The world’s largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold Corp., has sold its entire stake in Australia’s Cowal gold mine to local gold producer Evolution Mining Ltd. for an estimated $550 million. This latest divestment is as part of Canada-based Barrick Gold’s strategy to reduce debt by spinning off non-core assets.
Barrick Gold co-president Kelvin Dushnisky issued a statement saying, “The sale of Cowal is consistent with the strategy we have outlined to create long-term value for our owners, making a significant contribution to our debt reduction target while further focusing the geographic footprint of our portfolio.”
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The Australian gold mine is one of several assets currently being offered by Barrick Gold for sale. By the end of this year, the company aims to reduce its debt by $3 billion. The strategy is apparently paying off for the gold mining giant. This year, The Company’s shares have risen by more than 20 percent.
Evolution Mining’s executive chairman, Jake Klein, described the acquisition of Cowal as “high quality asset.” During the year ending June 2014, it produced a total of 427, 703 equivalent gold ounces. The latest purchase expands Evolution Mining’s presence to seven locations across Australia, making it that country’s second-largest gold-mining company.
Credit Suisse acted as Barrick Gold’s financial advisor and the all-cash deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015.
