In what has been described as a “transformational” acquisition, the 2.3 million-ounce (Moz) Bullabulling gold project in Western Australia has been snapped up by an incoming gold hopeful.
Explorer Minerals 260 has taken control of Bullabulling from Norton Gold Fields, a Zijin Mining Group subsidiary, one of China’s largest gold and copper producers.
The deal is expected to be worth $166.5 million in total, comprised of mostly cash and $10 million in Minerals 260 shares.
Advanced technical studies at the project and over 530,000m of drilling completed across approximately 12,000 drill holes support gold recoveries in the range of 87 per cent.
“This is an outstanding and transformational acquisition for Minerals 260 and our shareholders,” Minerals 260 managing director Luke McFadyen said.
“The opportunity for us now is to develop a large-scale open-pit gold mine located in the heart of Western Australia’s eastern Goldfields, putting us on a clear trajectory to becoming a leading mid-tier ASX gold producer.”
Historical production at Bullabulling recovered 179,000 ounces of gold in the 1990s, with Minerals 260 confident the mine has more to give.
“Norton has done an excellent job advancing the Bullabulling Project over the past decade and Minerals 260 now has strong foundations to continue its development into production,” McFadyen said.
“We are optimistic about the outlook for the project, with last gold production at Bullabulling occurring when the gold price was around $500 per ounce.”
Minerals 260 is aiming to fund the spend through a capital raise by way of a non-underwritten public offer.
“Brownfield gold assets of this scale, quality, and with a clear pathway to production are rare – and we believe that Bullabulling has the potential to deliver significant future value for Minerals 260’s stakeholders,” McFadyen said.
“Given the substantial amount of historical work completed and what we learned during our due diligence, we intend to immediately commence a major 80,000-metre resource extension and exploration drilling campaign following the completion of the acquisition, and I look forward to updating the market regularly about our progress at the project.”
