Newcrest Mining Ltd is likely adding its Bonikro gold site in the Ivory Coast following its Wednesday announcement that it will divest its non-core Queensland assets in Cracow and Mount Rawdon, reports said.

The Australian cited a reading provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on Thursday, which projected that Bonikro's three percent gold production each year would line it up with the company's Queensland assets of mere five percent, thus rendering the operation a possible 'exploration play'.

Part of the $10 billion deal that gave Newcrest ownership of Lihir Gold assets, RBS said that selling Bonikro will allow the gold miner to focus on its premier operations in Papua New Guinea and make profit at the same time.

RBS analyst Sam Berridge told the publication that "Newcrest is also likely to divest its Bonikro operation and surrounding exploration assets once the political situation in the Ivory Coast stabilises," and Perseus Mining is the likely recipient considering its significant presence in the region.

At present, Perseus maintains tenement operations in the northern part of Ivory Coast, with the miner counting its key gold undertaking in the Tengrela gold exploration site.

Currently the number three gold producer in the world, Newcrest said yesterday that it plans to sell its twin Queensland assets, with an estimated worth of $370 million, to the new company formed by the merger between Conquest Mining and Catalpa Resources.

Once the deal pushes through, Newcrest will acquire a 33 percent stake on the new firm, which was characterised by analysts as a positive and advantageous decision taken by the gold miner.

Market watchers also noted that the deal, which will require both the thumbs up of Conquest and Catalpa investors, will mostly improve the standing of Newcrest and will encourage the firm to sustain it interest on the new company for a much longer period.