VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Triple-listed Kirkland Lake Gold has agreed to sell affiliate Stawell Gold Mines to private firm Arete Capital Partners.
Stawell Gold Mines, which holds the Stawell gold mine, located in Victoria, Australia, will pay $6.25-million in cash for the assets, with Kirkland set to retain a 2.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on the mine.
“This transaction is consistent with our long-term strategy to focus on our low-cost, high-grade core assets, while simultaneously providing Kirkland Lake Gold with continued exposure to the project through the NSR. We believe the management team at Arete is well positioned to optimise the operational potential of Stawell in a sustainable manner to create value,” said Kirkland president and CEO Tony Makuch in a statement.
Kirkland Lake transitioned the Stawell mine to care and maintenance 12 months ago, opting instead to administer a new round of exploration to better conduct mine planning.
Subject to certain customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close by December 22.
Midtier Kirkland Lake expects to hit full-year production of 580 000 oz to 595 000 oz of gold, from its remaining mines in Canada and Australia. The Fosterville mine remains Kirkland Lake’s only operating asset in Australia, and is expected to produce between 250 000 oz and 260 000 oz of gold this year.