Canadian precious metals mining company Fortuna Silver Mines has completed its previously announced A$89m ($57.05m) acquisition of Australian gold miner Chesser Resources.
In May this year, Fortuna signed a definitive agreement to acquire Chesser.
Under the terms of the agreement, Fortuna acquired 100% of the ordinary shares of Chesser, in exchange for 0.0248 of one common share of Fortuna for each Chesser share held.
Fortuna issued its 15,545,368 ordinary shares in exchange for Chesser Shares, representing around 5.1% of all the issued and outstanding Fortuna Shares.
The transaction was implemented by way of a statutory scheme of arrangement, under the Australian Corporations Act 2001.
With the completion of the transaction, Chesser becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Fortuna, and Chesser shares will be delisted from the ASX within one to two business days.
Fortuna president and CEO Jorge A Ganoza said: “With the acquisition of Chesser, Fortuna continues to strengthen its presence in West Africa.
“Senegal is a mining-friendly and highly prospective jurisdiction, and we are excited about the growth potential that Chesser’s Diamba Sud Gold Project provides.
“We look forward to integrating Diamba Sud into our global portfolio, focusing on exploration to unlock value, and partnering with the local communities and stakeholders as we continue to advance the project.”
Fortuna said that the acquisition of Chesser will expand its presence in West Africa, with the preliminary economic assessment stage Diamba Sud Gold Project in Senegal.
Diamba Sud Gold, a new and emerging gold discovery in the region, comprises four open pittable high-grade gold deposits, along with numerous anomalies yet to be tested.
Chesser holds tenements covering around 872km2 of prospective ground in Senegal, located close to and sharing similar geological features with nearby tier-one gold mines.
Fortuna plans to begin exploration to expand the mineral resource at Diamba Sud before advancing the project to the development stage.
