Roxgold purchases Newcrest’s Séguéla project for $30m
Newcrest has struck a deal with Roxgold to divest its Séguéla project and its portfolio of regional exploration tenements in Côte d’Ivoire for $30m.
Under the terms of the sale agreement, Roxgold will pay Newcrest upfront consideration of $20m cash on completion. Roxgold has also agreed to a deferred payment of $10m cash contingent on first gold production from the portfolio.
Completion is subject to conditions precedent, including approval from the Minister of Mines of Côte d’Ivoire and the renewal of the Séguéla exploration permit. The transaction is expected to complete in June.
Newcrest Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sandeep Biswas, commented: “Following a strategic review we are pleased to announce the sale of the Séguéla project to Roxgold. This outcome delivers value for Newcrest shareholders and provides what we believe to be the best way to maximise the potential of the asset for the benefit of our local employees, communities and Côte d’Ivoire.
“We thank our colleagues at Séguéla for their hard work which led to the discovery of Séguéla. We wish them all the best for the future and will continue to follow news of Séguéla’s development with interest”.
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Newcrest retains exposure to exploration in Côte d’Ivoire through its 50% interest in a joint venture with Barrick in the south-east of the country.
John Dorward, President and Chief Executive Officer of Roxgold commented: "Roxgold is excited to acquire Séguéla and the related permits from Newcrest. This acquisition represents a meaningful addition to our growth pipeline, providing a key second asset, immediate additional resource upside and a large prospective land package all in an accretive transaction for Roxgold shareholders.
“Rarely does such a large and carefully assembled land package become available from one of the world's leading gold producers and Séguéla is expected to materially increase Roxgold's overall resource inventory, particularly after we bring the deposit up to National Instrument 43-101 standards later this year. We also believe there is substantial near-term exploration upside at this deposit, and regionally, with the opportunity to significantly advance Séguéla in the near term."
Paul Weedon, Vice President, Exploration added: "This acquisition provides Roxgold with a very attractive exploration portfolio that includes highly prospective early stage opportunities as well as an advanced stage exploration asset in Séguéla. Acquiring these assets from Newcrest allows us to build upon the high-quality exploration work they have completed to date. We are eager to get to work on this portfolio to fully explore the potential upside we see at these assets."
