GoldStone Resources has secured £3.51 million from Hong Kong-listed Persistence Gold Group, bringing in a new strategic shareholder as the company looks to accelerate drilling, strengthen its Homase resource base and rebuild momentum across its West African gold portfolio.

GoldStone has delivered what could prove to be one of its most important updates in some time.

The AIM-listed gold producer and explorer has announced a £3.51 million subscription from Persistence Gold Group Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed mining and investment company. The investment will see Persistence subscribe for 351,594,899 new shares at 1.0p per share (a healthy premium), giving it a 20.96% stake in GoldStone following admission.

For a small-cap gold company looking to move from stabilisation into growth, this is a meaningful development.

The key point is not just the cash injection, although that is clearly important. It is the nature of the investor, the size of the position being taken, and what the funds are being used for.

Strategic Investor - Strengthens the Capital Structure

Persistence Gold Group is not coming in as a passive investor with a token position. It is taking just over one-fifth of the enlarged share capital and will have the right to nominate a representative to GoldStone’s board while it holds 15% or more of the company.

Given small-cap mining companies often struggle to attract strategic capital, particularly where there has been a difficult operational history. In GoldStone’s case, the investment suggests that an experienced international gold mining group sees value in the asset base, the management reset and the next stage of development at Homase.  Not only this but the shares are going to one entity and not out to the general market.

Persistence itself brings gold mining experience through its Chinese operations, including producing and advanced-stage gold assets in Shandong Province, one of China’s major gold mining regions.

GoldStone expects Dr Jeff Malaihollo, an Executive Director of Persistence, to join the board as a Non-Executive Director following admission of the subscription shares. Dr Malaihollo has a geological background and experience across AIM and ASX-listed mining companies.

For GoldStone, that combination of funding, technical input and board-level mining experience will be useful as the company pushes ahead with its next phase.

Homase In Focus

The proceeds from the subscription are expected to be used for an expanded drilling programme at the Homase Mine in Ghana, exploration across the wider licence portfolio, mine planning, technical studies, working capital and general operational expenditure.

That makes Homase the central focus.

GoldStone has previously outlined its intention to update the JORC-compliant resource at Homase later this year. The company has referred to the 4,000m strike of the Homase mineralised zone, which was previously reported in 2012 as a JORC 2012-compliant resource of 602,000oz gold.

The existing oxide operation provides a production base, but the larger prize is whether GoldStone can demonstrate a broader and more valuable resource opportunity along strike, at depth and potentially into areas linked with the historic high-grade Akrokeri underground mine.

A funded drilling programme gives the company a clear path to testing that potential.

Funding Gives the Growth Plan More Credibility

At Homase, the company has been focused on maximising production from the existing oxide resource while preparing the ground for longer-term growth. Approval has been received for Pad 6, the largest heap leach pad constructed by GoldStone to date, and stacking of agglomerated ore has commenced.

For the quarter ended March 2026, GoldStone reported 36,268 tonnes stacked, 480 troy ounces of gold produced, and 19.99kg of gold in process within the heap leach circuit.

Whilst the numbers are still modest, the broader message is that GoldStone is operating, investing in infrastructure and seeking to improve the production platform. The new funding now gives management greater flexibility to advance the exploration and technical work needed to support the next stage.

This is important because small gold producers can often become trapped by limited working capital. Without sufficient funding, drilling gets delayed, resource work slows down and operational progress becomes difficult to sustain.

The Persistence investment helps address that issue.

Sierra Leone Adds Optionality

Although the funding announcement is centred on Homase, GoldStone’s wider West African strategy is also becoming more interesting.

The company recently announced progress at MinCorp SL in Sierra Leone, where GoldStone holds a 50% equity interest. The licences are contiguous to the Baomahun Gold Mine, a known gold deposit estimated to contain approximately 5.8 million ounces.

GoldStone has reported that a wash plant has been installed and commissioned, an excavator has been deployed, and visible coarse gold was identified during the commissioning process.

Sierra Leone looks to give GoldStone additional optionality beyond Ghana. It also fits with the company’s stated strategy of expanding its operational footprint in West Africa.

The SmallCapPix View

The company now has an additional strategic cornerstone investor, fresh capital, a strengthened board position and a clear use of proceeds focused on Homase drilling and resource growth.

The Gold Loan Extension from AIMS, also a significant shareholder adds to the credibility of the Homase's potential and what seems to be a stake in the ground.

GoldStone will still need to demonstrate consistent operational progress, deliver the expanded drilling programme, update the resource and show that Homase can support a more substantial long-term mining plan.

But the direction of travel looks much stronger than it did previously.

For investors, the key catalysts from here are clear: admission of the Persistence shares which which were sturck at a premium (1p), the expected board appointment, drilling progress at Homase, the updated JORC resource later this year, further production updates from Ghana and any additional results from the Sierra Leone operation.

In a thriving gold market where investors are increasingly looking for smaller producers and explorers with funded growth potential, GoldStone now has a more credible story to tell—The next stage is delivery!