SA gold miner Aurous Resources to go public
Aurous Resources, which owns and operates the Blyvoor gold mine and Gauta tailings plant in Gauteng, announced on Monday that it planned to go public in a deal with US-based Rigel Resources Acquisition.
The $362m (R6.75bn) transaction would cause it to be listed on the Nasdaq, with a possible dual listing on the JSE in the medium term, subject to interest, Aurous CEO Richard Floyd told Business Day.
“This transaction represents one of the first significant gold industry deals in SA in some time and is expected to enable Blyvoor to expand its underground infrastructure, enhance surface infrastructure and optimise operations by achieving economies of scale,” Floyd said in a statement.
The deal will unlock about $50m of capital for Aurous that will be put towards projects aimed at ramping up Blyvoor Mine gold production to an average of 150,000oz per year.
The company now produces about 25,000oz a year, most recently at an all-in-sustaining cost of $1,137 an ounce.
Production growth and optimisation that will result from investments made after the conclusion of the deal are expected ultimately to cause these costs to fall to about $815 an ounce.
Rigel CEO Jon Lamb said they were “thrilled” to combine with a “cash-positive, debt-light” target such as Aurous, which is expected to deliver strong growth.
“This transaction and associated influx of foreign investment into SA has the potential to enable further meaningful job creation, continued revitalisation of the local community and recapitalisation of Africa’s precious metals industry, all of which we expect will be well received by the relevant SA authorities,” Floyd said.
Since the restart of production from the Blyvoor Mine in 2022, Aurous has been able to re-employ about 1,500 workers who had been unemployed after the closure of the mine in 2013.
The deal, which has been approved by the boards of Aurous and Rigel, is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to approvals.