Calibre Mining Corp. has agreed to acquire all shares of Marathon Gold Corp., in an all-share deal that values the company at C$345 million ($251 million). The transaction will create an Americas-focused mid-tier gold producer that could be producing approximately 500,000 oz during the 2025 – 2026 timeframe. The combined company will have a strong balance sheet with a combined cash balance of $148 million and significant free cash flow generated from Calibre’s existing mines. Calibre said it would leverage this financial strength to construct the Valentine gold project in Newfoundland, while it continues to explore for gold in Nicaragua, Nevada and Newfoundland & Labrador.
“The combination with Marathon perfectly aligns with Calibre’s commitment to building a diversified mid-tier gold producer,” said Blayne Johnson, chairman of Calibre. “The union of Marathon’s experienced team and well advanced Valentine Project based in Canada, with Calibre’s production assets, robust treasury, free cash flow, flawless track record in execution and high impact exploration opportunities will unlock significant. As founders of Calibre, we are as excited for the future of this combined company as we were when we merged Newmarket Gold with Kirkland Lake to establish a company of similar size and annual production.”
Calibre believes the Valentine project will provide near-term production and cash flow growth with first gold expected in Q1 2025. The combined company production will grow to approximately 500,000 oz by 2025 when adding an average of 195,000 oz per year from Valentine through the first 12 years of production. Valentine holds a significant mineral endowment of 2.7 million oz of mineral reserves and 3.96 million oz of measured and indicated mineral resources and 1.10 million oz of inferred mineral resources.
