M&A

Evolution wraps up Battle North deal

New debt facility funds Canadian buy

 The Bateman project in Ontario

The Bateman project in Ontario

Court approval, received overnight, was the final step for the deal to close.

It comes after shareholders of Battle North overwhelmingly approved the buy-out last week.

Evolution bid $2.65 cash per share in March in the friendly deal.

The full Australian dollar currency exposure of the $343 million acquisition price was hedged shortly after entering into the transaction, resulting in a saving of A$9.7 million versus the spot exchange rate at closing.

A five-year term loan of $440 million from a syndicate of eight banks was used to fund the transaction.

The repayment schedule consists of $50 million per year from FY22 through to FY25 with the balance to be repaid in FY26. The first repayment of $15 million is due in October.

Battle North owns the shovel-ready Bateman gold project adjacent to Evolution's Red Lake operation in Ontario.

"This acquisition provides Evolution with an opportunity to expand our footprint in the region and create value by leveraging the infrastructure of the two operations," Evolution executive chairman Jake Klein said.

"The additional processing capacity from the new Bateman mill will also accelerate our ability to achieve our objective of producing in excess of 300,000 ounces of gold per annum from Red Lake.

"In the 12 months that we have been operating at Red Lake we have demonstrated that we are a committed steward of the region.

"This expansion of our footprint will provide us with an opportunity to build on our track record as a safe and sustainable operator for the long term benefit of a broad range of stakeholders including the local workforce, regional communities and our Wabauskang and Lac Seul First Nation Partners."

Evolution will provide further details on its plans for Bateman and Red Lake early in the September quarter.

Evolution recently recommissioned the second mill at Red Lake and said it would need to expand or build a new mill as part of its stage two transformation to take output to 300,000-500,000ozpa.

Battle North released a feasibility study for the 635,000oz Bateman project in October 2020, and approved the C$109 million development in February.

Bateman has a 650,000 tonne per annum mill on site, built in 2015, a 730m-deep shaft and more than 14km of underground development.

Battle North also has $704 million of tax loss pools.

Battle North holds more than 28,000 hectares of ground in the Red Lake district, including the highly prospective ‘String of Pearls' targets, which are close to Bateman infrastructure.

Evolution completed the US$375 million of Red Lake from Newmont Corporation last year.

The Battle North acquisition also includes a large package of exploration ground on the Long Canyon gold trend near the Nevada-Utah border in the US.

Evolution shares hit a 2021 high of A$5.37 on Tuesday and closed at $5.19 yesterday, valuing the company at $8.86 billion.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining News Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining News Intelligence team.

editions

Mining Company ESG Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The Mining Company ESG Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Global Leadership Report 2024: Net Zero

Gain insights into decarbonisation trends and strategies from interviews with 20+ top mining executives and experts plus an industrywide survey.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence Project Pipeline Handbook 2024

View our 50 top mining projects, handpicked using a unique, objective selection process from a database of 450+ global assets.

editions

MiningNews.net Research Report 2024

Access a multi-pronged tool to identify critical risks and opportunities in Australia’s mining industry.