You make a valid point mon vieux - there is sovereign risk here...

You make a valid point mon vieux - there is sovereign risk here unlike in Aus.

That being said, the Ivory Coast is one of the more stable West African countries - the US State Dept among others has published information on the investment environment there as have other think tanks. Worth a look. That's why other majors are there like Perseus (ASX: PRU) and Barrick Gold.

There much less chance then of the asset being seized by the state or non-state actors as we have seen recently in Mali (Leo Lithium ASX:LLL) and the DRC (AVZ Minerals, ASX: AVZ). Sure, it could still happen, but less likely.

Justin in his latest speech at the RIU Round-Up also observed (early on in the speech) that the TCG Afema holding is in the South of the country, away from the north which borders Burkina Faso and Mali, both unstable with much lawlessness. Afema borders Ghana, which you don't hear about from much in the news - a good thing.

These northern areas could be prone to border incursions. TCG have never said this, but it could be one of the reasons why TCG sold off assets there to others (Aurum and Many Peaks), a canny move.

If you've a potentially multi-million ounce resource in the south, away from troubled areas across the border in the north, better to concentrate on developing that than hang on to a potentially stranded asset, or one that ends up being pinched by a warlord.