Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian gold miner Newcrest Mining has invested a further C$79.6-million into TSX-listed Lundin Gold Inc, increasing its stake from 27% to 32%.
Newcrest on Friday reported that it had acquired more than 10.97-million shares in Lundin from Kinross Gold Corporation, at a price of C$7.25 a share, representing a 4.2% discount to Lundin’s last trading price.
“This was a great opportunity to increase our exposure to Fruta del Norte, a tier one asset, which is expected to commence commercial production in the June 2020 quarter,” said Newcrest MD and CEO Sandeep Biswas.
Fruta del Norte is a high-grade underground gold/silver mine in Ecuador, and is expected to produce some 315 000 oz/y over a mine life of 14 years, at an all-in sustaining cost of $623/oz.
Kinross Gold has meanwhile also sold a further 8.39-million shares in Lundin to the Lundin Family Trust, increasing that shareholder’s stake from around 23% to around 27%.
The combined share sale is expected to net Kinross gross proceeds of around C$150-million, the Canadian company said on Friday.