Barrick Gold Corp, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd sell stakes to China’s Zijin in Papua New Guinea, Congo mines – by Peter Koven (National Post – May 26, 2015)

The National Post is Canada’s second largest national paper.

Canadian miners Barrick Gold Corp. and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. have both struck deals with Chinese miner Zijin Mining Group Co., which is investing a total of US$710 million in their projects.

Zijin, one of China’s largest gold and copper producers, will buy half of Barrick’s 95 per cent stake in the Porgera gold mine in Papua New Guinea for US$298 million. And it will buy just under half of Ivanhoe’s 95 per cent stake in the Kamoa copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo for US$412 million.

The two transactions are the direct result of work by John Thornton and Robert Freidland, the respective chairmen of Barrick and Ivanhoe. Both men have very deep business ties to Asia.

Thornton, who became Barrick’s chairman last year, has put a priority on forming partnerships with Chinese companies, and negotiations with Zijin have been going on for several months. There were also talks around Zijin becoming a partner on the failed Pascua-Lama project, though no agreement has been struck to date.

In addition to buying a stake in Porgera, Zijin and Barrick have signed a “long-term strategic co-operation agreement” through which they plan to co-operate on future projects and investments.

“A twenty-first century mining company with global reach and the intention to become an industry leader must, by definition, have a distinctive relationship with China,” Thornton said in a statement, echoing comments he has made many times in the past.

“This is particularly true in our industry, where China has become both the largest producer and consumer of gold, and a major source of capital and expertise for the mines of the future.”

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