Mariana Resources Announces Investment By AngloGold

PUBLISHED: 18 Nov 2011 @ 02:24 | Comments (0) |

In a statement released on Thursday, Mariana Resources (LSE:MARL), an AIM listed mining firm based out of Australia, announced that it has agreed to the terms of an investment by AngloGold Ashanti Limited, giving the gold giant a 19.9% stake in the company. Mariana was up 32% in mid-day trading on Friday.

Deal Details

Subject to regulatory approval, the deal gives Mariana £5,400,000 in proceeds from the sale of 45 million ordinary shares. The price for these shares, 12p, is a 41% premium to Mariana’s closing price of 8.50p according to the statement.

The proceeds of the deal will go towards Mariana’s 70% owned Las Calandrias gold-silver project at Sierra Blanca in the Santa Cruz province of Argentina.

Key Terms of the Deal

According to the statement, Mariana must use 75% of the proceeds of the deal developing their epithermal gold-silver deposits in the Deseado Massif, Santa Cruz province, Argentina. AngloGold has the right to appoint a non-executive chairman to the board of Mariana and participate in any future equity offerings so they have the chance to maintain their share of the company. The two businesses will also form a technical advisory committee to meet at least quarterly to consider the progress of operations in Argentina.

Executive Chairman Comments

The Executive Chairman of Mariana, John Horsburgh, commented on the deal:

“We view the transaction with AngloGold, one of the world’s leading gold producers, as a major endorsement of Las Calandrias Project and its potential to develop into a top tier project with a significant mineral endowment.”

“This alliance further serves to support our belief in the prospectivity of Mariana’s extensive 160,000 hectare land position in Santa Cruz, which includes our second gold-silver discovery at the Sierra Blanca Project. The region contains a number of significant gold-silver mines and projects including AngloGold’s Cerro Vanguardia operation.”

“This transaction is further recognition by AngloGold of our management’s extensive knowledge base and experience in Santa Cruz and our exploration team’s achievements in such a short time frame. As a result of this arrangement, Mariana will now have access to AngloGold’s technical expertise, representing a significant step up in the Company’s advancement of its Argentinean assets.”

References
↑ Mariana Press Release

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