Newcrest Mining’s Telfer gold operation could be sold to Greatland Gold, the gold giant’s junior partner in the nearby Havieron deposit.
Havieron has been touted as one of the best Australian copper-gold discoveries in recent memory.
Industry sources suggest Greatland Gold is looking at its options to bid for Telfer and take back control of Haveiron if Newmont acquires the Australian-listed Newcrest Mining after earlier making a $24bn buyout proposal.
Expectations are Telfer could be for sale with or without the merger.
UK listed Greatland has a market capitalisation of about £400m ($715m) and wouldn’t normally be seen as being in the running for a major asset such as Telfer.
Particularly given any buyer will also need to factor in the fact that Telfer already has a $US150m ($225m) capital spent ahead of it for a major mine cutback, as well as the development costs at Havieron - tipped at $$US70m to $US85m over the next year or so.
But Greatland also has a major backer in the form of Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals, which holds about 8.5 per cent of the company’s stock, with warrants that would allow it to move up to around 16 per cent with further investment.
The link to Forrest’s deep pockets runs a little deeper than just an equity investment, as well. Greatland is chaired by Fortescue Metals Group director Mark Barnabas.
Former Fortescue chief executive Elizabeth Gaines is also on the board, along with former Fortescue operations director Paul Hallam, although it has been some time since the veteran resources executive last saw the inside of the Fortescue offices.
Greatland recently appointed former Fortescue head of corporate development Jeremy Meynert, along with a couple of members of its team, as its chief development officer.
None of that means a deal will definitely be done, but Wyloo boss Luca Giacovazzi is an admitted admirer of the Havieron deposit.
Giacovazzi told a Canadian mining symposium last week that the company believed Haveiron was a “world class” orebody, noting that Newcrest had already begun building a decline to access the deposit before it had finished its feasibility studies on its development.
“Wonderful ore body, world class ore body, can’t beat it,” he said.
“The great thing about Havieron is they know that it’s such a good ore body that they’re sort of building it before they even finish their studies.”
But Giacovazzi was coy when asked whether Wyloo was considering bidding for Telfer, or would back Greatland in a bid for the gold mine, suggesting the question should be directed to Greatland boss Shaun Day.
“Obviously Telfer is part of their thinking. And obviously there are things happening around Newcrest, which you would be aware of,” he said.
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