FG Gold closes $330m financing for Sierra Leone's first large-scale gold mine

FG Gold reached financial close on 1 December 2025 on a $330m senior debt financing package for its Baomahun gold project, arranged by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) as a co-lender contributing $75m, and with further capital mobilised through commodity trader Trafigura. Combined with an earlier $100m AFC investment, total committed capital for the project from AFC and Afreximbank now stands at about $430m.

Sierra Leone's first big gold mine

Baomahun is set to become Sierra Leone's first large-scale commercial gold mine, a milestone for a country whose mining sector has historically been dominated by iron ore and diamonds, much of it produced by smaller or artisanal operations. Construction was roughly 30% complete at the time of financial close, with first gold production targeted for 2026. At full capacity the mine is expected to average about 150,000 ounces of gold a year, peaking at 210,000 ounces, over a projected 12.5-year mine life.

Why development financiers, not banks

The financing structure, led by African development finance institutions rather than commercial banks, reflects a broader pattern in West African mine-building, where AFC and Afreximbank have increasingly stepped in to fund large resource projects that traditional lenders view as too country-risk-heavy, filling a gap left by more conservative Western banks. For Sierra Leone, the project's backers say it could contribute up to 10% of national GDP at peak output and support several hundred jobs directly and indirectly, a potentially significant boost for one of West Africa's smaller economies.

What comes next

With financing secured, the project's timeline now hinges on construction execution rather than funding risk, a milestone many earlier-stage African gold projects fail to reach. Sierra Leone's government has pointed to Baomahun as evidence that its mining and investment framework can attract project-scale capital beyond the iron ore sector that has dominated the country's mining revenue for the past decade.

Sierra Leone's mines ministry has pointed to Baomahun as evidence that the country's fiscal and regulatory terms can compete for large-scale project capital against better-known West African gold jurisdictions, a claim that will be tested further once the mine reaches steady-state production and its full economic contribution becomes measurable.

Sources

• Mining Weekly: Financial close achieved for Sierra Leone's flagship Baomahun gold project, 01 Dec 2025
• Afreximbank: FG Gold, AFC and Afreximbank Achieve Financial Close on US$330 Million Senior Debt Financing for Baomahun Gold Project, 01 Dec 2025
• Ecofin Agency: FG Gold Secures $330 Million to Launch Sierra Leone's Largest Gold Mine, 02 Dec 2025