Catalyst Metals outlines agreement to buy Vango Mining

Gold explorer Catalyst Metals has outlined an agreement to acquire Vango Mining which owns tenements in WA.

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One day after confirming it was discussing a deal, West Australian gold explorer Catalyst Metals has outlined an agreement to acquire Vango Mining, an ASX-listed minnow which owns tenements in the state.

Catalyst, which counts Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting and St Barbara as major shareholders, said the transaction valued Vango at $66m. It added that it was also in discussions to acquire the Plutonic Gold Mine, an operation adjacent to Vango’s.

Vango’s largest shareholders – Hunter Guo and Carol Zhang – have already agreed to sell, while the holders who control collectively control a vast majority of the company have also agreed to sell in the absence of a superior offer for their shares.

Vango shareholders will own up to 35.7 per cent of the merged group after the acquisition.

“This transaction is important for Catalyst and Vango shareholders,” James Champion de Crespigny, Catalyst’s chief executive, said. “It turns a new leaf for the future of both companies. The combined group will have the financial strength and technical expertise to unlock the value of the prospective Marymia tenements.”

“Bringing together Marymia’s huge exploration upside and the funding and technical knowledge of Catalyst makes enormous sense for all shareholders,” said Vango executive chairman Bruce McInnes. “It is the ideal recipe to create value for all Vango shareholders and therefore the board supports the bid unanimously.”

Catalyst’s projects include the Whitelaw Gold Belt north of Bendigo in Victoria and the Henty Gold Mine in Tasmania’s north which it acquired in 2021. Mining commenced there in 1996, and the company late last year said it had finalised an ore reserve estimate which could lead to expanding the mine’s life and production rate.