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London - Acacia Mining is looking to buy gold mines and exploration projects in Senegal, Mali and Ghana to expand in West Africa, chief executive Brad Gordon said.
The company, which has three mines and exploration assets in Tanzania, will seek assets that are similar in size to its existing ones, he told Reuters.
Acacia also has exploration assets in Kenya in east Africa and Burkina Faso in West Africa.
Gold prices tumbled to four-year lows late last year, prompting miners to shut mines, halt projects and reduce jobs, among other steps.
"While most of the industry is walking away from exploration programs and from good prospective ground in Africa, we will start to look at picking some of that ground up," Gordon said.
The company has been lowering its production costs for the past couple of years. Acacia's all-in sustaining costs, which reflect the total cost of production, fell 6% to $1 088 per ounce in the fourth quarter.
Spot gold was at $1 259.80 an ounce as of 07:28 GMT.
"I worry less about the gold price and more about how much it is costing us to produce gold," Gordon said.
Acacia is also focusing on ramping up production its flagship Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania.
Gold production at Acacia's mines in Tanzania rose 13% in the fourth quarter.
The company's shares were down about 2% at 294.4 pence at 12:07 GMT on the London Stock Exchange. Up to Thursday's close, the stock had risen 15% this year.
