News overnight that after a four-week standoff it is rumoured that Nevada’s Newmont Corporation and Australia’s Newcrest Mining are set to talk.
The subject for discussion is the February $24.5bn bid by Newmont for Newcrest Mining, the Australian partner with Greatland Gold (LON:GGP) in the important Haveiron gold prospect.
Approach rejected
The Newcrest Board rejected the unsolicited approach a month ago, with immediate reactions that its business was worth a great deal more than Newmont was offering.
Previously the two sides had not been talking about the bid, but news overnight has suggested that the two sides could well be getting around to a meeting to discuss the bid and its values.
It is suggested that if the two groups sit down together then Newcrest will be given the opportunity to show its gold and copper mines and projects interests in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Canada.
Show me yours
That display of value would also see the Newcrest Mining interest in the Havieron gold-copper project Greatland Gold’s flagship project which is next to Newcrest’s major Telfer gold mine in the Paterson region of Western Australia.
Greatland Gold Investor Roadshows
Investors are getting excited about Greatland Gold’s potential, while the company is currently underway with a series of UK and European roadshows.
Could this be good news for the group
Newmont is the world’s largest gold company, so the combination of the two majors would create an absolute mining giant in Australia.
The thoughts are that perhaps Greatland Gold’s interest in Haveiron is too close to Newcrest’s Telfer producer and not to be dismissed as an acquisition interest – such a purchase would be ‘pure petty cash’ to the giants but highly beneficial to Greatland.
On the other hand, Greatland Gold could perhaps be given the opportunity to purchase out Newcrest’s 70% stake in the Havieron joint venture.
Either way shareholders could be the winners
Private investors now seem to be thinking that either way Greatland Gold shareholders could be on the winning side.
Greatland Gold, which has a proven track record of discovery and exploration success has a number of exploration projects across Western Australia, is currently valued at around £372m, with its shares trading at 7.20p.