The Plutonic gold project in Western Australia has an annual production of 70,000 ounces of gold and lies immediately adjacent to Vango Mining’s Marymia tenements

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Superior Gold to be acquired by Catalyst Metals. (Credit: Steve Bidmead from Pixabay)

Australian mineral exploration company Catalyst Metals has signed a definitive agreement with Canada-based gold producer Superior Gold to acquire the latter in a deal worth C$55m ($40.46m).

Under the terms of the agreement, Superior Gold’s shareholders will receive one fully paid Catalyst Metals’ share for every 2.8 Superior Gold shares held. The ratio implies an offer value of C$0.44 ($0.32) per Superior Gold share.

With the acquisition, Catalyst Metals will obtain access to the Plutonic gold project located in Western Australia. The project comprises a 5.9-million-ounce resource, three million tonnes per annum (mtpa) processing capacity, and an annual production of 70,000 ounces of gold.

Last month, Catalyst Metals signed a bid implementation agreement (BIA) to acquire Vango Mining in a deal worth A$66m ($44.3m). The Plutonic gold project is located immediately adjacent to Vango Mining’s Marymia tenements.

Upon completion of the two transactions, the enlarged Catalyst Metals will control three high-grade, highly prospective, and strategic gold belts in Australia.

In addition to the high-grade Plutonic-Marymia gold project in Western Australia, Catalyst Metals will obtain a contiguous tenement package with a 75km strike in Victoria, and a strategic tenement package covering 25km of the under-explored Henty fault in Tasmania.

Superior Gold shareholders are expected to own up to 23% of the enlarged Catalyst Metals, following the completion of both transactions.

Catalyst Metals managing director James Champion de Crespigny said: “This is the transaction that Superior and Catalyst shareholders have been looking for. It is a logical consolidation that offers significant potential for operating synergies while also lowering risk.

“The combination of the large resources, big processing capacity and considerable exploration upside gives the combined group genuine scale, long mine life, strong cashflow and outstanding growth prospects, all in the heart of a world-class gold belt in WA.”

The transaction with Superior Gold, which is subject to various conditions and regulatory approvals, is anticipated to complete in Q2 2023.