Hey Joel,
without doubt, discussions have likely occurred for a long time (informal), perhaps especially after they got into production and with the continued risk of political change (real or otherwise). At this point, with all things being equal, Orezone's major holders are likely happen enough with a merger, but... perhaps more likely once Orezone has finished off its Phase II expansion, which... interestingly, will come together around the same time as Kiaka comes online (give or take 3-6 months). The Capex is $167m which is not small considering Orezone if basically a 130k p.a producer currently.
What any actual deal will look like... 30% Orezone, 70% WAF. I think this would be 'fair', as I don't view Orezones asset as quite as good as WAF's two, but then again, my say is not quite going to be important as the insto's.
So many logical reasons, economies of scale (production, security etc), shared resources and potentially even source different ore.
Plus, a 600k p.a production profile would be bigger than PRU, with a minimum 10+ year mine life on all 3 projects. Reserves would be over 7m ounces.
As for a flurry, honestly, would be exciting to see, but... there just isn't that many projects to be snapped up. Perhaps some mergers, but I do think there are lots of smallish scale projects that could be picked up, but... sub 100k p.a seem to be scorned in West Africa (IMHO).
(20min delay)