Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE) recently acquired an option to earn a 20% interest in Australian-based Gasgoyne Gold Mines and is now planning to make a takeover bid for all that company’s issued shares.
Among Gasgoyne’s major assets is a half interest in the Yilgarn Star open-pit gold mine in Western Australia.
The mine produced some 110,000 oz. in the year ending June 30, 1995, which represents a 54% increase in production. The mine is the 12th-largest producer of gold in the country, with cash operating costs of US$199 per oz.
The open pit was completed to a depth of 130 metres in September, 1995, and total resources stand at 6.8 million tonnes grading 5.92 grams gold per tonne, or 1.3 million oz.
(New York-listed Homestake Mining plans to buy into the Yilgarn Star by acquiring a 15% stake in Gasgoyne’s partner, Orion Resources.) Gasgoyne also holds a half interest in the Southern Star project, adjacent to the Yilgarn Star. Drilling has delineated 1.2 million tonnes grading 4.3 grams gold.
Another asset in Gasgoyne’s portfolio is a 45% interest in the Awak Mas project in Indonesia. The resource is estimated at 13.4 million tonnes grading 1.8 grams gold.
Coeur’s proposed takeover of Gasgoyne is consistent with its plan to create a major gold mining company in Australasia. Already, the company has an 80% interest in the Golden Cross mine in New Zealand.
The takeover would have to be approved by Australia’s foreign investment review board. If approval is granted, the company would issue 4 million new shares and pay US$26 million in cash. The total value of the offer is US$100 million.
Coeur has increased the number of its outstanding shares to 20.5 million.
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