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Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (32169)	2/4/2009 12:03:05 PM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 193918

Organic, acquisitive growth 'definitely on the cards' for new B2Gold miningweekly.com By: Liezel Hill Published on 3rd February 2009 TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Vancouver-based B2Gold hopes to expand into an intermediate gold producer and sees an opportunity to serve as a “consolidator” in the junior gold space, president and CEO Clive Johnson said on Tuesday. The exploration and development company already has its sights on gold production of 130 000 oz/y by year-end, after signing a definitive agreement to buy Central Sun mining. Central Sun mines gold at its 45 000-oz/y Limon operation, in Nicaragua, and the two firms expect to restart the company's Orosi mine in the third quarter of this year. B2Gold, which trumped a previous offer from another junior looking for an easy route to production – Linear Gold, believes it can grow rapidly into an intermediate gold firm, Johnson said on a conference call with analysts and investors. Both organic and acquisitive growth are “definitely on the cards”, he commented. B2Gold will pay 1,28 of its own shares for every Central Sun share, which represented a 45% premium over the firms' closing prices on the last day before the transaction was announced. While Central Sun brings a source of cash flow to the table, B2Gold has an equally strong hand, in the form of a healthy balance sheet. The company has been looking at a number of cash-strapped gold juniors as potential targets, and identified Central Sun as company to which it could “add a lot of value”, Johnson said. Last year, Central Sun had to halt a project to convert the Orosi operation to conventional milling to improve gold recoveries, because of cash constraints and difficulties in raising the necessary funds. As an immediate measure, Central Sun will issue a convertible debenture of up to C$10-million to B2Gold, and will use the proceeds to fund immediate working requirements and development spending at the Orosi mine. B2Gold has C$55-million in cash and cash equivalents, which is enough to cover the capital expenditure needed to bring the Orosi mine into production by year-end, and to sustain production levels of 130 000 oz/y thereafter, the company said. B2Gold is exploring properties in Colombia and Panama, as well as around Kinross Gold's Kupol mine, in Russia. It's most advanced prospect is the Gramalote project, which it operates but owns in joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti. While the immediate priority will be getting Orosi up and running, the company will also look at completing a scoping study and hopefully moving towards a production decision at Gramalote, Johnson said. The large shareholders of the merged entity will read as quite a 'who's who' of gold mining, as Johannesburg-based AngloGold Ashanti will hold 10, 3%, Kinross Gold will have 5,2% and fellow Canadian Yamana Gold will own 4,2%. Directors, management and employees will own 23,3% of the enlarged company.