Premier African Minerals Ltd. said Dec. 9 that it will not exercise the option to acquire a 30% interest in privately owned explorer Casa Mining Ltd.

LSE-listed Premier acquired a 4.5% interest in Casa Mining in October along with the option to increase its interest up to 30% within 60 days.

Casa owns a 71.25% interest in the 1.2-million-ounce Akyanga gold deposit, part of the Misisi project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"Our current market capitalization does not reflect the value of the underlying assets and accordingly we will not proceed with a direct financing to pursue the interest available in Casa," CEO George Roach said.