Australian gold miner St Barbara is set to wrap up its previously announced C$722m (£443.13m) acquisition of Canadian mining company Atlantic Gold after securing a final order from the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
The British Columbia court has approved the companies’ Plan of Arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), as per which St Barbara will acquire all the shares of Atlantic Gold for C$2.90 in cash plus 0.05 of a share of Artemis Gold (formerly 1193490 B.C.) for each share of the Canadian gold miner.
The acquisition was announced in May 2019. Earlier this week, shareholders of Atlantic Gold approved the company’s acquisition by St Barbara.
Atlantic Gold, in a statement, said: “The Arrangement is expected to close on July 19, 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions.”
The Canadian gold miner is the owner and operator of the Moose River Consolidated (MRC) project in Nova Scotia, Canada. The MRC project, which entered into commercial production in March 2018, is made up of a producing open-pit – Touquoy Gold Mine and three mines in development, which include the Beaver Dam Project, Cochrane Hill Project, and Fifteen Mile Stream Project.
The consolidated mining project is estimated to have mineral resources of 2.4 Moz, inclusive of mineral reserves of 1.9 Moz.
The deal excludes Atlantic Gold’s 36% stake in Velocity Minerals. The stake is intended to be spun out to existing shareholders of the former upon closing of the acquisition of the Canadian firm by St Barbara.
Why St Barbara is acquiring Atlantic Gold
For the Australian gold miner, the acquisition will diversify its production base, and provide significant growth potential at MRC by means of planned resource and reserve expansion apart from near mine exploration. Additionally, the transaction is expected to give St Barbara a platform for future growth in a mining jurisdiction with low geopolitical risk.
Following the closing of the transaction, Atlantic Gold will be de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and along with its associated entities will become part of St Barbara’s corporate structure.
