ELKO, Nev. — The transaction to merge Barrick Gold Corporation and Newmont Goldcorp Corporation has successfully concluded, establishing Nevada Gold Mines LLC as a singular company that launched July 1, officials announced.
According to previous reports, Barrick will hold 61.5 percent and Newmont Goldcorp will hold 38.5 percent of the joint venture, with Barrick operating mines that combined produced more than 4 million ounces (113.4 million grams) of gold last year.
Barrick and Newmont announced the joint venture for Nevada operations in March, after Barrick gave up a takeover bid, according to the Associated Press.
According to a July 1 press release from Barrick, the joint venture "will rank as the largest global gold producing complex by a wide margin," considering it operates three of the world's top 10 Tier One1 gold assets (Goldstrike/Carlin, Cortez and Turquoise Ridge/Twin Creeks), and potentially another in the making (Goldrush).
Overall company assets in Northeast Nevada comprise 10 underground and 12 open pit mines, two autoclave facilities, two roasting facilities, four oxide mills, a flotation plant and five heap leach facilities.
According to the company's release, in 2018 these operations produced a total of 4.1 million ounces of gold, approximately double that of the industry's next largest gold mine (Muruntau in Uzbekistan).
Nevada Gold Mines is targeting production of between 1.8 and 1.9 million ounces at a preliminary estimated cost of sales5 of $940 to $970 per ounce and AISC6 of $920 to $950 per ounce for the second half of 2019.
Parsons Behle & Latimer, a regional law firm headquartered in Salt Lake City and with offices in Reno that's represented Barrick for more than 30 years, played a lead role in completing the transaction, officials said.
“This transaction has long been a goal of one of our most valued clients and will bring tremendous value to the company, its shareholders and to Nevada,” Parsons Behle & Latimer shareholder and team lead Nora Pincus said in a statement. “I was fortunate to have a team at Parsons that includes some of the most hard-working and capable attorneys and staff anywhere to help our client realize this historic deal.”
Barrick President and CEO Mark Bristow, who is chairman of the new company, says the establishment of Nevada Gold Mines was designed to combine arguably the industry's best assets and people in order to deliver the best value to stakeholders.
“Its creation was driven by a compelling logic which had long been evident to all but had been elusive for two decades until we finally achieved a breakthrough this year,” Bristow said in the Barrick press release. “Over the past months we have selected and set Nevada Gold Mines' leadership in place. The company now has one team that shares one vision, and who are more than ready to race out of the starting blocks.
"We have also identified the very significant synergy opportunities which are immediately available and those which have been targeted for the future.”
Added Gary Goldberg, Newmont Goldcorp's CEO: “This innovative joint venture represents a unique opportunity to generate additional long-term value for our shareholders, employees, and the communities of northern Nevada. By combining our assets and talent in Nevada, the joint venture will extend safe, profitable and responsible production much further than what each company could have done on its own. We look forward to actively participating in and supporting the JV to deliver a positive step-change in results.”
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