Coeur finishes Bolnisi-Palmarejo investigation (July 23, 2007)

The merger of Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDM-T, CDE-N), Bolnisi Gold (BXLGF-O, BSG-A) and Palmarejo Silver and Gold (PJO-V, PJOFF-O) is scheduled to go ahead in the last quarter of the year now that Coeur has finished due-diligence investigations.

Coeur is offering 2.715 Coeur shares for each Palmarejo share and 0.682 of a share for one Bolnisi. The merger, announced in early May, had originally been expected to close in August. Coeur’s due-diligence period was extended twice to allow for full investigations on Bolnisi.

The three companies have a joint management committee overseeing development of the Palmarejo silver project in Chihuahua state, Mexico. A prefeasibility study on the economics of a combined open-pit and underground mine is under way, which may supplant earlier plans for a pure open-pit operation.