AuRico Metals announced it has acquired Mineral Streams Inc., a private company owning a 0.25% NSR royalty on the Williams mine at Barrick Gold’s Hemlo complex, a 0.5% NSR royalty on Wesdome Gold Mine’s Eagle River mine, and a 1.5% NSR royalty on Barrick’s David Bell property, which also forms part of the Hemlo complex. The transaction was valued at C$6.85 million.
“We are very excited to be announcing this acquisition — our first investment to grow our royalty portfolio — only two months into our existence as AuRico Metals,” said Chris Richter, president and CEO. “The Hemlo-Williams and Eagle River royalties are an excellent fit within our portfolio of high-quality cash flowing royalties located in top-tier jurisdictions, and together with the Young-Davidson and David Bell royalties we now have four royalties in Ontario giving us exposure to some of the best gold mines in the province.”
Hemlo produced 206,000 oz of gold in 2014 and is expected to produce between 200,000 and 225,000 oz in 2015. The Williams mine is an underground and open-pit mine located approximately 350 km east of Thunder Bay, Ontario. The Eagle River mine has been in continuous production since 1995 and has produced more than 1 million oz of gold. The mine is located approximately 50 km west of Wawa, Ontario. Eagle River produced 48,190 oz of gold in 2014. Both operations have a long history of replacing reserves.
