The Red Chris mine, near Dease Lake, north-west British Columbia, is moving to the next chapter with Australian gold miner Newcrest now the majority owner and operator of the copper/gold mine.
Imperial announced on Friday that it had closed the sale of a 70% interest in Red Chris to Newcrest for a final purchase price of $804-million, which was subject to debt and working capital adjustments.
Imperial and Newcrest had formed a joint venture (JV) for the operation of the mine, with the Australian major, which had strong technical expertise in block caving operations, now acting as operator.
Imperial retained a 30% interest in Red Chris and it also holds the Mt Polley and Huckleberry copper mines.
The Canadian miner would use the proceeds from the sale to repay existing debt obligations, while remaining funds would be used for working capital purposes.
Newcrest MD and CEO Sandeep Biswas commented in a media statement that the group was “excited” to establish a strong presence in British Columbia – a jurisdiction in a country that, much like Australia, had its roots in mining.