There’s a new member of the world’s mining elite with a friendly merger in Australia creating a top 10 gold producer in a move which could potentially act as a trigger for a wave of similar deals.
The $11.5 billion amalgamation of Norther Star Resources and Saracen Mineral Holdings has been expected since last year when the two became joint owners of the Fimiston mine on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie, Australia’s gold capital.
Also known as the Superpit, the mine has been in continuous production for more than 100 years and ranks as one of the biggest man-made holes on the earth’s surface and one of Australia’s biggest mines.
But it’s what happens next in the gold industry which will be closely watched by investors because the gold industry has been buzzing with merger talk since the price started to rise two years ago.
From a low of $1178 an ounce in August, 2018, the gold price has risen by 62% to latest sales at $1911/oz, down on the peak of $2067/oz reached two months ago but trending up after a correction last month which pulled the price back to $1859/oz.
For the rest of this column: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timtreadgold/2020/10/06/115-billion-australian-merger-could-trigger-a-global-gold-rush/#438e5dc91d2c