Gold rush in Africa - Compelling Reasons for Côte d'Ivoire: Endeavour Mining, B2Gold, Kobo Resources

Africa improves conditions for mining - Endeavour focuses on West Africa

Africa is home to vast reserves of raw materials and is becoming increasingly attractive to investors. Gold in particular is in focus: Ghana led the African market in 2024 with a production volume of 130 tons. It was followed by Mali (67.7 t) and Zimbabwe (49 t). These production volumes underline Africa's key role in the global gold market. Many countries are also continuing to develop their mining policies.** Ghana, for instance, introduced a state gold board this year to promote local value creation. At the same time, there are also risks for investors on the continent: Mali's gold production fell by 23% in 2024 as a result of a new, state-dominated mining law. Recently, however, positive news has been coming out of the country again.

Endeavour Mining is particularly strong in West Africa. The Company operates mines in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. With an output of 647,000 ounces of gold in the first half of 2025 at a cost of around USD 1,281 per ounce, Endeavour is very efficiently positioned. Thanks in part to the sustained high gold price, Endeavour achieved EBITDA of a whopping USD 1.14 billion in the first half of 2025 and generated cash flow of more than USD 500 million. This enabled the dividend to reach a record level in the first half of the year, while Endeavour also focused on share buybacks. The Company intends to remain true to its business model in the future and is therefore investing heavily in exploration. In the first half of the year alone, Endeavour spent around USD 50 million on this. The focus is on the Assafou project in Côte d'Ivoire. Endeavour is carrying out a feasibility study and drilling for a resource estimate there.

B2Gold: Namibia good, Mali bad

B2Gold is active in another region of Africa, with projects in Mali, Namibia, the Philippines and Canada. Each year, the Company mines around 1 million ounces of gold and generates substantial profits thanks to attractive gold prices. While the flagship Otjikoto project in Namibia is the Company's pride and joy, the project in Mali has long been a source of bad news. At the beginning of 2025, however, B2Gold reached an agreement with Mali's military government and released additional funds for exploration in the Fekola Basin. Although the issues were frustrating for B2Gold, the Company benefits from its regional diversification.

Kobo Resources: Promising projects in Côte d'Ivoire

The emerging gold company Kobo Resources is taking a different approach. Its three main projects, Kossou, Kotobi & Agnibilékrou and Yakassé, are all located in Côte d'Ivoire, in the same region where Endeavour Mining operates mines and continues to invest heavily in further exploration. This focus is well justified: Côte d'Ivoire is considered the economic engine of West Africa, with growth of around 6% expected in both 2024 and 2025. In the area of anti-corruption, Côte d'Ivoire achieved a historic best score in the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index. In October 2024, the rating agency S&P also upgraded its rating for Côte d'Ivoire to BB with a stable outlook. This upgrade reflects strong economic growth, shrinking budget deficits driven by higher cocoa prices, and rising exports in the mining sector. Kobo Resources aims to benefit from these favorable conditions.

The flagship Kossou Gold project is located in a promising gold zone and has been extensively explored since 2023. Among other things, diamond drilling over 18,500 m revealed high-grade intercepts of 3.43 g/t gold over 8.3 m. The Yakassé project is also of interest. Previous investigations conducted by Newmont identified promising gold anomalies in the area. Further exploration will reveal the full potential of these projects and whether Kobo's team can unlock it. The fundamentals look solid, and the management team brings extensive experience in Africa. In addition to CEO Édouard Gosselin, the Company has brought on board geology veteran Clay Postlethwaite as a technical advisor. Kobo aims to complete a resource estimate in 2026 to provide a clearer picture of the value of its properties. The Company has already convinced investors - in recent months, Kobo Resources succeeded in raising fresh capital through share issuances.

Kobo Resources as a laggard?

Over the past year, the shares of Kobo Resources have largely moved sideways with some fluctuations - the bottom line is a slight loss of just over 6%. The share can therefore be considered a potential laggard in the ongoing gold rally. The valuation of around CAD 29 million is not particularly small, but nevertheless reflects the speculative nature of the share. Once Kobo succeeds in convincing investors with strong drilling results and a clear growth outlook, the share is likely to gain further momentum. **The key data in Côte d'Ivoire are favorable, and with mining giant Endeavour Mining actively investing in the country, Kobo Resources could also benefit from these developments.