The family office of Indian businessman Gagan Gupta has agreed to fund a second gold mine in Mali, with Eagle Eye Asset Holdings signing a binding $120 million gold stream with Cora Gold to finance the Sanankoro project through to production, subject to permitting and final documentation.
The deal follows Eagle Eye’s earlier backing of Toubani Resources at the Kobada project, making Sanankoro the second Malian gold mine the firm has stepped up to finance.
For Cora, the structure is large enough to eliminate its remaining project funding gap. The company said the $120 million stream, combined with its recent £15.7 million equity raise led by Eagle Eye, fully funds Sanankoro to production. Cora can still replace up to 50% of the stream, or $60 million, with senior debt within 240 days after approvals, preserving some room to rework the capital stack later.
Eagle Eye will be entitled to buy 30.44% of gold produced at Sanankoro at 20% of the prevailing spot gold price for the life of mine. If Cora cuts the stream in half, Eagle Eye’s entitlement falls to 15.22%. The package also gives Eagle Eye first-ranking security over Cora’s assets, subject to subordination if senior debt is later introduced.
Cora’s 2025 definitive feasibility study outlined initial development capex of $124 million, average annual production of 64,000 ounces over the first five years, AISC of $1,478 per ounce, a post-tax NPV8 of $221 million, and a 65% post-tax IRR. The project also carries a probable reserve of 531,000 ounces at 1.13 grams per ton and a projected reserve mine life of 10.2 years.
This is not Gupta’s first wager on the country. Toubani’s Kobada project already secured a A$395 million funding package in October 2025 that included A$242 million, or $160 million, in streaming finance from Eagle Eye, plus A$26 million from accelerated option exercises and A$125 million in equity. Toubani later said its board approved a final investment decision for the $216 million project, targeting average annual production of 162,000 ounces over a 9.2-year mine life, with AISC of $1,175 per ounce, post-tax NPV8 of $500 million, and post-tax IRR of 50% at a $3,000 gold price.
Mali has spent the past two years remaking the economics of its mining industry and clashing with foreign operators in the process. The 2023 mining code lifted royalties to 10% from 6.5% and raised state and local ownership in mines to at least 35% from 20%. The tougher rules fed a long standoff with Barrick Mining, even as other miners including Endeavour Mining signed on to the revised framework.
The country’s industrial gold output fell 22.9% in 2025 to 42.2 metric tons from 54.8 tons in 2024, largely because of the disruption at Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto complex. The new code still boosted state take, helping push government revenue from gold miners up 52.5% in 2024, and Bamako has since tightened control further by creating Sopamim, a state-owned company that will manage its mining stakes.
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