A miner performs maintenance on a dual-boom jumbo at the Musselwhite mine. (Photo: Newmont)

SSR Buys Cripple Creek
SSR Mining Inc. will acquire the CC&V gold mine in an all-cash deal for $100 million upfront and up to $175 million in additional milestone-based payments. The transaction would significantly increase SSR Mining’s scale, as far as gold production, free cash flow and portfolio diversification. The CC&V gold mine would add approximately 170,000 ounces per year (oz/y) in gold production to SSR Mining’s platform.

“The acquisition of the CC&V gold mine represents a rare opportunity to add a high-quality producing asset in a Tier-1 jurisdiction at an accretive valuation,” said Rod Antal, executive chairman of SSR Mining. “CC&V is a proven operation with excellent potential for upside, and expands our U.S. based platform to an expected 300,000 – 400,000 oz of average annual gold production, positioning SSR Mining as the third largest U.S. gold producer. In addition to Marigold mine in Nevada, SSR’s also has operating and development assets in Canada, Türkiye and Argentina.

Newmont’s 2024 guidance for the CC&V gold mine was 170,000 oz of gold with a cost of sales of $1,270/oz and all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of $1,610/ oz. The company’s more recent figures indicate 101,000 oz of gold at an AISC of $1,715/oz for the nine months ending September 30, 2024. As of December 31, 2023, Newmont reported that the CC&V mine had gold mineral reserves of approximately 1.3 million oz, plus an additional 1.6 million oz of measured and indicated mineral resources and 300,000 oz of inferred mineral resources.

Although its discovery dates back to the 1890s, the CC&V gold mine has been operating as a large, open pit mine for about 30 years now. It is located about 100 miles southwest of SSR’s headquarters in Denver, Colorado, USA. “In addition to its strategic merits, CC&V employs many highly regarded mining professionals that will complement our current team, and we look forward to welcoming them all into SSR Mining,” Antal said.

Currently, CC&V operations span three developed open pit areas: Globe Hill, Schist Island, and South Cresson with a total land package of more than 5,000 hectares. All of the current mineral reserves are oxides, which are stacked on valley leach facilities (VLFs). Average annual ore placement on the VLFs is approximately 20 to 24 million t/y, and current permitted and available leach pad capacity is more than 125 million tons. A mill facility for sulphide and transitional ore is currently on care and maintenance and does not factor into CC&V’s current mine plan. Since acquiring the asset in 2015 for $820 million, Newmont said the CC&V has produced more than 2.5 million oz of gold.

The upfront $100 million cash payment is expected to be funded from the company’s current cash position. Of the $175 million of milestone-based payments, $87.5 million will be payable upon final approval of the application to amend the CC&V Cresson Permit (Amendment 14). This permit amendment was filed by Newmont on April 25, 2024, with the scope to extend the life of mine by adding 189 million tons of leach pad capacity through construction of Phase 4 of the VLF2 and Phase 6 of the VLF1, among other operational considerations including pit laybacks and road adjustments. The remining $87.5 million will be payable upon obtaining regulatory relief relating to flow-related permitting requirements for the Carlton Tunnel, including steps taken to achieve the highest feasible alternative in relation to Carlton Tunnel water flow.

Upon completion of an updated regulator- approved closure plan and in the event aggregate closure costs at CC&V exceed $500 million, SSR Mining will be responsible for funding 10% of the incremental closure costs while Newmont will be responsible for funding 90% of the incremental closure costs, either on an as-incurred basis or pursuant to a lump sum payment option. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2025, upon satisfaction of preclosing conditions and the receipt of all required regulatory approvals.

Dhilmar Buys Eleonore
The Éléonore transaction is expected to close in Q1 2025, subject to certain conditions being satisfied. Dhilmar is a newly incorporated, U.K.-based private mining company. The company is led by its CEO and Managing Director, Alexander Ramlie, and supported by board members with decades of mining experience across a range of commodities and with both surface and underground operations.

Ramlie and his team worked closely with Newmont in 2016 to acquire the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in Indonesia on behalf of PT Amman Mineral Internasional Tbk. Under Ramlie’s leadership, Amman’s investment in Batu Hijau has grown to a market capitalization exceeding $40 billion and has maintained a strong safety, environmental, and social performance record, reflecting its commitment to sustainable mining practices.

Orla Buys Musselwhite
For Orla’s acquisition of Musselwhite, the cash consideration will be financed through a combination of cash, existing undrawn debt capacity, new indebtedness, a gold pre-pay facility, and convertible notes led by Orla’s existing cornerstone investors. Orla emphasized that there is no upfront equity dilution associated with the transaction.

The transaction will add a second high-quality, high-margin producing asset to Orla’s portfolio. The combination of the proven Musselwhite mine and Orla’s low-cost Camino Rojo oxide operation more than doubles the company’s annual gold production to more than 300,000 oz, with expected near-term growth to more than 500,000 oz/y of gold production as the South Railroad Project is expected to commence production in 2027. The transaction could also significantly enhance Orla’s free cash flow.

“This acquisition is a significant milestone for Orla Mining,” said Jason Simpson, president and CEO of Orla. “It more than doubles our annual production, while providing us with a presence in Ontario, Canada, one of the premier mining jurisdictions in the world and where I began my career. We intend to not only continue to operate Musselwhite, but to seek optimization opportunities and to invest in its future, grow its reserves and resources, and extend its mine life. The mine has a proven history of successful production, cash generation, and reserve replacement, having consistently added to mine life.”

Musselwhite is an active (producing), underground gold mine located on the shore of Opapimiskan Lake in Northwestern Ontario. It has been in operation for more than 25 years, having produced close to 6 million oz of gold to date, with a long history of resource growth and conversion.

At the end of 2023, Musselwhite had proven and probable gold reserves of 1.5 million oz (7.4 million metric tons (mt) grading 6.23 g/mt gold) within a measured and indicated resource of 1.8 million oz (9.52 million mt at 5.78 g/mt gold) and an inferred resource of 190,000 oz (1.2 million mt at 4.96 g/mt gold). Orla commissioned an independent NI 43-101 technical report for Musselwhite in connection with the transaction. Based only on the current reserves, Musselwhite has a 7-year mine life (2024-2030) with average annual gold production of 202,000 oz at an all-in sustaining cost of $1,269/oz. Orla said it intends to aggressively explore the 65,000-hectare concession, including following up on historical drilling that suggests 2 to 3 km of mineralized strike potential beyond the current reserves.

Additionally, the carbon-in-pulp (CIP) processing facility has a nameplate capacity of 1.5 million mt/year (mt/y) with only 1 million mt/y currently being used. Orla said it sees an opportunity to fill excess mill capacity through new discoveries and increased mining rates.