The sale of the inactive mine would enable the company to focus its portfolio on tier one assets
The Lagunas Norte mine is located in Peru’s La Libertad Region. (Credit: Barrick Gold Corporation)
Barrick Gold has agreed to sell its fully-owned Lagunas Norte mine in Peru to Boroo Pte Ltd (Singapore) as part of its strategy of selling non-core interests.
Located in the La Libertad Region, the Lagunas Norte mine had been placed in care and maintenance since 2019.
The total consideration for the mine includes a payment of up to $81m plus Boroo’s assumption of Barrick Gold’s closure liability of $226m relating to the property backed by an existing bonding obligation of $173m.
As per the terms, Boroo will make an upfront cash payment of $20m, followed by $10m on the first anniversary of the closing of the deal. At the second anniversary of the deal’s completion, the investment holding company will pay $20m to Barrick Gold.
Apart from that, Boroo will pay a 2% net smelter return royalty (NSR) on gold and silver produced via the refractory sulphide ore project. This payment will end after one million ounces of gold has been produced, which may be bought for $16m by Boroo for a limited period of time after closing.
There will also be a contingent amount of up to $15m to be paid by Boroo. This will be based on the average gold price per ounce for the two-year period after the completion of the deal.
Barrick Gold said that it has realised nearly $1.5bn in proceeds from the sale of its non-core interests, which would enable the company to focus its portfolio on tier one assets.
The company stated: “The proposed acquisition would benefit the mine’s stakeholders in Peru by giving Boroo the opportunity to extend its life by accessing satellite resources and adapting the infrastructure.
“The Latin American region remains an important destination for Barrick, and the company will keep a team in Peru to continue to develop its portfolio of exploration assets and to pursue opportunities to find and operate world-class gold and or copper mines in that country.”
The completion of the deal is subject to closing conditions.
Boroo is engaged in operating, developing, and acquiring gold assets across the world. The company owns and operates certain production-stage and development-stage assets located in Central Asia.