Newmont (NYSE: NEM) has agreed to sell its Coffee gold project in Yukon to Fuerte Metals (TSXV: FMT) for up to $150 million (C$207 million), completing a year-long divestment plan.
Under the deal, Newmont will receive $10 million in cash at closing and $40 million in Fuerte shares. The company will also retain a 3% net smelter return royalty on the project, considered one of the highest-grade heap leach resources globally. Fuerte can repurchase for the royalty for up to $100 million.
The sale finalizes Newmont’s exit from eight non-core assets it put on the block in early 2024, including the Éléonore mine in Quebec, the Musselwhite and Porcupine mines in Ontario and its 70% stake in the Havieron project in Western Australia. Newmont CEO Tom Palmer said the transaction aligns with the company’s strategy to streamline its portfolio and sharpen focus on core operations.
Fuerte plans to advance Coffee with a preliminary economic assessment due in the first half of 2026 and a feasibility study later next year. Its shares were unchanged on Monday but have shot up more than 130% this year to C$1.95 apiece for a market value of C$119.4 million. Newmont was down 0.6% by mid-Monday at $78.83 each in New York for a market capitalization of $86.6 billion.
Continued stake
Through the deal, Newmont will hold about 27% of Fuerte’s shares via its Goldcorp Canada subsidiary, joining Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX: AEM; NYSE: AEM), Pierre Lassonde, and Trinity Capital Partners as major shareholders. Lassonde served as Newmont’s president from 2002 to 2007.
The Denver-based gold giant, which continues to operate the Brucejack and Red Chris mines in British Columbia, applied last week to voluntarily delist from the Toronto Stock Exchange, citing low trading volumes.
Fuerte Metals called the Coffee acquisition transformational. CEO Tim Warman said the project is on track to complete permitting and has the backing of strong technical and financial partners.
When Yukon, federal and Indigenous governments approved the project in 2022, Coffee held 46.4 million probable tonnes grading 1.45 grams gold per tonne for 2.2 million oz. of contained metal. It had 55.5 million measured and indicated tonnes at 1.2 grams for 2.1 million oz. of gold, and 6.8 million inferred tonnes grading 1.07 grams for 230,000 oz. gold. The
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