(Dec 15): CMOC Group, one of China’s biggest miners, extended its push into precious metals with a US$1 billion deal to buy the Brazilian operations of Equinox Gold Corp.
It will take full ownership of two Equinox entities — Leagold LatAm Holdings BV and Luna Gold Corp — that control several mines or deposits in the South American nation. Equinox will receive US$900 million in cash, plus a contingent payment of as much as US$115 million one year after the deal closes, CMOC said in an exchange filing on Monday (Dec 15).
The Chinese firm is one of the world’s fastest-growing miners, passing Glencore plc as the biggest cobalt producer in 2023 and also having major copper operations. It’s been posting strong profits off the back of high prices for the industrial metal and said earlier this year it would focus on M&A in copper, gold and minor metals.
The deal “showcases our conviction in gold” and the miner will seek to drive long-term growth in the metal, chairman Liu Jianfeng said in a separate statement. The transaction offers a strategic addition to CMOC’s assets and builds on its presence in South America, he said.
CMOC shares jumped as much as 3.4% in Hong Kong on Monday and have more than doubled since the end of June.
Gold has surged by almost two-thirds this year and has hit a series of record highs on increased demand for haven assets, while copper has rallied more than 30% on strong consumption and mine outages, also reaching an all-time peak. CMOC bought Canadian miner Lumina Gold Corp earlier this year for C$581 million to tap Ecuador’s largest primary deposit of the precious metal.
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The deal will give CMOC full ownership of the Aurizona, RDM, Fazenda and Santa Luz mines, with a combined eight tonnes of annual gold production, the Chinese miner said, with total output potentially rising to more than 20 tonnes once one of the mines in Ecuador starts operations. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, CMOC said.
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