Newmont to earn up to 70% stake in Esperance gold discovery in French Guiana

6th December 2017 By: Henry Lazenby - Creamer Media Deputy Editor: North America

VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – US gold producer Newmont Mining has entered an agreement with French miner Compagnie Miniere Esperance (CME) to earn up to a 70% interest in the Esperance gold discovery, in French Guiana.

Newmont will make multi-year investments in the property, which it believes has multimillion-ounce potential.

CME has identified multiple proximal undrilled targets on its existing landholdings, after mining ceased at the Esperance operation in 2010.

“We continue to strengthen our long-term growth pipeline in promising exploration districts. Our agreement with CME allows us to build our business in the highly prospective Guiana Shield, where we completed the Merian mine safely, on schedule and 20% below budget just over a year ago,” stated president and CEO Gary Goldberg.

In 2017, Newmont increased its exploration and advanced projects investments by about 25%, with about two-thirds of that amount going to fund more brownfield and greenfield exploration, the miner said.