Kinross Gold Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement with Russia's Highland Gold Mining group of companies and its affiliates to sell 100% of its Russian assets for total consideration of US$680 million in cash.
As part of the transaction, Kinross will receive a total of $400 million in cash for the Kupol mine and the surrounding exploration licenses, which includes payment of $100 million upon closing, as well as additional payments of $150 million before the end of 2023, $100 million before the end of 2024, and $50 million before the end of 2025.
Kinross will also receive $280 million in cash for its Udinsk project, which includes payments of $80 million before the end of 2025, $100 million before the end of 2026, and $100 million before the end of 2027.
Kinross suspended the assets in early March following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and associated sanctions against Russia.
Highland is one of the largest gold mining companies in Russia and operates several mines in the country, including in the Chukotka and Khabarovsk regions where the Kupol mine and Udinsk project are located, respectively.
Meanwhile, Canada's Asante Gold Corporation announced that it had entered into an exclusivity agreement with Kinross to negotiate the potential purchase of all of its interests in Ghana, including its 90% interest in the Chirano gold mine.
Chirano is immediately south of the Asante's Bibiani gold mine.
Kinross said it would focus on its newly acquired Great Bear project in Ontario, where it will spend $60 million this year with the aim of declaring a maiden resource.
Vale has agreed to sell its shares in the Brazilian Midwestern System - which produced 2.7 million tonnes of iron ore and 200,000 tonnes of manganese ore in 2021 - to J&F Mineracao for about US$150 million.
The sale includes the full assumption of the buyer - which is controlled by J&F Investimentos - of the take-or-pay logistics contracts.
"Under the terms agreed, the enterprise value of the transaction is approximately $1.2 billion for a set of assets that contributed to Vale with $110 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2021," Vale said.
The move is in line with Vale's strategy of portfolio simplification and focusing on the main businesses and growth opportunities, the company said.
Ivanhoe Liberia, a subsidiary of Robert Friedland's High Power Exploration (HPX) has signed a framework agreement with the government of Liberia to negotiate access to rail and port infrastructure for the Nimba iron ore project in Guinea.
HPX currently envisages that these infrastructure rights will include an extension of the existing rail line from Yekepa to the Guinea-Liberia border and access to the existing Yekepa-Buchanan rail corridor and to port infrastructure at or in the vicinity of Buchanan.
A preliminary feasibility study on the Nimba in 2021 forecast project development costs of $2.77 billion and rail and port costs of more than $600 million.
Cash costs are expected to be less than $18 per tonne. The study was based on an iron ore price of $76/t.
HPX is aiming to start construction next year and be producing 27 million tonnes per annum of iron ore by 2027.
Toronto-listed Centerra Gold and the Kyrgyz Republic's government have agreed a "clean separation" that will see the miner relinquish its ownership of the Kumtor gold mine and have state-owned Kyrgyzaltyn give up its involvement and investment in Centerra.
The agreement could mark the end of a near year-long dispute between the Central Asian state and Centerra. In May 2021 the Kyrgyz government seized control of the miner's flagship 550,000oz per annum-plus Kumtor mine, citing concerns that the rights of workers were being violated at the site.
The arrangement would see Centerra take all common Centerra shares held by Kyrgyzaltyn - which represent about 26% equity in the company - for a purchase price of about C$972 million. Kyrgyzaltyn would take a 100% stake in the two Kyrgyz subsidiaries, Kumtor Gold and Kumtor Operating and a cash payment of about US$36 million.
"This arrangement is expected to provide value to Centerra's stakeholders while allowing Centerra to move forward with a renewed focus on our core operations, including our Mount Milligan and Oksut mines, where we expect to see continued strong operational performance," Centerra president and CEO Scott Perry said.
Finally, Canada's Wallbridge Mining Company has appointed former Kirkland Lake Gold CEO Tony Makuch as chairman.
Makuch, who was supposed to become CEO of Agnico Eagle Mines but resigned in February, was already a director of Wallbridge.
Wallbridge holds the Fenelon gold project in Quebec.
"The management team at Wallbridge has assembled a land package of outstanding scale and quality in the Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec, anchored around its cornerstone projects at Fenelon and Martiniere," Makuch said.
"Both of these projects have significant growth potential, and there is additional prospectivity and potential for new discoveries. I am excited to a play a role in supporting the company's development at this critical juncture."
