PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Gold miner Northern Star Resources has agreed to a strategic asset swap with fellow-listed junior Horizon Minerals.
The deal will see Horizon divest of its full interest in the Anthill, Blister Dam, New Mexico, White Flag and Kanowna North tenements in exchange for Northern Star’s Rosehill, Brilliant North and Gunga West projects in Coolgardie, and the Golden Ridge, Balagundi, Abattoir and Mount Monger projects, in Kalgoorlie.
The Rosehill, Brilliant North and Gunga West deposits are contiguous with ASX-listed Focus Mineral’s Coolgardie gold project, which Horizon is hoping to acquire.
Horizon recently matched a competing offer for the Coolgardie gold project, increasing its initial offer from A$40-million to A$55-million, comprising a A$43-million cash payment and A$12-million worth of Horizon shares.
Horizon MD Jon Price on Thursday said that the tenement swap with Northern Star was a sensible transaction between the two companies, that would place assets within each company’s area of interest.
“For Horizon, it adds contiguous tenure to the Boorara gold project in the Kalgoorlie, and additional strategic assets in Coolgardie, including the Rose Hill-Brilliant North tenements, which give us the ability to unlock the full value of the Coolgardie gold project as we continue to progress formal binding documentation and required approvals for the potential acquisition.”
The tenement exchange agreement will likely be completed in the December quarter.