Gina Rinehart Makes a $3.2 Million Bet on Gold

Australian mining tycoon Gina Rinehart is looking for her pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The queen of iron ore has agreed to invest $3.22 million into the Four Eagles Gold Project, a joint venture between Catalyst Metals and Providence Gold and Minerals. The agreement will see Gold Exploration Victoria, a subsidiary company of Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting, spend $1.6 million for a 25 percent stake in the project, which will then be repeated to reach a 50 percent interest in the asset.

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Through a spokesman, Mrs Rinehart said she was “committed to investing in Australia and the mining industry at a time that many others are winding back and or going overseas.”

Located 70 kilometers north of Bendigo in central Victoria, the Four Eagles Gold Project was discovered in 2010 by Providence Gold and Minerals. Going forward, Catalyst will continue to manage and maintain its equity in the project, while Providence would receive a 2.5 percent royalty entitlement.

“This is an important milestone for the company and provides the opportunity for extensive drilling on the large Four Eagles gold footprint in the next two years without any change in Catalyst’s project equity or dilution to Catalyst shareholders,” the firm’s technical director, Bruce Kay, said in a statement.

"Catalyst will be managing the program, Providence will still be very much involved and we will still continue to develop good relationships with local landowners and grain farmers.”

The site has historically been a hot spot for gold. During the 1800s, miners extracted roughly 22 million ounces of gold.

"I think they hopefully see the big potential of the area. Bendigo was historically the second richest gold field in Australia, chances are that you’re going to find gold there," added Kay. \

Read the full press release here.