Castle Minerals Limited (ASX:CDT) Transformational High-Grade Nielle Gold Acquisition — Côte d’Ivoire

19 May 2026

Price Sensitive Announcement $

Highlights:

• Castle Minerals secures a 90% interest in the high-grade Nielle Gold Project in northern Côte d’Ivoire
  • The 212km² tenement application is situated within the highly prospective Birimian greenstone belt
  • Located approximately 50km north of the 5-million-ounce Tongon Gold Mine in a well-endowed West African gold belt
• Compelling high-grade gold system already defined, with shallow, high-grade intercepts across a 1km+ drilled strike within a broader 4.5km mineralisation corridor
  • Historical drilling highlights include 5m @ 15.42 g/t Au from 7m and 13m @ 5.07 g/t Au from 12m
  • Mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth
• Acquisition terms structured to preserve capital:
  • Initial US$50,000 option fee, followed by US$500,000 cash and US$500,000 in Castle shares (subject to shareholder approval)
  • Further milestone payments tied to JORC-compliant Mineral Resource delineation
  • 2.0% net smelter return production royalty
• Portfolio optimisation underway — Castle proposes to divest its Ghanaian gold assets for US$400,000 to an international exploration company, enabling capital reallocation toward Nielle
• Corporate rebrand proposed — the company intends to seek shareholder approval to change its name to TerraNova Metals Limited

Overview:

Castle Minerals Limited (ASX:CDT), a gold explorer with tenure positions in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Western Australia, has announced a transformational acquisition, securing a binding terms sheet for a 90% interest in the high-grade Nielle Gold Project in northern Côte d’Ivoire.

The Nielle Project sits within the Birimian greenstone belt — one of West Africa’s most prolific gold-producing geological provinces — and is strategically located approximately 50km north of the 5-million-ounce Tongon Gold Mine, previously operated by Barrick Gold. The project’s neighbours also include Perseus Mining’s 1.5Moz Sissingué mine, further underlining the district’s gold endowment.

Historical drilling, previously conducted by Resolute Mining and Corvette CIV SARL, has already returned multiple shallow, high-grade intercepts across more than 1km of strike, within a broader 4.5km mineralisation corridor that remains open along strike and at depth. Castle intends to rapidly advance Nielle toward a maiden Mineral Resource estimate, leveraging this existing dataset and a pipeline of drill-ready targets.

Acquisition Terms

• Initial US$50,000 option fee to secure exclusivity
• Upfront consideration of US$500,000 cash and US$500,000 in Castle shares, subject to shareholder approval
• Milestone payments tied to the passage of time and delineation of JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimates
• 2.0% net smelter return production royalty retained by the vendor

Portfolio Optimisation & Rebrand

Castle is simultaneously progressing the divestment of its Ghanaian gold assets for US$400,000 to an international exploration company, freeing up capital to focus on its Côte d’Ivoire strategy. The combined Nielle acquisition brings Castle’s total tenure in Côte d’Ivoire to over 2,000km². Reflecting this strategic pivot, the company intends to seek shareholder approval for a name change to TerraNova Metals Limited.

Company Notes:

The acquisition marks one of the most significant strategic developments for Castle Minerals in recent years, substantially reshaping its exploration portfolio and positioning the company as a district-scale gold explorer in one of West Africa’s most attractive jurisdictions. CDT shares surged more than 34% on the day of the announcement, closing at 6.8¢.

Full ASX Announcement: Castle Minerals Limited Full ASX Announcement

This article is a recap of an ASX announcement and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research before making investment decisions.