Australian-listed Askari Metals has tightened its grip on Ethiopia’s mineral frontier, acquiring the Nejo Gold Project as part of a broader push to scale up its East African gold ambitions.

The company announced that it had secured full ownership of the Nejo site, an advanced-stage, 1,174-square-kilometer exploration project located in western Ethiopia, through a binding share purchase agreement with Xingguang Group Ltd. The deal gives Askari 100% control over Hong Kong-based Xingxu Mining International, the entity holding Nejo.

This is not Askari’s first foothold in Ethiopia. Earlier this year, it took over Rift Valley Metals and picked up five gold exploration licenses in the Adola Greenstone Belt. But Nejo signals something different: a shift from greenfield to brownfield, from prospecting to project-building.

Positioned in the Arabian-Nubian Shield, the Nejo site is surrounded by heavyweights, Kurmuk (3.4 million ounces) to the west and Tulu Kapi (1.7 million ounces) to the east. The terrain is prime, the geology proven, and the stakes rising fast.

The Nejo gold project covers approximately 1,174 square kilometers within the Arabian-Nubian Shield, a geological region noted for its substantial gold deposits. It lies close to established gold operations such as the Kurmuk mine, with reported reserves of 3.4 million ounces, and the Tulu Kapi mine, which contains 1.7 million ounces.