Newcrest CEO exit the opportune time to pounce for Newmont Mining

Newmont’s buyout proposal for Newcrest was recently the talk of the International Mining and Resources Conference in Miami. Picture: David Gray / AFP

Newmont Mining had been weighing an acquisition of rival Newcrest before its chief executive Sandeep Biswas departed.

But it is understood that it was when the company had no permanent boss at the helm that made it an opportune time to pounce.

Newmont’s buyout proposal for Newcrest was recently the talk of the International Mining and Resources Conference in Miami and there are suggestions that Newcrest, as expected, is reluctant to do a deal under the leadership of interim boss Sherry Duhe.

But Newmont sees Newcrest as the best opportunity in the market and many believe it will negotiate hard to win control of the business.

The pair remain in talks after a scrip bid that was initially valued at $24.5bn was rejected.

But Newmont had been offered due diligence on a non-exclusive basis.

Meanwhile, while Agnico Eagle is understood to have cast an eye over De Grey Mining for a buyout, some are sceptical a deal will eventuate with the Canadian miner.

De Grey’s mining deposit is of a particularly high grade. Its main focus is the Mallina Gold Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara, capable of producing 10.6 million ounces of gold.

Agnico Eagle has signalled an eagerness to buy an asset in Australia, but some believe that the company’s view is that the project would not generate enough upside to justify the risk of embarking on a buyout.

The other group that could be embarking on mergers and acquisitions includes Pilbara Minerals, which has purchased shares in Patriot Battery Metals, fuelling suggestions that a buyout could be afoot.