Equinox Gold wraps up $488m acquisition of Premier Gold Mines

Equinox Gold has wrapped up its previously announced CAD611.7 million ($487.9 million) acquisition of Premier Gold Mines, a Canadian mineral exploration company.

The all-stock deal, which was signed in December 2020, gives Equinox Gold access to the construction-ready Hardrock Project in Ontario in which Premier Gold Mines has a stake of 50%. Equinox Gold also adds the producing Mercedes gold-silver mine in Mexico, and the Hasaga and Rahill-Bonanza exploration assets in Ontario.

Moving ahead, Hardrock Project will be called the Greenstone Project, said Equinox Gold.

As per the terms of the agreement, Equinox Gold has exchanged 0.1967 of its shares for each share of Premier Gold Mines. Equinox Gold’s original shareholders will hold a stake of around 84% in the combined company, while Premier Gold Mines’ original shareholders will have a 16% stake.

At the time of signing the deal, Equinox Gold said that the Nevada assets of Premier Gold Mines would be spun out to form a US-focused gold mining company called i-80 Gold.

Equinox Gold wraps up $488m acquisition of Premier Gold Mines. Photo courtesy of Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay.

Christian Milau – CEO of Equinox Gold said: “With Mercedes and Greenstone in our portfolio, Equinox Gold now has eight operating mines and one of the largest gold reserves in our peer group, all in the mining-friendly jurisdictions of Ontario, California, Mexico and Brazil.

“We also have a strong, near-term growth profile with construction of our Santa Luz mine underway, Greenstone construction targeted to start in 2021, and significant expansion projects at Los Filos and Castle Mountain. We look forward to developing Greenstone with Orion as our partner, integrating Mercedes into our portfolio of producing mines and being a substantial and supportive shareholder of i-80 Gold.”

Equinox Gold holds a stake of 30% in i-80 Gold, whose portfolio includes the South-Arturo and McCoy-Cove properties, and also the Getchell Project. The remaining 70% stake in i-80 Gold is owned by the original shareholders of Premier Gold.

Ewan Downie – CEO of i-80 Gold and former CEO of Premier Gold said: “Premier shareholders will benefit from the combination with Equinox Gold and its financial capacity to advance development of our flagship Greenstone Project.

“It was a tremendous honour working with the Premier team for nearly 15 years, participating in numerous exploration and development successes, and I am thankful for the support of this group and our shareholders.

“We now look to the future and the public launch of i-80 Gold next week, with the objective of creating a go-to, Nevada-focused mining and development company.”