South African gold producer
Under the deal, Gold Fields would contribute A$63.3 million in cash via a corporate debt facility provided by Barclays Capital. For its part, Repadre would issue 4 million shares to Ranger. Gold Fields has secured South African Reserve Bank approval for the transaction.
The deal is subject to:
– approval by the government of Ghana by February 15, 2002;
– the successful completion of due diligence by all parties by November 9, 2001; and
– approval by Ranger shareholders and, if required, by Repadre shareholders by January 15, 2002;
The deal is expected to wrap up by February 28, 2002, unless both parties extend it.
If completed, the deal would see Gold Fields owning 71.1%, and Repadre 18.9%, of Abosso. The Ghanaian government would retain a 10% stake. Gold Fields and Repadre will also take over payments on Ranger’s outstanding loans to Abosso.
Abosso holds 100% of the Damang gold mine in Ghana. The Damang mine hosts reserves of 15.32 million tonnes averaging 2.36 grams gold per tonne, and there are satellite resources and reserves elsewhere on the Damang property. During the financial year ended June 31, 2001 the mine processed 4.54 million tons averaging 2.42 grams gold per ton to produce 322,046 ounces of gold. Total cash costs were US$208 per ounce.
At the end of June, Abosso had US$15 million of external debt; about US$14 million of net working capital; and a positive-mark-to-market hedge book covering about 500,000 ounces.
Gold Fields CEO Chris Thompson said, “This is another attractive acquisition for Gold Fields, and we are particularly delighted that it is in Africa. Like our Tarkwa mine next door, Damang is an open-pit operation and we plan to maximize synergies between these two assets.”
Repadre expects the acquisition to boost its attributable gold production to more than 170,000 ounces annually.
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