Kinross, which operates two mines in Russia and also owns the problem-plagued Tasiast operation in Mauritania, seeks to strengthen its portfolio in North America.
More environmentalists were murdered in Latin America in 2015 than anywhere else in the world, with anti-mining causes claiming the most lives, a report by Global Witness shows.
Report claims that Walter Energy, Patriot Coal, Alpha Natural Resources, Arch Coal and Peabody Energy also allocated more than half a billion dollars for top executives salaries in decade before going bankrupt.
It will raise its annual exploration spending by 29%, allocating nearly all its $900 million budget to finding new copper and oil deposits in the fiscal year beginning next month.