Bardoc Gold Ltd (ASX:BDC) has been acquired by St Barbara Mining Ltd in a deal that valued the gold junior at around $157 million.
The acquisition was facilitated by a scheme of arrangement (announced in December) that saw the gold mining giant snap up all existing BDC shares.
The move consolidates gold assets in WA’s Leonora region and contributes to a multi-decade plan to feed satellite pits into St Barbara’s local processing plant.
Following the buy, newly minted St Barbara shares will commence trade on April 14.
On a pro forma basis, the arrangement will see St Barbara shareholders own about 87% of all issued SBM shares, while Bardoc investors will hold roughly 13%.
All part of the Leonora Province Plan
St Barbara managing director and CEO Craig Jenson said of the acquisition: “The completion of this major milestone has allowed us to lock in the acceleration of the Leonora Province Plan.
“The acquisition gives St Barbara access to the advanced Aphrodite and Zoroastrian underground deposits.
“Due to their proximity to road and rail infrastructure that connect them to Leonora, the deposits are expected to become additional ore sources to support the filling of the mill and the expansion to 2.1 million tonnes per annum.
“The acquisition also includes Bardoc’s extensive land package, contributing to St Barbara’s leading position in the Leonora province and provides a strong platform for the company to deliver further organic growth for years to come.”
Bardoc by the numbers
Bardoc’s namesake gold project holds 54.6 million tonnes of resource, grading at 1.8 g/t for 3.07 million gold ounces.
This includes 8.4 million tonnes at 3.7 g/t for 988,000 ounces that may be amenable to underground mining methods.
Within this is a JORC-compliant probable ore reserve estimate of 15.87 million tonnes at 2 g/t for 1.01 million ounces, including 3.14 million tonnes at 3.4 g/t at Aphrodite underground and 839,000 tonnes at 3.6 g/t at Zoroastrian underground.
“An excellent outcome”
Speaking to the acquisition in December last year, Bardoc gold chair Tony Leibowitz said: "The transaction we have secured with St Barbara is an excellent outcome, which will deliver ownership of the Bardoc Gold Project to a much larger company with the balance sheet strength, resources and technical capability to bring the project into production through its Leonora gold operations.
"In addition to creating a liquidity event, the transaction delivers a healthy premium and will give our shareholders approximately 13% ownership of an enlarged St Barbara – providing exposure to a much larger, diversified international gold producer with operating assets and a strong development pipeline in Australia, PNG and Canada.
"We believe there is excellent potential for a future market re-rating and value uplift.”