Gold miner Northern Star Resources Ltd said on Tuesday it had entered into an agreement with the Australian unit of Newmont Gold Corp to buy a 50% stake in Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) for $800 million.
KCGM is a joint venture between Newmont and Saracen Mineral Holdings and owns the Super Pit in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, among other deposits. Super Pit is the biggest open-pit gold mine in Australia.
Last month, Saracen became the joint venture partner after Barrick sold its 50% share of KCGM.
Northern Star said it would fund the deal through A$480 million ($325.73 million) in debt, A$765 million institutional placement and a share purchase plan targeting to raise up to A$50 million.
The Western Australia-based company said the acquisition would be accretive to its earnings per share in the first full financial year of ownership.
Gold miners have been on a deal-making spree to boost their waning reserves amid higher bullion prices.
On Monday, Canada’s Equinox Gold Corp said it would buy rival Leagold Mining Corp for $578 million.
Early this year, Newmont announced a $10-billion takeover of Goldcorp Inc, on the heels of Barrick Gold’s purchase of Randgold Resources.
In Australia, Evolution Mining Ltd bought a 19.9%stake in smaller peer Tribune Resources Ltd.
Source: Reuters.com