AngloGold sells Brazil mine to Aura for $76M

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU; JSE: ANG) is selling its stake in Mineração Serra Grande (MSG) gold mine in central Brazil to Latin America-focused Aura Minerals (TSX: ORA) for $76 million.

The sale, part of a broader strategy to streamline operations and focus on high-return assets, ensures that Anglo further sharpens its focus on capital allocation, operating efficiencies and the optimization of its portfolio, AngloGold CEO Alberto Calderón said on Monday. 

“We’ve also worked hard to ensure that MSG and its excellent team joins an established company which will continue to be responsible stewards of this asset for the benefit of all stakeholders,” Calderón said in a release.

As part of the deal, AngloGold will receive deferred payments equal to 3% of net smelter returns over the life of MSG’s current mineral resources and reserves, paid quarterly. 

AngloGold’s shares surged on the news, rising around 9% to $47.60 in New York trading, pushing the company’s market capitalization to nearly $24 billion. Stock in Aura Minerals jumped 6.4% to C$33.18 apiece in Toronto, valuing the company at C$2.46 billion. 

80,000 oz. 

MSG, one of AngloGold’s smaller operations, produced 80,000 0z. of gold last year. The complex in Goiás State includes three underground mines, an open pit and a dedicated metallurgical plant. The asset had recently been excluded from a list of tier-two operations AngloGold flagged for potential improvement during its first-quarter results.

Recent efforts at MSG focused on operational stabilization, including the decommissioning of an ageing tailings storage facility, a process now nearing completion, according to AngloGold.

The company recently raised its output forecast for the year to between 2.9 million oz. and 3.2 million oz. from about 2.7 million oz. produced in 2024. AngloGold said the revised guidance was thanks to the addition of Centamin’s assets, which it acquired last year.

Aura Minerals, a mid-tier gold and copper producer, already operates two mines and three development projects in Brazil. It also owns the Aranzazu mine in Mexico, operates mines in Honduras, and is advancing additional projects in Guatemala and Colombia.