Cage, I own some shares in NEM. The last time I talked to NEM management, the feeling that I got was that they were looking for properties that would put out lots of ounces per year. Penasquito certainly fits the bill (at close to 400k oz Au + byproducts). I don't know how interested they would be in GLG's other operations, since they are small by NEM standards. Here are the NEM projects in the pipleine that will be in production over the next couple of years. The smallest is 300-350 k oz per year:
NEM Projects in Pipeline (Equity ounces)
Boddington: 600-675 k oz
Leeville: 400-450 k oz
Pheonix: 300-350 k oz
Ahfano: 500-550 k oz
Akyem: 475-525 k oz
Compare that to GLG's Properties (Equity ounces):
Marigold: 118 k oz
El Sauzal: 217 k oz
San Martin: 80 k oz
Penasquito: 387 k oz (Gold Equivalent 1,339 k oz)
That being said, I'm sure that GLG will team up with someone who has the financial muscle and cash on hand to pay for the development of Penasquito. Since GLG has a market cap of around $CDN 7B, it would have to be a pretty big company.
Candidates among the gold miners with sufficient market cap would include:
- Barrick
- Newmont
- Anglogold-Ashanti
- Goldcorp
- Goldfields
- Kinross
Maybe some other companies that are interested in the base metals components. Here's a couple that have recently been foiled in takeover attemps, and who might be looking for something to buy:
- Phelps Dodge
- Teck Cominco (70% JV partner in San Nicholas property)
Company Market Cap.($Mil)
Barrick Gold Corp. 28,539
Phelps Dodge 18,985
Newmont Mining 17,511
Teck Cominco Ltd. 16,188
Goldcorp Inc. 10,338
Anglogold Ashanti Ltd. 10,195
Gold Fields 8,653
Glamis Gold 6,862
Harmony Gold 5,652
Kinross Gold 4,555 |
