Mexico’s proposed higher mining royalties could block nearly $7bn in investments
The Mexican government proposed raising mining royalties under the argument that metal prices have risen in recent years.
South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU) (JSE: ANG) is expanding its footprint in Nevada, US, with the acquisition of Coeur Mining’s (NYSE: CDE) subsidiary for $150 million cash.
The unit, Crown Sterling Inc, holds properties in Nevada immediately south of AngloGold’s assets. They are estimated to hold 914,000 ounces of gold.
The assets include Coeur’s C-Horst, SNA, Secret Pass and Daisy operations, as well as the decommissioned Sterling mine and all tenements that surround the properties.
The bullion producer has agreed to pay Coeur an extra $50 million if further exploration results in a mineral resource greater than 3.5 million ounces.
The move increases AngloGold’s foothold in the Beatty district, in south-central Nevada, where it bought all projects held by Corvus Gold after the recent $370 million acquisition of the Canadian junior.
“The addition of these properties consolidates our ownership position in one of North America’s most promising new gold districts,” said AngloGold Ashanti chief executive officer Alberto Calderon.
Coeur Mining CEO Mitchell J. Krebs noted in a separate statement that AngloGold had consolidated a significant portion of the Beatty district, becoming “the logical operator of a future standalone mining operation” in the area.
Prior to this acquisition and with pending permits and studies already underway, AngloGold had anticipated first production in the Beatty district by 2025 and said those assets would produce about 300,000 ounces of gold a year, with an all in sustaining cost of less than $1,000 per ounce, by the end of the decade.
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
