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Desert Gold Gains Strategic Partner in West Africa

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By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Desert Gold Ventures Inc has announced closing its private placement, noting that it issued 2,860,800 units at a price of CAD$0.25 per unit, raising gross proceeds of CAD$715,200.

Securities issued resulting from this private placement will be subject to a statutory hold period. However, the private placement is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.

Also, Sodinaf International SA has become financial and strategic partner in Western Africa and Mr Salif Keita is appointed to the position of Vice President of Operations, West Africa.

Desert Gold outlines $1.5 million exploration program for its gold exploration portfolio in Western Mali.

It was gathered that Sodinaf International SA subscribed for 2,760,800 units representing the majority of the placement.

Sodinaf is a West African gold mining company that owns a 55 percent interest in the Kodieran Mine in Southern Mali as well as a substantial gold exploration portfolio in Western Mali and Ivory Coast.

The Kodieran gold mine is situated approximately 300 kilometres southeast of Bamako, the capital of Mali.

The mine and associated mining lease is operated by Wassoul Or SA a private joint-venture company where Sodinaf is the majority shareholder at 55 percent.

The Kodieran mining license and regional land package is situated on the West African Birimian greenstone belt; one of the most prolific belts in Western Africa where approximately 52 million ounces of gold resources have been discovered to date. The Kodieran mine is an open pit mining operation using a gravity plant that operates at a capacity of 11,000 tons per day.

Desert Gold and Sodinaf will form a strategic partnership to develop Desert Gold’s exploration licenses in Western Mali. The two companies will combine operational and financial resources to undertake exploration programs this year at all three of the Company’s properties in Western Mali.

Mr Keita is a senior geologist with over 14 years of experience in exploration and mining production. The majority of Mr Keita’s regional experience is in the Birimian Green Stone Belt in West Africa where he held senior positions with Anglo Gold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Great Quest Metals.

He holds a B.Sc. Geology (Honours) from the National School of Engineering, Bamako, Mali and will work with Desert Gold’s technical directors to oversee the Company’s exploration efforts in Western Mali.

Exploration will begin at the company’s highly prospective Farabantourou prospect where an indicated and inferred resource of 69,600 oz Au exists known as Barani East (969,000 tons at 2.25 g/t oz Au with a 0.5 g/t cutoff grade)1.

Farabantourou is located on the Senegal-Mali Fault Zone (“SMFZ”) 40km south of the AngloGold Ashanti Sadiola/Yatela Mine and 50km north of Randgold’s Loulou Mine. Both these mines are on the SMFZ.

In addition to the Barani East deposit, Farabantourou hosts 6 other mineralized zones that are largely underexplored and which combine to form nearly 5 km of strike.

Phase 1 of the exploration program will consist of a core-drilling program to reduce drill spacing on the current resource, as well as step out to drill new targets along strike to the south and west known as Kousilli and Dambamba.

In addition to this, the company will undertake to drill several deep holes at Barani East to depths up to depths of 400 meters. Phase 1 plans for a total of 6,000 meters of core drilling with work scheduled to begin immediately.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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Economy

Petrol Supply up 55.4% as Daily Consumption Reaches 52.1 million Litres

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sufficient supply petrol

By Adedapo Adesanya

The supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, increased by 55.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis to 71.5 million litres per day in November 2025 from 46 million litres per day in October.

This was contained in the November 2025 fact sheet of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Monday.

The data showed that the nation’s consumption also increased by 44.5 per cent or 37.4 million litres to 52.1 million litres per day in November 2025, against 28.9 million litres in October.

The significant increase in petrol supply last month was on account of the imports by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited into the Nigerian market from both the domestic and the international market.

Domestic refineries supplied in the period stood at 17.1 million litres per day, while the average daily consumption of PMS for the month was 52.9 million litres per day.

The NMDPRA noted that no production activities were recorded in all the state-owned refineries, which included Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, in the period, as the refineries remained shut down.

According to the report, the imports were aimed at building inventory and further guaranteeing supply during the peak demand period.

Other reasons for the increase, according to the NMDPRA, were due to “low supply recorded in September and October 2025, below the national demand threshold; the need for boosting national stock level to meet the peak demand period of end of year festivities, and twelve vessels programmed to discharge into October, which spilled into November.”

On gas, the average daily gas supply climbed to 4.684 billion standard cubic feet per day in November 2025, from the 3.94 bscf/d average processing level recorded in October.

The Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 also maintained a stable processing output of 3.5 bscf/d in November 2025, but utilisation improved slightly to 73.7 per cent compared with 71.68 per cent in October.

The increase, according to the report, was driven by higher plant utilisation across processing hubs and steady export volumes from the Nigeria LNG plant in Bonny.

“As of November 2025, Nigeria’s major gas processing facilities recorded improved output and utilisation levels, with the Nigeria LNG Trains 1-6 processing 3.50 billion standard cubic feet per day at a utilisation rate of 73.70 per cent.

“Gbaran Ubie Gas Plant processed 1.250 bscf per day, operating at 71.21 per cent utilisation, while the MPNU Bonny River Terminal recorded a throughput of 0.690 bscf per day during the period. Processing activities at the Escravos Gas Plant stood at 0.680 bscf per day, representing a 62 per cent utilisation rate, whereas the Soku Gas Plant emerged as the top performer, processing 0.600 bscf per day at 96.84 per cent utilisation,” it stated.

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Economy

Secure Electronic Technology Suspends Share Reconstruction as Investors Pull Out

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Secure Electronic Technology

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The proposed share reconstruction of a local gaming firm, Secure Electronic Technology (SET), has been suspended.

The Lagos-based company decided to shelve the exercise after negotiations with potential investors crumbled like a house of cards.

Secure Electronic Technology was earlier in talks with some foreign investors interested in the organisation.

Plans were underway to restructure the shares of the company, which are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.

However, things did not go as planned as the potential investors pulled out, leaving the board to consider others ways to move the firm forward.

Confirming this development, the company secretary, Ms Irene Attoe, in a statement, said the board would explore other means to keep the company running to deliver value to shareholders.

“This is to notify the NGX and the investing public that a meeting of the board of SET held on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, as scheduled, to consider the status of the proposed share reconstruction and recapitalisation as approved by the members at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on April 16, 2025.

“After due deliberations, the board wishes to announce that the proposed share reconstruction will not take place as anticipated due to the inability of the parties to reach a convergence on the best and mutually viable terms.

“Thus, following an impasse in the negotiations, and the investors’ withdrawal from the transaction, the board has, in the interest of all members, decided to accept these outcomes and move ahead in the overall interest of the business.

“The board is committed to driving the strategic objectives of SEC and to seeking viable opportunities for sustainable growth of the company,” the disclosure stated.

Business Post reports that the share price of SET crashed by 3.85 per cent on Tuesday on Customs Street on Tuesday to 75 Kobo. Its 52-week high remains N1.33 and its one-year low is 45 Kobo. Today, investors transacted 39,331,958 units.

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Economy

Clea to Streamline Cross-Border Payments for African Importers

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Clea Payment platform

By Adedapo Adesanya

Clea, a blockchain-powered platform that allows African importers to pay international suppliers in USD while settling locally, has officially launched.

During its pilot phase, Clea processed more than $4 million in cross-border transactions, demonstrating strong early demand from businesses navigating the complexities of global trade.

Clea addresses persistent challenges that African importers have long struggled with, including limited FX access, unpredictable exchange rates, high bank charges, fraudulent intermediaries, and payment delays that slow or halt shipments. The continent also faces a trade-finance gap estimated at over $120 billion annually, limiting importers’ ability to access the FX and financial infrastructure needed for timely international payments by offering fast, transparent, and direct USD settlements, completed without intermediaries or banking bottlenecks.

Founded by Mr Sheriff Adedokun, Mr Iyiola Osuagwu, and Mr Sidney Egwuatu, Clea was created from the team’s own experiences dealing with unreliable international payments. The platform currently serves Nigerian importers trading with suppliers in the United States, China, and the UAE, with plans to expand into additional trade corridors.

The platform will allow local payments in Naira with instant access to Dollars as well as instant, same-day, or next-day settlement options and transparent, traceable transactions that reduce fraud risk.

Speaking on the launch, Mr Adedokun said, “Importers face unnecessary stress when payments are delayed or rejected. Clea eliminates that uncertainty by offering reliable, secure, and traceable payments completed in the importer’s own name, strengthening supplier confidence from day one.”

Mr Osuagwu, co-founder & CTO, added, “Our goal is to make global trade feel as seamless as a local transfer. By connecting local currencies to global transactions through blockchain technology, we are removing long-standing barriers that have limited African importers for years.”

According to a statement shared with Business Post, Clea is already working with shipping operators who refer merchants to the platform and is also engaging trade associations and logistics networks in key import hubs. The company remains fully bootstrapped but is open to strategic investors aligned with its mission to build a trusted global payment network for African businesses.

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