Under the terms of the agreement, consideration payable to Coeur will include $15 million in cash and $10 million in Pan American stock. Coeur will also retain a 2% net smelter returns royalty on the Joaquin project. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions.

“This transaction reflects our strategy to monetize noncore assets and redeploy the proceeds into higher-quality, higher-return, nearer-term growth opportunities,” said Mitchell J. Krebs, Coeur president and chief executive officer. “By retaining a 2% NSR, Coeur will also retain upside exposure to Joaquin. Together with the sale of the past-producing Martha mine last year, this transaction will allow us to realize holding cost savings and represents a reduction in the company’s overall geographic footprint.”

The Joaquin project is located 145 kilometers from Pan American Silver’s Manantial Espejo operation in Santa Cruz. “We have begun work on technical studies for the Joaquin project to determine how much of the high-grade portion of Joaquin’s mineralized material can be economically treated at Manantial Espejo. Adding high-grade satellite deposits that are prevalent in the region around our Manantial Espejo mine is an effective way to extract additional value from our investment in the Province of Santa Cruz,” said Michael Steinmann, president and CEO of Pan American Silver.