Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
Zijin Mining Group (HK:2899), China’s largest gold producer, announced on Friday that its bid for Australia’s Norton Gold Fields Limited (ASX:NGF) had successfully obtained approval from Australian regulators.
According to Chinese news sources Zijin announced that it had received notice from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board on July 13 stating that the regulator had no objections to the purchase by Zijin or its subsidiaries of all issued shares of Norton Gold.
Zijing has also obtained approval for the deal from China’s National Development and Reform Commission – one of the country’s top regulatory bodies.
Norton Gold has an annual production capacity of nearly 5 tonnes of gold, and if successful Zijin’s takeover will significantly increase the Chinese gold giant’s overseas operations.
Zijin was reported to have offered AUD $212 million for Norton Gold Fields in June in an unsolicited bid approach.
Zijin is listed on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges, and in addition to being China’s biggest gold producer holds extensive interests in commodities including copper, zinc, lead, tungsten and iron ore.
