Move over Pink Panther; the golden goose strikes again.
With a flair for final-hour maneuverings that even Inspector Clouseau may have strained to notice, Goldcorp
Eldorado Gold
Fools may recall that Goldcorp aggressively outbid a joint venture between Newmont Mining
In this case, as Mineweb reporter Dorothy Kosich suggests, the CEOs of Goldcorp and Andean Resources used to run the only two intermediate gold producers based in Reno, Nevada. I find it reasonable to presume that their past acquaintance may have played a role in this transaction.
Pointing to Goldcorp's incentive to acquire the project, a recent feasibility study conducted by Andean Resources calls the Cerro Negro project "one of the lowest-cost undeveloped gold projects in the world". Once in production, the mine's estimated cost of just $60 per ounce (after silver by-product credits) will assist the company's ambition to remain the lowest-cost major gold producer in the world.
Looking at the acquisition cost in this case tells an entirely different story: one of very high expectations for meaningful expansion of existing gold and silver resources at Cerro Negro. Using only the established indicated resource of about 3 million gold equivalent ounces (using a 50:1 ratio), you see, would yield a purchase price of $1,129 per ounce. You can bet a giant bullion bar that Goldcorp is not about to deploy $3.4 billion in anything but a miserly fashion.
As I pointed out following the much-criticized acquisition of Red Back Mining by Kinross Gold
Regardless of the potential criticism of this deal based upon the apparent premium paid for established resources, I consider this move a giant achievement for Goldcorp, and continue to award Goldcorp the golden trophy for "master crafter of deals."