Deals in brief

Zijin Mining agrees to acquire Guyana Goldfields for $238m

Chinese mining company Zijin Mining Group has signed a binding arrangement agreement to acquire Guyana Goldfields for a consideration of C$323m (around $238m) in cash.

The Chinese miner has offered Guyana C$1.85 ($1.36m) in cash for each common share, which is 35% higher than a previous proposal from Canada’s Silvercorp Metals.

Before signing the agreement with Zijin Mining, Guyana noted that it had officially cancelled its previous arrangement with Silvercorp.

Guyana Goldfields president and CEO Alan Pangbourne said: “The all-cash offer from Zijin represents a significant premium to the amended Silvercorp offer price and is an excellent outcome for Guyana Goldfield’s shareholders.

“Zijin is a highly regarded mining company with an impressive track record of successful international acquisitions and operations. We look forward to working with Zijin over the coming weeks to close this transaction and transition to the new team.”

Besides the cash consideration, Zijin Mining has committed to provide $30m towards the ongoing operations of Aurora gold mine and other liquidity needs.

Aurora gold mine is the flagship asset of Guyana Goldfields. It is located in Guyana, South America.

Zijin chairman Chen Jinghe said: Guyana Goldfields’ management team has dedicated tremendous effort and made significant contributions in progressing the Aurora Gold Mine and we look forward to advancing and developing the next phase of the mine.

“We believe that the Aurora mine is a high-quality gold asset with significant upside potential which we believe will be highly complementary to Zijin’s existing mining asset portfolio.”

Last week, Zijin Mining announced its plans to acquire a 50.1% equity interest in Tibet Julong Copper, a company with rights to two copper deposits in Tibet, for CNY3.88bn ($548m).

In February this year, Zijin Mining received approval from the Canadian Investment Canada Act to acquire 100% equity interest in mining firm Continental Gold for C$1.33bn ($996m). In December last year, Zijin Mining signed a definitive agreement to acquire Continental Gold.

First Majestic to acquire Springpole silver stream from First Mining

Mexico-focused company First Majestic Silver has agreed to acquire a stream on 50% of the payable silver produced from First Mining Gold’s Springpole gold project in Ontario, Canada.

Springpole is one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Canada. It is located approximately 110km to the north-east of Red Lake, Ontario.

Wenco and Oxbotica to develop ‘Open Autonomy’ solution for mining

Hitachi subsidiary Wenco International Mining Systems has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with autonomous vehicle software company Oxbotica to develop an ‘Open Autonomy’ solution for the mining industry.

Currently, initial trials of the autonomy technology are in progress, and the two companies are engaged in hiring mining partners with suitable testing grounds.

Bushveld closes acquisition of Vanchem Vanadium Products

Vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals has announced the completion of all outstanding conditions with respect to the acquisition of Vanchem Vanadium Products (VVP). 

New Gold to divest British Columbia project to Artemis for $141m

Canadian mining firm New Gold has signed a definitive agreement with Artemis Gold to sell its Blackwater gold project in British Columbia for C$190m (approximately $141m) in cash.

The Blackwater gold project is located 160km southwest of Prince George and 100km south of Vanderhoof in central British Columbia, Canada. It is spread over approximately 15,000ha on the northern flanks of Mt. Davidson.

Zijin moves into copper with $548m acquisition

Chinese miner Zijin Mining Group plans to acquire a 50.1% equity interest in Tibet Julong Copper, a company with rights to two copper deposits in Tibet, for CNY3.88bn ($548m).

The acquisition will be handled through the company’s subsidiary, Tibet Zijin. The 50.1% stake in Julong Copper will be purchased from Zangge Group, Zangge Holding, Zhongsheng Mining, Shenzhen Chenfang, and Huibaihong Industrial, all of which hold various interests in Julong Copper.

Glencore sells 20.5% stake in Unicorn Chrome to Merafe subsidiary

Diversified commodities miner Glencore has agreed to sell a 20.5% stake in Unicorn Chrome to a subsidiary of Merafe Resources for R32.2m.

Merafe Resources subsidiary Merafe Ferrochrome and Mining will gain access to Unicorn’s shareholding in a UG2 chrome concentrate producer that extracts chrome concentrate from a tailings stream in the North West province of South Africa.