Archive | Gold and Silver

Barrick proposes low-ball buyout offer for beleaguered Tanzanian subsidiary Acacia – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – May 23, 2019)

May 23, 2019 in Africa Mining, Barrick Gold Corporation, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://business.financialpost.com/

Barrick offered a nine per cent discount to the London-listed Acacia’s closing price, valuing it at US$787 million

Earlier this month, Barrick Gold Corp. chief executive Mark Bristow had said his company would consider buying out minority shareholders in its embattled subsidiary, Acacia Mining Plc, but only at the right price.

“The problem is that we are not prepared to overpay for these assets,” Bristow said. On Wednesday, the Toronto gold company made its price clear — proposing a share swap at 0.1533 of a Barrick share for each Acacia share in an offer that values the smaller company at US$787 million.

That’s a nine per cent discount to the London-listed company’s closing price on Tuesday, which comes on top of a 68 per cent decline since 2017 amid an ongoing dispute with Tanzanian authorities, which slapped a US$190 billion tax bill and banned the export of processed metals. Continue Reading →

SolGold in talks to finance long-life Ecuador copper project – by Barbara Lewis (Reuters U.S. – May 20, 2019)

May 21, 2019 in Copper, Gold and Silver, International Media Resource Articles, Latin America Mining

https://www.reuters.com/

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – SolGold is in talks with financiers keen to invest in its Ecuadorian copper-gold prospects and mining major BHP could increase its stake in the company, SolGold’s chief executive said on Monday.

In a preliminary economic assessment of the Alpala copper-silver-gold deposit in northern Ecuador released earlier, London-listed SolGold said annual copper output should be 207,000 tonnes for the first 25 years of a mine life of roughly half a century.

Ecuador has attracted a flurry of interest from big miners eager to increase their exposure to copper. The highly conductive metal is in demand for use in renewable energy and electric vehicles, but big, new deposits are rare. Continue Reading →

Canada’s Pure Gold starts trading in London – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – May 20, 2019)

May 21, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Ontario Mining, Red Lake

http://www.mining.com/

Canada’s Pure Gold Mining (TSX-V: PGM) has begun trading on the main market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker PUR, in a move aimed at lifting the company’s international profile ahead of its transition to producer from developer.

The Vancouver-based miner, which is advancing a high-grade gold project in Ontario, believes a dual listing will give it access to a much broader pool of international capital, at a time when junior miners in Canada are having a hard time competing with the booming cannabis sector.

Interest in the emerging business, which spiked after Canada legalized the recreational use of cannabis in October, has been sucking investment capital away from the mining sector, and hitting juniors hardest, a recent study by BDO shows. Continue Reading →

Australian gold miners on the hunt for Canadian assets – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 21, 2019)

May 21, 2019 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Junior Exploration Sector

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Here come the Aussies. Flush with cash, Australian mining companies are buying Canadian gold mines and more are expected to join the fray.

Last week, Melbourne-based St. Barbara Ltd. reached a friendly agreement to buy Vancouver’s Atlantic Gold Corp. for $722-million. Atlantic owns and operates a very profitable gold mine in Nova Scotia with a long reserve life.

Earlier this year, Australia’s biggest gold company, Newcrest Mining Corp., paid US$806-million for a majority stake in Red Chris, one of Imperial Metal Corp.’s prized gold and copper mines. Continue Reading →

Northern Superior discovers gold-bearing structures at massive TPK project in Ontario – by Staff (Mining.com – May 17, 2019)

May 17, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Junior Exploration Sector, Ontario Mining

http://www.mining.com/

Northern Superior Resources (TSXV: SUP) reported the discovery of eight gold-bearing structures and alteration zones at its Ti-pa-haa-kaa-ning gold-silver-copper project located in northwestern Ontario.

In a press release, the miner said the discoveries represent a critical and important advance in defining bedrock-hosted high-grade gold mineralization, necessary to yield the unique world-class gold grain-in-till dispersal apron and high-grade boulders defined and recovered within the Big Dam area, one of the three management zones into which the property has been subdivided.

According to Northern Superior, the structures have the potential to host economic deposits of gold because they have elevated gold values in widths of up to 20 metres, mineralized alteration envelopes with widths up to 30 metres, and a strike length of up to 2 kilometres, defined by tying mineralized structure to geophysical signature. Continue Reading →

Iamgold Explores Sale Amid Gold Sector Consolidation – by Scott Deveau and Dinesh Nair (Bloomberg News – May 16, 2019)

May 17, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Canadian miner Iamgold Corp. is exploring a possible sale of all or part of the company amid a wave of consolidation in the gold sector, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Toronto-based miner is working with advisers and has spoken to several potential buyers, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

Iamgold’s plans could still change and there’s no guarantee it would succeed in selling itself, the people said. A representative for Iamgold declined to comment. Continue Reading →

The Price Of Gold Will Rise As Trade Wars Weigh On USD – Morgan Stanley – by Neils Christensen (Kitco News – May 15, 2019)

May 16, 2019 in Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.kitco.com/

(Kitco News) – Gold will be an attractive safe-haven asset as rising trade tensions weaken the U.S. economy and drag down the U.S. dollar, according to a recent report from Morgan Stanley.

But it’s not the current trade dispute with China that investors should be paying attention to; the banks said that a potential trade war with the European Union is the most significant risk to the economy.

U.S. President Donald Trump has until May 18 to decide whether he will impose a 25% tariff on car imports from the European Union. The deadline comes 90 days after the U.S. Commerce Department said in a study that auto imports pose a threat to American national security. Continue Reading →

COLUMN: Commodities for the Trump-China trade war: Gold for bears, copper for bulls – by Clyde Russell (Reuters U.S. – May 16, 2019)

May 16, 2019 in Copper, Gold and Silver, International Media Resource Articles

https://www.reuters.com/

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – One of the most popular questions at mining conferences is what is your top metal and why are you bullish on it. The clear winner so far this year is gold. While gold is a perennial favorite at mining events, the near unanimous backing among industry insiders likely reflects two emerging dynamics.

These are the limited prospects for significant new supply of the precious metal, and the view that the world economy is headed for turbulent times as the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump ramps up its trade war with China and its disputes with major oil exporters Iran and Venezuela.

At a session at this week’s 121 Mining Investment event in Singapore, three out of four panelists picked gold, while the fourth was more in favor of other precious metals such as palladium and silver. Continue Reading →

Agnico Eagle’s mine training program has its critics – by Avery Zingel (CBC News North – May 16, 2019)

May 16, 2019 in Aboriginal and Inuit Mining and Oil/Gas, Canada Mining – North of 60, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

A worker at Agnico Eagle’s Meadowbank Mine in Nunavut says a training program designed to train Nunavummiut allows southern contractors to rise, while Inuit wait for training. Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. operates the Meadowbank open-pit gold mine, north of Baker Lake and the Meliadine mine near Rankin Inlet.

CBC has agreed not to name the worker, who said he fears reprisal from the company. The man has been an employee with the company for over a decade, and said he has never been suspended.

The employee, who is not Inuit, said he is “fed up” with the treatment of his Inuit colleagues. The man said Inuit on his crew are overlooked for higher-paying positions and become frustrated when they are turned down for the training they need to advance. Continue Reading →

Australia’s St. Barbara to acquire Canada’s Atlantic Gold in $722-million deal – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 16, 2019)

May 16, 2019 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Australia’s St. Barbara Ltd. is buying Canada’s Atlantic Gold Corp. in a friendly transaction worth $722-million – more evidence of a resurgence in deal-making in the global gold sector. Vancouver-based Atlantic owns and operates a small but very profitable gold mine in Nova Scotia.

St. Barbara is paying $2.90 a share for Atlantic, about a 40-per-cent premium to the Tuesday closing price. In addition, shareholders will receive the equivalent of 5 cents a share in a spin-off company that will hold Atlantic’s equity stake in Velocity Minerals Ltd., a small development stage company.

St. Barbara is funding the deal through a mix of cash on hand and proceeds from an equity issue. In an interview, Atlantic’s chief executive officer Steven Dean said there was “a good deal of interest from a number of parties,” but that St. Barbara’s offer, which was almost all-cash, was particularly compelling. Continue Reading →

Study indicates mine contamination not a big health issue for Yellowknifers – by Richard Gleeson (CBC News North – May 15, 2019)

May 15, 2019 in Canada Mining – North of 60, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Mining Environmental Accidents, Pollution, Tailing Dams and Abandoned Mines

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/

The most comprehensive study undertaken on the concentration of mine contaminants in people living in the Yellowknife area shows contaminant levels similar to those found in Canadians generally.

“We don’t have any evidence or reason to be concerned about the immediate health effects that we see in other populations that have high levels, like India and Bangladesh,” said Dr. Laurie Chan, the University of Ottawa professor leading the study.

Researchers analyzed tongue swabs, toenail clippings and urine from 2,037 residents of Yellowknife, Ndilo and Dettah. They measured concentrations of arsenic, lead and cadmium. In adults, they found arsenic levels slightly lower than levels measured in Canadians generally. The levels in children were higher than in Canadian children generally, but not high enough to be a concern. Continue Reading →

Australia’s St Barbara snaps up Canada’s Atlantic Gold for $536 mln – by Melanie Burton (Reuters Canada – May 14, 2019)

May 15, 2019 in Australia/New Caledonia/Papua New Guinea Mining, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver, Junior Exploration Sector

https://ca.reuters.com/

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian gold miner St Barbara said on Wednesday it will buy smaller Canadian peer Atlantic Gold Corp for C$722 million ($536 million), marking a second overseas acquisition for cashed-up Australian producers.

St Barbara’s C$2.90 a share cash offer represents a 39% premium to Atlanta Gold’s closing price on Tuesday in a deal that analysts said opened up growth options, but could lead to a call on capital and crimp dividends.

“Buying an unknown asset in a new country which itself potentially requires a fresh injection of capital… could present an additional barrier for some investors,” said RBC Capital in a report. Continue Reading →

Yamana Gold executive chair Peter Marrone says gold industry compensation needs to fall – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 13, 2019)

May 13, 2019 in Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

In the long-running controversy over executive pay in the Canadian gold industry, Yamana Gold Inc. is a name that frequently crops up.

At its recent annual meeting, the Toronto-based company came close to losing another say-on-pay vote, squeaking by with just 54.5-per-cent approval, after its 2018 executive compensation package raised the ire of a proxy advisory firm.

Glass, Lewis & Co. gave Yamana an “F” grade for compensation and recommended shareholders vote against its executive pay package. Yamana has “a history of misaligning pay and performance,” Glass Lewis wrote, and shareholders “should be deeply concerned with the compensation committee’s failure.” Continue Reading →

Barrick Gold CEO frustrated over ongoing Acacia tax impasse – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – May 9, 2019)

May 9, 2019 in Africa Mining, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Mark Bristow came to Barrick Gold Corp. with a strong reputation for operating mines in tough jurisdictions in Africa. But a solution to one of the company’s most vexing problems on the continent still eludes him.

The chief executive says the miner has made little progress in its attempts to end a tax dispute with Tanzania that has crippled production at its London-based subsidiary.

Speaking in Toronto on Wednesday after the release of Barrick’s first-quarter earnings, Mr. Bristow said that two years after a fracas erupted between 63.9-per-cent Barrick-owned Acacia Mining PLC and the government of Tanzania, both parties are still very much at odds. Continue Reading →

Barrick CEO Expects to Raise $1.5 Billion in Asset Sales – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – May 8, 2019)

May 8, 2019 in Barrick Gold Corporation, Canada Mining, Canadian Media Resource Articles, Gold and Silver

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Barrick Gold Corp., which completed its acquisition of Randgold Resources Ltd. at the beginning of the year, has identified $1.5 billion in assets the miner intends to sell, Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow said.

“Our focus is realizing $1.5 billion through next year,” Bristow said Wednesday in an interview in Toronto. The assets will be sold once they are optimized enough to create sufficient value for shareholders, he said.

The gold sector has been anticipating a wave of asset sales in the wake of Barrick’s US$5.4 billion acquisition of Randgold and a second mega-merger that created Newmont Goldcorp Corp. Continue Reading →