) is taking a 9.9 per cent stake in fellow ASX-listed gold explorer Skylark Minerals (ASX: SKM), committing $5.1 million to a strategic investment that strengthens its exposure to Côte d’Ivoire’s emerging gold sector.
The investment forms part of Skylark’s $20 million capital raising, which will fund further exploration and resource growth at its flagship Zaranou gold project while supporting an expanding portfolio of early-stage exploration assets.
The transaction highlights the continuing role of strategic equity investments in financing junior gold explorers, raising the question of whether PDI’s initial shareholding could eventually develop into a broader exploration partnership or corporate relationship.
Under a subscription agreement executed on October 30, PDI will acquire approximately 21.2 million Skylark shares at $0.24 each through a two-tranche placement.
The first tranche comprises approximately 9.3 million shares for $2.2 million, with settlement scheduled for November 6.
A second tranche of 11.9 million shares, representing a further $2.9 million investment, is expected to settle in early December, subject to Skylark shareholder approval.
The investment gives PDI a strategic position in a company pursuing substantial resource growth across a prospective West African gold jurisdiction.
Zaranou drives investment case
Skylark recently reported an updated inferred mineral resource estimate of 29 million tonnes at 1.28g/t gold for 1.2 million ounces at Zaranou.
The estimate represents a 228 per cent increase in contained gold, more than tripling the resource within 12 months of Skylark acquiring the project.
Mineralisation is currently defined across three deposits, with further exploration potential along nearly 50km of prospective strike.
PDI Gold managing director and chief executive officer Matthew Wilcox said the project’s existing resource and exploration potential underpinned the investment.
“Skylark is an emerging West African gold exploration company with a defined 1.2Moz gold inferred mineral resource estimate at the Zaranou project with attractive exploration upside,” Wilcox said.
“The current mineral resource of the Zaranou project is hosted within three deposits which all have potential to grow with additional drilling, and there is significant upside along the Zaranou project’s nearly 50km of prospective strike.”
Skylark intends to use the placement proceeds to increase its ownership of Zaranou from 51 per cent to 90 per cent.
Funding will also support further drilling at Zaranou Central, regional exploration and additional work across its broader Côte d’Ivoire portfolio.
A large-scale exploration program is being planned for 2027, targeting further growth in the project’s mineral resource.
Building a multi-asset gold business
Alongside the PDI investment, Skylark has announced binding agreements providing staged pathways to acquire interests of up to 97 per cent in the Amie and Yaou gold projects in south-eastern Côte d’Ivoire.
The acquisitions expand Skylark’s exploration footprint beyond Zaranou and support its strategy of establishing a multi-asset gold business.
Amie hosts a historical gold-geochemical anomaly extending approximately 3km along a mapped structural contact.
Around 80 per cent of the project’s application area has yet to undergo systematic geochemical exploration, providing opportunities for further target generation.
Yaou is situated on the Ahafo-Bibiani-Chirano belt, a major gold-bearing structural corridor extending north-east into neighbouring Ghana.
Both projects are located close to Skylark’s existing operations, potentially allowing the company to leverage established exploration teams, infrastructure and local relationships.
The earn-in agreements provide pathways to ownership of up to 97 per cent without royalty obligations.
Skylark executive chair Nikolai Zelenski said the acquisitions complemented the company’s existing development priorities.
“These earn-ins are precisely the type of attractive early-stage opportunities we’ve been actively chasing to continue building Skylark into a multi-asset gold business in Côte d’Ivoire,” Zelenski said.
“The 1.2Moz Zaranou project remains our flagship and immediate priority, but we’re now creating a project pipeline that has the potential to create further significant value in the coming years.”
For PDI, the investment provides exposure to Skylark’s expanding exploration portfolio without requiring direct ownership or operation of the projects.
Near-term developments include completion of the placement’s second tranche, Skylark’s proposed increase in Zaranou ownership and the commencement of its next major exploration campaign in 2027.
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