Newmont Signs Agreement to Sell Jundee Underground Gold Mine in Australia
Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) (“Newmont” or “the Company”) announced it has entered into a binding agreement with Northern Star Resources Limited (“Northern Star”) to sell the Jundee underground gold mine in Australia for total proceeds of approximately US$91 million, comprised of cash at closing of approximately US$77 million plus a further payment of approximately US$14 million for working capital. Northern Star is acquiring all of Jundee’s assets and liabilities including all environmental and employee obligations.
“We are pleased to announce our agreement with Northern Star. It demonstrates our continuing efforts to optimize our portfolio and increase shareholder value by focusing on lower cost, longer life operations,” said Randy Engel, Newmont’s Executive Vice President for Strategic Development. “The agreement with Northern Star builds on Newmont’s other, non-core asset sales, including its stake in Canadian Oil Sands, the Midas underground mine in Nevada and the Company’s equity interest in Paladin Energy Ltd.. Combined with the pending Jundee transaction, cash proceeds received from these sales total approximately US$800 million.”
The sale is expected to close in early July. Closure is contingent upon Northern Star securing financing and subject to a third party right of refusal.
The Jundee gold mine is located 520 kilometers north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Production began in 1995 from a complex of open pit mines that have now ceased operation. Underground mining began in 1997 and continues today. All existing fixed plant and onsite equipment owned by Newmont will be transferred to Northern Star and the majority of Jundee’s non-contract staff will be offered continuing employment. Jundee produced 279,000 ounces of gold in 2013.
About Newmont
Founded in 1921 and publicly traded since 1925, Newmont is a leading producer of gold and copper. Headquartered in Colorado, the Company has approximately 30,000 employees and contractors, with the majority working at managed operations in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Peru, Indonesia and Ghana. Newmont is the only gold company listed in the S&P 500 index and in 2007 became the first gold company selected to be part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Newmont is an industry leader in value creation, supported by its leading technical, environmental, and health and safety performance.
Cautionary Statement
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by those laws, including statements that use forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “potential” or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the completion of the proposed transaction, the timing of the closing proposed transaction, the satisfaction of closing conditions, future asset sales and portfolio optimization and other statements that are not historical facts. While such forward-looking statements are expressed by Newmont as stated in this release in good faith and believed by Newmont to have a reasonable basis, they are subject to important risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions contemplated by the agreement with Northern Star, whether Northern Star will be able to secure the necessary financing, whether the parties will be able to reach agreement on a third party right of refusal and the other factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions, any or all of which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed, projected or implied by the forward-looking statements. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, the proposed transaction could be modified, restructured or not be completed, and the results or events predicted in these forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results or events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, given that they involve risks and uncertainties. Newmont does not undertake any obligation to release publicly revisions to any forward-looking statement or to comment on expectations of, or statements made by Northern Star or third parties in respect of the proposed transaction, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of update to a previously issued forward-looking statement constitutes a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on forward-looking statements is at investors' own risk.
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