TORONTO Feb 1(Reuters) – Canada’s Royal Nickel Corp , capitalizing on discount asset prices as commodity markets swoon, announced two cash and stock acquisitions on Monday that transform the mine developer into a cash-generating nickel, copper and gold producer.
Royal Nickel Chief Executive Mark Selby said the company will acquire a 67 percent stake in Australia’s privately-held Salt Lake Mining Pty, in a deal worth C$7.7 million, and 100 percent of Vancouver-based VMS Ventures Inc, in a separate transaction worth C$11.4 million.
Salt Lake Mining owns the Beta Hunt Mine, a low-cost nickel and gold mine in Western Australia. VMS’s main asset is a 30 percent stake in Reed Mine, a Manitoba copper mine that is 70-percent owned and operated by HudBay Minerals.
“When you’re close to cycle lows is the time to be picking up the assets. You never know for sure when you’re at the bottom, but I think we’re pretty close,” Selby said.
“We’re basically picking these things up for a fraction of the cost to put them into production.”
In 2015, production from Beta Hunt Mine and a 30 percent stake of Reed Mine totaled approximately 4,000 tonnes of nickel, 4,000 tonnes of copper, and 3,300 ounces of gold.
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