Franco’s Nevada royalty on block

One of the most valuable assets in the Nevada gold belt — Franco-Nevada Mining’s royalty interests in the burgeoning Goldstrike mine — is for sale.

Situated in the Carlin gold trend, near Elko, and associated with 15 million oz. of untapped gold reserves, the royalty interests will likely attract some of the world’s largest mining outfits.

But with a price tag of around $250 million, the interests may be even too expensive for potential buyers such as Placer Dome, Western Mining, Consolidated Goldfields, and Newmont Mining.

Although insiders had known Franco-Nevada’s royalty interests in Goldstrike would be for sale this year, a major sales drive was put on hold.

“To give buyers a better idea of what they are getting for their money, we wanted to wait until operator American Barrick Resources had posted its new reserve figures,” says Franco-Nevada Chairman Seymour Schulich. He and partner Pierre Lassonde hope to swap the prized asset for a large equity stake in a major gold company.