Officials at Alamos Gold announced a friendly acquisition of Esperanza Resources Corp. through a court-approved plan. Esperanza is a precious metals explorer and developer focused on its 100%-owned Esperanza gold project.
Alamos CEO John A. McCluskey called Esperanza “an excellent strategic fit within our existing portfolio,” with a major undeveloped open-pit target in Mexico. At less than 5% of capitalization, according to McCluskey, the takeover gives “potential to grow production in Mexico by more than 50%.”
“Alamos Gold is an industry leader with the financial and technical capacity to continue advancing the Esperanza gold project,” said Esperanza CEO Greg Smith. The transaction values Esperanza equity at $69.4 million on a fully diluted in-the-money basis.
Esperanza’s primary advanced-stage Mexican asset itself is an open-pit, heap leach project with sustaining costs below $900/oz, according to company officials, with measured and indicated resources of 1.5 million gold oz and 16 million silver oz. Esperanza also has interests elsewhere in Mexico and Peru.
