What You Get for 2.3 Billion
posted on
Feb 03, 2011 10:51AM
San Gold Corporation - one of Canada's most exciting new exploration companies and gold producers.
Last 2 big deals are valuing gold in the ground > $1000. First Andean, now Fronteer. SGR has at least 3 million. So it should be at least 3 billion accordingly using questionable logic and known 43101's. Quoted at a cut-off grade of 0.20 gram per tonne gold, the updated classified mineral resource consists of:
Newmont Mining to acquire Fronteer Gold
2011-02-03 05:51 PT - News Release
See News Release (C-NMC) Newmont Mining Corp of Canada Ltd
Mr. Richard O'Brien of Newmont reports NEWMONT EXPANDS NEVADA GROWTH POTENTIAL WITH ACQUISITION OF FRONTEER GOLD Newmont Mining Corp. of Canada Ltd. and Fronteer Gold Inc. have entered into an agreement pursuant to which Newmont will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Fronteer Gold by way of a plan of arrangement. Under the plan of arrangement, shareholders of Fronteer Gold will receive $14.00 in cash and one common share in a new company (Pilot Gold), which will own certain exploration assets of Fronteer Gold, for each common share of Fronteer Gold. The cash consideration represents a premium of approximately 37 per cent to the closing price of the common shares of Fronteer Gold on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of Feb. 2, 2011, and equates to a value of approximately $2.3-billion for Fronteer Gold (excluding Pilot Gold). Fronteer Gold owns a 100-per-cent interest in the development-stage Long Canyon project, which is located approximately 100 miles from Newmont's existing infrastructure in Nevada. The proximity of Long Canyon to Newmont's Nevada operations provides the potential for significant development and operating synergies. Fronteer Gold also owns a 100-per-cent interest in the Northumberland project and a joint venture interest with Newmont in the Sandman project in Nevada, among other assets. Fronteer Gold has total attributable measured and indicated gold resources of 4.2 million ounces and inferred resources of 1.7 million ounces at Long Canyon, Northumberland and Sandman.(1) Pilot Gold will own a portfolio of Fronteer Gold's exploration properties in Nevada, Turkey and Peru (see attached for a list of Pilot Gold's assets) and will be capitalized at closing with $10-million of cash. Upon closing of the transaction, Fronteer Gold shareholders will hold an aggregate 80.1-per-cent interest in Pilot Gold and Newmont will hold the remaining 19.9-per-cent interest. As part of the plan of arrangement, the Pilot Gold common shares will be consolidated on a one-for-four basis. "The acquisition of Fronteer Gold will contribute significantly to our anticipated growth profile in North America," stated Richard O'Brien, Newmont's president and chief executive officer. "The Long Canyon project, with its Carlin trend-like metallurgical and geological characteristics, complements our existing project pipeline in Nevada. This combination of assets will allow Newmont to leverage our expertise and extensive infrastructure in the region. Based on the work conducted to date by Fronteer Gold, as well as our own due diligence, we believe that Long Canyon holds the potential to grow beyond three to four times Fronteer Gold's current stated resource estimate, with an attractive average gold grade of approximately 2.3 grams per tonne. Additionally, we believe that Fronteer Gold's wider portfolio of assets offers further upside potential for our portfolio." In January, 2011, Fronteer Gold released an interim resource estimate for Long Canyon, which reported measured and indicated resources of approximately 1.4 million gold ounces and an additional inferred resource of approximately 800,000 gold ounces.(1) Fronteer Gold president and CEO, Mark O'Dea, stated: "This transaction delivers an immediate and attractive premium to our shareholders. It not only recognizes the current value of our key Nevada gold projects, but rewards shareholders for their future growth. The team at Fronteer Gold has done an exceptional job of creating value and we are proud of the high-quality project pipeline that we have built in Nevada. Newmont shares our view that Long Canyon, our flagship project, is a 'best-in-class' asset with excellent production attributes and significant growth potential. Importantly, this transaction continues to expose Fronteer Gold shareholders to our ongoing exploration and development success through Pilot Gold. Pilot Gold will have an ideal new company structure, an experienced board of directors and management team, and sufficient financial resources to immediately undertake active exploration programs in both Turkey and Nevada. We welcome Newmont as our largest shareholder in Pilot Gold and we look forward to creating ongoing value for shareholders in the near term." Newmont in Nevada Newmont's land position in Nevada extends over two million acres. From its regional base in Elko, the company currently operates six open pit mines, five underground mines and nine process facilities. In addition, Newmont's project pipeline in Nevada includes Greater Leeville-Turf, Phoenix copper leach, Greater gold quarry, and our Sleeping Giants (Mike, Fiberline, Greater Phoenix and Copper basin). In 2010, Nevada operations produced 1.7 million attributable gold ounces, which was approximately 32 per cent of the company's total attributable gold production for the year. Nevada represents growth for Newmont, as evidenced by a 2011 exploration and development budget of approximately $285-million for near-mine activities. The company plans to advance exploration activity in early and advanced stage projects such as Greater Leeville-Turf, Mike, Fiberline, Copper basin and Greater Phoenix. Transaction details The transaction will be carried out by way of a plan of arrangement, the implementation of which will be subject to approval by at least 66-2/3 per cent of the votes cast at a special meeting of Fronteer Gold shareholders that is expected to be held in early April, 2011, followed by the approval of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Pursuant to the terms of the arrangement agreement between Newmont and Fronteer Gold, the transaction is also subject to applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of certain closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature. The arrangement agreement also provides for, among other things, customary board support and non-solicitation covenants (subject to the fiduciary obligations of the Fronteer Gold board and a Newmont "right to match") as well as the payment to Newmont of a break fee equal to $85-million if the proposed transaction is not completed in certain specified circumstances. The board of directors of Fronteer Gold, after consultation with its financial and legal advisers, has unanimously determined that the proposed transaction is in the best interests of Fronteer Gold and is fair to Fronteer Gold's shareholders, and will recommend that Fronteer Gold's shareholders vote in favour of the transaction. RBC Capital Markets, acting as financial adviser to Fronteer Gold and its board of directors, has provided an opinion that the consideration to be received by Fronteer Gold's shareholders is fair, from a financial point of view, to Fronteer Gold shareholders. All of the directors and senior officers have entered into customary support agreements pursuant to which, among other things, they have agreed to vote their common shares in favour of the transaction. The terms and conditions of the proposed transaction will be summarized in Fronteer Gold's management information circular, which will be filed and mailed to Fronteer Gold shareholders in March, 2011. It is anticipated that the transaction, if approved by Fronteer Gold's shareholders, will be completed in the second quarter of 2011. Copies of the plan of arrangement agreement and certain related documents will be filed with Canadian securities regulators and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), and will be available on the Canadian SEDAR website and on the SEC's website. The management information circular will also be available as part of Fronteer Gold's public filings at SEDAR and the SEC website.