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UPDATE 1-Kinross Gold succeeds in C$870 mln Aurelian bid
TORONTO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Kinross Gold has won shareholder approval for its C$870 million ($815 million) bid for Aurelian Resources , and will take control of the rich Fruta del Norte gold deposit in Ecuador.
Kinross said Aurelian shareholders had tendered about 75 percent of the fellow-Canadian gold explorer's shares to the bid, well ahead of the number needed to secure the deal, although hardly an overwhelming majority, given uncertainty over Ecuador's mining laws.
The South American country froze all mining earlier this year while it rewrites its mining law, a move that stripped more than 50 percent from Aurelian's share price and allowed Kinross to get it for far less than it might have cost.
Many Aurelian shareholders complained the company was selling out at too low a price. At the same time, no rival gold producer tried to top the bid, which analysts attributed to the risks of committing to Ecuador ahead of the new mining law.
With an inferred resource of 13.7 million ounces of gold and 22 million ounces of silver, Fruta del Norte is one of the world's top undeveloped deposits.
Shares of Kinross were down 50 Canadian cents at C$15.05 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, while Aurelian was off 11 Canadian cents at C$5.22.
Kinross has extended the offer to Sept. 15.
($1=$1.06 Canadian) (Reporting by Cameron French)
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