With Newmont getting ready to fire the starting gun on asset sales this year, one of the big questions is whether Northern Star lines up for its assets on offer in North America.
The mines are being sold through advisory firm BMO, and the sale process will come after investment bank Citi finds a buyer for Newmont’s $1bn-odd Akyem mining project in Ghana.
For that, as reported by DataRoom, Australian-listed Perseus is lining up, with the plan to buy it after mopping up shares in OreCorp.
Perseus sweetened its bid for OreCorp on Wednesday to 57.5c or $270m from 55c or $258m, only after playing down prospects of increasing its offer just a day before.
The North American parcel of assets Newmont is selling include its Musselwhite, Cripple Creek (US) and Eleonore (Canada) projects and they could be worth about $1.5bn all up.
Yet not all of its shareholders are overly enthusiastic about the $16bn Australian-listed Northern Star pursuing more assets in North America, given the track record of Australian miners there. Evolution Mining has moved into Canada, and the process has not been easy.
It bought the Red Lake mining operation in Canada in 2019 for $US475m from Newmont Goldcorp, as it was then known.
Now, Evolution has ruled out further acquisitions, which means it won’t be bidding for Newmont assets there.
Still, some believe Northern Star has learned much from its experience operating in North America. It owns the Pogo Operations in Alaska, situated in the Tintina Gold Province, with operations starting in 2006.
The preference of some is that it would pursue something closer to home such as a buyout of the $2.2bn Australian-listed gold miner De Grey Mining, creating an Australian-listed powerhouse to replace Newcrest Mining after Newmont purchased the business for $29bn.
Those who expect Northern Star to line up for the North America offerings may be underestimating the change of approach to management of the miner since Bill Beament is no longer at the helm.
Since 2016, the business has been run by mining engineer Stuart Tonkin, who takes a far more conservative approach.
Newmont has always signalled it would offload some of the smaller mines it had secured when it purchased Goldcorp.
Information memorandums are now in the market for the Akyem gold mine in Ghana.
Last on the block will be the Telfer gold mine, which Macquarie Capital is mandated to sell. Greatland Gold has first right to buy the asset.
Telfer produces copper and gold and is the largest processing facility in the Paterson province.
The valuable Havieron deposit, 70 per cent owned by Newcrest and 30 per cent by Greatland Gold, is 45km away.
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