Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland
Photo by: Duane Daws
A wholly owned subsidiary of Australian Stock Exchange-listed mining company Red 5 has bought the Darlot gold mine, in Western Australia, from South Africa’s Gold Fields for A$18.5-million.
In the past three years, Darlot produced more than 241 000 oz of gold.
The JSE-listed Gold Fields, headed by CEO Nick Holland, has owned Darlot since 2013, which it bought as part of the acquisition of Barrick Gold’s Yilgarn South assets.
Payment comprises A$12-million in cash plus 130-million Red 5 shares, with the cash component made up of A$7-million in advance and A$5-million deferred for up to 24 months.
Gold Fields may elect to take the deferred amount in additional shares in Red 5 or as cash, the companies said in releases to Mining Weekly earlier this month.
To assist with the funding of the cash component, Red 5 intends to undertake a rights issue which Gold Fields will underwrite up to A$7-million.
Red 5 has also entered into a binding agreement to acquire the King of the Hills gold project from West Australian midtier gold producer Saracen Mineral Holdings.
The acquisitions give Red 5 a presence in Western Australia’s Leonora-Leinster mineral district from which to leverage regional consolidation, with the Darlot mill serving as a central processing hub.
The Red 5 group also owns the Siana gold project, which is on care and maintenance, and Mapawa, located 20 km north of Siana, in the Philippines.