Kalgoorlie Superpit Goldmine.
Camera IconKalgoorlie Superpit Goldmine. Credit: Supplied/Getty Images

Saracen splashes $1.1bn on Kalgoorlie gold

AAPWestern Suburbs Weekly

SARACEN Mineral Holdings has agreed to pay $US750 million ($A1.1 billion) for a “transformational” 50 per cent stake in Kalgoorlie’s Super Pit, one of the largest gold mines in Australia.

The company will raise approximately $A796 million in equity via an underwritten institutional placement and an underwritten 1-for-5.75 pro-rata accelerated entitlement offer, and fund the remainder of the purchase via a $A450 million loan.

Saracen will buy the stake from Canada’s Barrick Gold, with Newmont Goldcorp retaining its ownership of the other 50 per cent.

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The Super Pit, about 600km west of Perth, is a large, high quality, long-life open-pit and underground gold mine with 490 thousand ounces of gold produced in the last financial year.

“We are proud to announce this acquisition which we believe will be transformational for Saracen and our shareholders,” Saracen managing director Raleigh Finlayson said.

“The Super Pit is a Tier 1 Australian gold mine with an outstanding track record of stable, large scale gold production and cash generation over many decades.”

ASX200 miner Saracen’s current production comes from two WA assets: Carosue Dam, 120km northeast of Kalgoorlie, and Thunderbox, 45km south of Leinster.

The only approval required for the Super Pit deal to proceed is by the WA Minister for Finance, Aboriginal Affairs and Lands.

“This transaction will enhance our business across a variety of key financial and operational metrics and provide our shareholders with exposure to a third high quality Western Australian gold asset,” Mr Finlayson said.

Saracen shares were worth $3.39 when they were placed in a halt for the capital raising, up more than 15-fold in the past five years.

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