The Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) share price could be on the move today after announcing a new investment.
What did Newcrest announce?
This morning the gold miner announced that it has acquired a further 10,977,502 shares of Lundin Gold Inc from Kinross Gold for an average of C$7.25 per share. This was a 4.2% discount to the last trade price and equates to a total consideration C$79.6 million.
Newcrest's latest investment has lifted its ownership interest in Lundin Gold to 32%.
Newcrest's managing director and chief executive officer, Sandeep Biswas, revealed that the Fruta del Norte asset was the reason for the investment.
He said, "This was a great opportunity to increase our exposure to Fruta del Norte, a Tier 1 asset, which is expected to commence commercial production in the June 2020 quarter."
What is Fruta del Norte?
Fruta del Norte is a high-grade, underground gold-silver mine located in south eastern Ecuador.
According to Lundin Gold's technical report, the mine has a first quartile Life of Mine all-in sustaining cost of US$623 per ounce. It is expected to generate average annual gold production of 315,000 ounces over a 14-year mine life.
Other news.
It isn't just Newcrest announcing an investment today. This morning rival Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) revealed that it has now completed the takeover of Echo Resources.
Northern Star sealed the deal with an offer of 33 cents per share for the junior gold miner.
And in other news, St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) made an announcement this morning as well. It announced that its managing director, Bob Vassie, will retire from the role in 2020 to spend more time with his family. Mr Vassie has been in the top job for five and a half years.
