The board of gold miner Intrepid Mines has unanimously accepted a revised bid from Northern Star Resources for the company’s Paulsens Gold Mine in Western Australia.
The board agreed to the deal after Northern Star improved its bid to $40 million, up from $27 million originally, to reflect a higher gold price and an expanded mine plan.
Intrepid Mines board of directors unanimously accepted the revised offer, which delivered acceptable return for the improved life of mine forecast, Intrepid said this morning.
The sweeter deal is to be paid in production-based royalties and staged cash payments.
The gold price has risen by more than $200 an ounce since Northern Star made its initial offer for Paulsen’s, in the Ashburton field about 1000 km north of Perth.
Northern Star says a review of the mine plan during June resulted in an 8000-ounce increase in forecast gold production for the nine months beginning June 1.
The transaction is scheduled to complete on July 30. Northern Star shares closed at 5.9 cents on Tuesday, while Intrepid shares are at 51 cents.
AAP