Newmont will sell its final project in its divestment program: the Porcupine gold operation in Ontario, Canada to Discovery Silver Corp.
In February 2024, Newmont announced its plans to divest mines and projects it doesn’t consider to be ‘Tier 1’ assets.
Newmont defines a Tier 1 asset as an operation with “(more than) 500,000 gold equivalent ounces per year consolidated, (an) average all-in sustaining cost per ounce in the lower half of the industry cost curve, and a mine life (greater than) 10 years in countries classified in the A and B rating ranges of Moody’s, S&P and Fitch”.
With the sale of Porcupine, Newmont has sold all of the mines it set out to divest. These include:
The Porcupine gold operation has produced more than 68 million ounces of gold since 1910. The operation will be sold to Discovery Silver Corp for $US425 million ($675 million).
The transaction, expected to close in the first half of 2025, comprises a cash consideration of $US200 million, equity consideration of $US75 million in the form of Discovery Silver Corp shares, and a deferred cash consideration of $US150 million.
“Today’s announcement represents a significant milestone for Newmont as we have agreed to sell the final non-core operation from our divestiture program,” Newmont president and chief executive officer Tom Palmer said. “The sale is part of Newmont’s ongoing program to divest non-core assets as we make a strategic shift to focus on our Tier 1 assets.
“We have full confidence that Discovery’s leadership team will continue to operate Porcupine responsibly, leveraging their extensive experience and history in the area.
“Including the Porcupine divestiture, we expect to generate up to $US4.3 billion ($6.8 billion) in total proceeds from the announced sales of our high-quality non-core assets and investments, enabling us to further reduce debt and return capital to shareholders.”
Newmont also reportedly plans to sell the Coffee gold project in Canada.
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