12 September 2024
The Australian - Monsters of Rock: Spotlight shines on WA’s gold, iron ore and lithium
- Paterson Province heats up on Greatland Gold's $475m purchase of Telfer and Havieron stake from Newmont
Ructions in the Paterson
Greatland Gold has pounced on snapping up the historical Telfer gold mine and the remaining 70% stake in the nearby Havieron project in WA’s Paterson Province from the world's biggest miner Newmont (ASX:NEM) which took over Newcrest in a $26 billion merger.
It was half-expected that London-listed Greatland would look to consolidate its stake in Havieron on the back of Newmont’s divestment plans for the project, saying it was is in a “strong position” to buy back a majority stake if the gold major decided to sell.
And so it did, however it also bought one of Australia's most famous gold mines nearby too, in Telfer.
The transaction is a US$205.7m cash payment to Newmont with US$167.5m in Greatland scrip, with an additional US$100m linked to the gold price and production metrics.
“I am pleased that Telfer and Havieron are being sold to Greatland, a company with a highly experienced management team and board of directors. I have full confidence that the Greatland team will be outstanding stewards of these assets,” NEM CEO Tom Palmer said.
The news has been welcomed by Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY) boss Roger Mason, who says that the acquisition demonstrates a development and growth commitment to the region that has been absent for some time.
"From our perspective and almost by default the deal significantly increases the value of the gold ounces in the region, particularly those close to Telfer and Havieron," Mason says.
"There's a lot of positives and the deal will show a spotlight on the region for other mid-tier developers and mining majors that might be hungry for gold development opportunities."
That includes Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) which holds the Winu project and its Citadel JV (Rio: 68%, Antipa: 32%) with Antipa. The latter also has JV's with IGO at Paterson and Newmont with Wilki, as well as its own 1.8Moz Minyari Dome gold asset.
By Cameron Drummond
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