Galane Gold Ltd. said March 19 that it signed an earn-in agreement that will allow B2Gold Corp. to indirectly acquire up to a 70% stake in a newly incorporated Galane unit.

The new unit applied for two prospecting licenses covering about 520 square kilometers around Galane's Mupane gold project in Botswana. The earn-in will be exercisable in tranches, requiring B2Gold to meet specified exploration expenditures.

B2Gold will be required to contribute US$500,000 within a year of the deal's conditions being satisfied and a further US$2 million within three years to earn a 51% indirect interest in the Galane unit. B2Gold will secure an additional 19% stake in the new company after incurring an additional US$1.5 million of exploration expenses within four years from the same date but will have to return its initial 51% stake in the unit at no cost if it fails to complete the last tranche within the deadline.

The deal remains subject to certain conditions, and if these conditions are not fulfilled or waived by June 13, B2Gold will have the right to terminate the agreement.