Latest news with #DuncanGibbs
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Diggers and Dealers: Hannan Street bids farewell and so does Gold Road
Duncan Gibbs gives tearful farewell as Gold Road boss warns of exploration decline Benz and Waratah turn heads, Gorilla marketing and Pantoro's bull Who won the Diggers and Dealers Awards? Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) managing director Duncan Gibbs has delivered a parting swipe at roadblocks halting major mining discoveries in WA as he bid an emotional farewell to the company's historic journey ahead of its $3.7bn takeover by Gold Fields. A 3c stock before the discovery of the now 300,000ozpa+ Gruyere gold mine in WA, the company surged more than 100 times over as it built the 50-50 JV in WA's previously uncharted Yamarna Belt and caught the tailwinds of the recent gold boom. Run on the smell of an oily rag, Gold Road once sold cows from the Yamarna pastoral station to fund drilling at the discovery, 200km east of Laverton, made at a time when gold prices had crashed to ~$1400/oz and with sentiment in the gold sector close to an all-time low. Twelve years on and gold is now paying more than $5000/oz, driving historically strong cash flows across the industry. But a tearful Gibbs, who played a role in two of the other major WA gold discoveries of the past 30 years as the head of AngloGold's exploration division at Sunrise Dam and Tropicana, warned red tape was hurting the industry's ability to find another mine like Gold Road and Gold Fields' big slice of outback cheese. "Exploration is getting harder," he said late on the final day of Kalgoorlie's Diggers and Dealers conference. "Part of it is the maturity of exploration, the stuff that's sticking out the surface (has been found). "We then had a whole sequence of discoveries that were really made by just blitzing and finding surface sampling, soils or what have you and they found a whole wave of discoveries. We're now looking in belts like Tropicana, which were regarded as the wrong geology – I kind of put Hemi in that wave. " Or they're under cover like Havieron. "The other thing that is massively more complicated is the whole heritage, native title access, environmental stuff. And unless, I think, there's some creative, innovative solutions to changing that current model, the industry is in a downward decline. "And to the detriment of the industry and remote communities – and that includes Aboriginal people." Gibbs, who also claims former mentees among the exploration teams that found the world-class Hemi and Havieron discoveries, said the Gold Road story provided hope for struggling juniors in the marquee at the time-honoured Kalgoorlie gabfest. But he also said exploration and administration costs, land access issues, and the approach to capitalising the junior exploration sector needed to change. "I think capital markets have become quite short-n term thinking. "The biggest fundamental value that you can create in the industry is finding another (mine). "If you look at it from a wealth creation and Australian economy point of view, we've got to do something about the state of exploration. It's not as simple as just throwing more money at it. We actually need to sort out some of the land access issues that we've now created, particularly in Western Australia." Talk of the town A couple of juniors did emerge as bolters at the conference, with numerous punters who spoke to Stockhead looking closely at NSW copper and gold explorer Waratah Minerals (ASX:WTM) and WA gold explorer Benz Mining Corp (ASX:BNZ). Waratah surged 21.7% on no news on the final day of the event, having stunned the market with an intercept of 208.7m at 1.17g/t Au from 514m at the Spur Gold Corridor on Monday. Drilling returned multiple zones of visible gold at the Consols prospect, boosting Waratah's strike at Spur to over 1.5km near Newmont's world class Cadia gold and copper mine. MD Peter Duerden secured a fill-in speaking slot on Monday and it was very well-timed, with the stock now up 96% over the past week. "You can start to get a sense of the continuity of mineralisation here," Duerden said. "It's a real pivotal hole for us and for the gold endowment of the Spur Gold Corridor." Benz Mining's CEO Mark Lynch-Staunton drew comparisons for its Glenburgh gold project – acquired from the tent of Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR) as its head was turned to its amazing Never Never discovery at Dalgaranga – to the 500,000ozpa Tropicana gold mine. "If I'm going to make a prediction in 12 months' time this is not going to look like this, it's going to look very different," he said late on Wednesday. "If you missed out on Hemi and you missed out on Gruyere, I truly believe this will be the next multi-million ounce gold district." Fighting words indeed. Benz shares have run 14.3% higher in the past week. Gorilla marketing Also running hot has been Gorilla Gold Mines (ASX:GG8), the owner of the Comet Vale and Vivien projects in the Goldfields. Up 18%, GG8 fed its investors a fattening diet of promotional activities throughout Diggers and Dealers, including a site visit and investor breakfast. But it was the company's, quite literal, gorilla marketing that really turned heads. Spartan's 'chariots' (really rickshaws) were still doing the rounds despite its $2bn plus takeover by the more reserved Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS). Stablemate Gorilla, which includes Spartan's Simon Lawson on its board, also went literal with a lady in a gorilla suit the hottest model on the Diggers catwalk. We have it on good authority the actor's pay packet included a $30/hr rate with two cartons of bushchooks thrown in as performance rights (Emu Export, the driller's drink of choice, for you blank-faced othersiders). Naming conventions at the explorer's growing prospect list are also getting enterprising. Harambe is reportedly one of them. Taking inspiration from Planet of the Apes, we've suggested Caesar has real potential as a target. And we look forward to riding down a future decline named after fictional Korean baseball prodigy Mr Go. Charles Hughes turned heads by presenting on Tuesday in hi-vis, having just bolted down from site. No match for $1.6bn gold miner Pantoro (ASX:PNR), whose boss Paul Cmrlec gave investors a tour down memory lane with previous Diggers slides from the Norseman gold mine owner dating back to its acquisition of the Halls Creek project in 2014 as a $15m explorer. It included a CGI render of a bull sh**ting gold bars. The space between those two words is an important distinction, investors in Pantoro will hope, after the long-struggling miner stashed away $43.3m of cash and gold in the June quarter. And the wiener is... All eyes turned to the Diggers and Dealers gala dinner on Wednesday night, which featured the forum's all important awards. Digger of the Year was claimed for a momentous second time by Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) after its previous success in 2020. The Mt Magnet miner, which recently closed its acquisition of neighbour Spartan, pulled in an incredible $694.9m of free cash on a record 301,664oz of gold production in FY25. It's the first two time winner of the prize. Dealer of the Year went to De Grey Mining after the Hemi gold mine discovery culminated in its ~$6bn takeover by Australia's largest gold miner Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST). It breaks a curse for Best Emerging Company award winners, previously known as a poison chalice. This year's winner of that prize came from left field, with Cote d'Ivoire explorer Turaco Gold (ASX:TCG) claiming BEC honours for its Afema gold project. Justin Tremain's $520m firm picked up Afema in early 2024. As of May it had 3.55Moz in gold resources, with the junior sitting on a 725% five year gain and $520m market cap on Wednesday. Westgold Resources and Metals X founder Peter Cook, whose cover band held court at Kalgoorlie's Gold Bar for two straight nights, won the GJ Stokes Award for lifetime achievement in the mining industry, reflecting over 30 years as a leading executive in the WA mining industry. He follows his old chairman Peter 'Talky' Newton, the 2005 winner of the award, into the Diggers equivalent of the hall of fame. The media award went to Paydirt's Michael Washbourne while Mason Calter won the Ray Finlayson Award, which goes to a high performing student at the local Kalgoorlie campus of the WA School of Mines.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gold Fields to acquire Gold Road in $2.4bn deal
Mid-tier Australian gold producer Gold Road Resources has entered an agreement with Gruyere Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gold Fields, to divest 100% of the issued and outstanding share capital for A$3.7bn ($2.4bn). The total cash consideration amounts to A$3.40 per share, suggesting an enterprise value for Gold Road of approximately A$2.6bn. The deal will strengthen Gold Fields' 50% stake in the jointly operated Gruyere mine located in Western Australia. The offer includes a fixed cash consideration of A$2.52 for each Gold Road share and a variable component linked to Gold Road's holding in Northern Star Resources, valued at A$0.88 per share as of 2 May 2025. The deal is contingent on various conditions, including shareholder and court approvals, and is expected to be finalised in October 2025. Gold Road chairman Tim Netscher said: 'The Board has been focused at all times on ensuring that we deliver value and act in the best interests of our shareholders. The Gold Road Directors consider that the value offered by the all-cash Scheme Consideration delivers compelling value for Gold Road shareholders compared to what may otherwise be available if Gold Road continued to operate as a standalone entity. 'This cash proposal accelerates realisation of Gruyere's value and provides certainty for Gold Road shareholders today at an attractive premium to trading levels prior to receipt of the initial Gold Fields proposal.' If the acquisition is successful, Gold Road plans to issue a fully franked special dividend, estimated at A$0.35 per share based on the current franking account balance. The total dividend payable to Gold Road shareholders stands at approximately A$379m. UniSuper, Yarra Capital Management, First Sentier Investors, and Perpetual Asset Management are key shareholders, holding about 7.5% of Gold Road's shares. They have expressed their intention to vote in favour of the scheme. However, they retain the right to sell their shares before the scheme meeting. Gold Road managing director and CEO Duncan Gibbs said: 'The Scheme provides Gold Road shareholders with an opportunity to realise certain value for their Gold Road shares at a compelling premium. This offer price represents a material premium to the undisturbed share price prior to the initial Gold Fields' proposal and a material premium to longer term trading levels.' Additionally, Northern Star Resources completed the acquisition of De Grey Mining by way of a Court-approved Scheme of Arrangement. Northern Star managing director and CEO Stuart Tonkin said: 'The acquisition of De Grey is strongly aligned with Northern Star's strategy to generate superior returns for shareholders. We believe that Hemi will deliver a low-cost, long-life and large-scale gold mine in the tier-1 jurisdiction of Western Australia, further enhancing the quality of our asset portfolio and ability to generate cash earnings. 'The Northern Star team looks forward to integrating Hemi into our portfolio and building strong relationships with the Kariyarra people, other Traditional Owners in the Hemi project area and additional Hemi project stakeholders.' In April 2025, Gold Fields announced a new agreement with Ghana to continue operations at Damang mine. "Gold Fields to acquire Gold Road in $2.4bn deal" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
ABC News
05-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Gold Fields increases takeover offer for Gold Road Resources to $3.7b
The head of a Perth-based gold miner that is the target of a $3.7-billion takeover bid expects there will be further consolidation in the sector as prices for the precious metal reach record highs. The ASX-listed Gold Road Resources emerged from a trading halt on Monday to announce that its South African joint-venture partner, Gold Fields, had increased its previous bid of $3.3b by 43 per cent. The companies jointly own the Production at the Gruyere gold mine got underway in 2019. ( Supplied: Gold Road Resources ) Gold Road managing director Duncan Gibbs said the original offer was rejected as "opportunistic" because it did not take the potential for a future underground operation into account. "It was a bit out of the blue because Gold Fields hadn't actually approached us prior to that — and it arrived by email, which we found a bit surprising," he said. "That's all history now because there's been a lot of engagement to get to the outcome we've got now. " It's a good deal for Gold Road and the feedback I've had to date has been very positive. " In the absence of a superior proposal, Gold Road's board has recommended shareholders vote in favour of the takeover at a meeting likely to be held in September. The takeover is also subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board, which is likely to be a formality given Gold Fields already operates three other mines in WA. More deals to be done The new offer comes amid renewed interest in the mergers and acquisitions space as the Australian dollar gold price Australia's biggest gold miner, Northern Star Resources, officially took ownership of the rich Hemi discovery in WA's Pilbara region on Monday after completing its WA gold miner Ramelius Resources is also progressing a takeover of Spartan Resources, its neighbour in the state's Midwest, in a deal worth $2.4b. Mr Gibbs said he expected more consolidation to follow. The processing plant at the Gruyere gold mine has had ongoing operational issues since it was commissioned in 2019. ( Supplied: Gold Road Resources ) "Do I think there's probably going to be more of it? Yes," he said. "Everybody is talking to everybody, which is situation normal. "I think there are points in price cycles which drive a bit more consolidation, but these things appear to go in waves. "The reality is companies are looking to grow all the time. "That can be through bolt-on acquisitions or larger mergers, which we have seen." Australia's next big gold mine Meanwhile, as the dust settles on its De Grey takeover, Northern Star Resources is turning its attention towards building Australia's biggest new gold mine at Hemi. Northern Star managing director Stuart Tonkin said the company would update the Hemi project timelines later this year once there was a clearer picture on the regulatory approvals. Northern Star Resources managing director Stuart Tonkin has described the Hemi project as being "low-cost" and "long-life". ( ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas ) A feasibility study released in September 2023 estimated Hemi would cost $1.3b to bring into construction, creating 900 construction jobs and 600 operational roles. Previous owner De Grey Mining expected construction to take two years at the mine, which is 85km from Port Hedland. "The [capex — capital expenditure estimates] will need to be reviewed and dusted off to make sure it's still relevant," Mr Tonkin said. "De Grey had been articulating what the timeline was and we're not indifferent to what that is." Northern Star Resources' Steve McClare and Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines' Nick Strong oversee construction of the Fimiston Mill. ( ABC Goldfields: Jarrod Lucas ) Mr Tonkin said construction crews at work on a "We take a lot of learnings away from the Kalgoorlie expansion," he said. "The neatness of teams moving from Fimiston into Hemi is very strong." The previous feasibility studies for Hemi estimated an initial 12-year mine life and payback on the $1.3 billion investment in less than two years, based on an Australian dollar gold price of $2,700 an ounce.
