Boliden closing in on deal for Lundin’s European mines
A deal would cement Boliden’s position as one of Europe’s biggest producers of zinc.
TSX- and JSE-listed First Uranium (TSX:FIU) (JSE:FUM) announced it will stick with an earlier announced deal to sell the Ezulwini gold and uranium operation to Chinese-owned Gold One, with shareholders due to decide on June 13.
The company, which is trying to sell its South African mines to repay $150 million in debt due at the end of June, had earlier in the day confirmed a possible bid from a group consisting of a division of Russia’s Renova Group and Waterpan Mining Corporation, saying a rival $80 million offer for Ezulwini may come by Aug. 1.
“After receiving the advice of its financial and legal advisors, the board of directors determined that it remains committed to the terms of the Gold One agreement and will permit the shareholders of the corporation to determine whether to accept or reject the proposed sale of Ezulwini at the upcoming meeting of shareholders,” First Uranium said in a statement.
Early this month, the company said it reached a couple of preliminary agreements. One was to sell its Mine Waste Solutions tailings recovery operation in South Africa to AngloGold Ashanti for $335 million and wind up operations there. The other was the $70 million deal with Gold One over Ezulwini.
The Ezulwini Mine is approximately 40 kilometers from Johannesburg, in the West Rand Goldfield of the Witwatersrand Basin, and is contiguous to Gold One’s Cooke Operations.
Ezulwini is an underground mine that has two primary tabular ore bodies which are approximately 400 metres apart. The Upper Elsburg (UE) ore body, where the majority of mining has been done to date, is primarily a gold deposit. The Middle Elsburg (ME) ore body is a gold and uranium bearing deposit that has been less extensively exploited.
