Canada’s Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX)(NYSE:GOLD), the world’s top bullion producer by volume, has dropped its 10.7% stake in fellow miner Royal Road Minerals (TSX-V:RYR) for a total of C$4.3 million (about $3.3m).
The Toronto-based miner, which acquired 22,576,161 ordinary shares in the gold junior last year, said the pre-arranged transaction was made through the TSX Venture Exchange and valued each share at 0.19 Canadian dollars.
Investment in the South America-focused exploration company was part of a trend that dominated the mergers and acquisition scene last year
The investment in Royal Roads, which has projects in Colombia and Nicaragua, was part of a trend that dominated the mergers and acquisition scene last year and extended to the first few months of 2019.
Gold miners across the globe embarked on “strategic investments” in juniors, in the hope that they would eventually pay off in the form of much needed added production.
In those cases, seniors make a rather low-risk bet without jeopardizing huge amounts of capital, and juniors are able to raise much-needed money to fund their projects.
Barrick has led quite a few strategic agreements as of late, including an $8.3-million investment last year on ATAC Resources Ltd. and a $9.1-million one on Reunion Gold (TSX-V:RGD).
In May, the gold giant bought a 19.9% stake in Vancouver-based Midas Gold (TSX-V:MAX), for about $38 million.
