SHANDONG Gold Mining has made a takeover offer for Cardinal Resources, owner of the Namdini mine project in Ghana.
Cardinal Resources is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. On June 18 the company announced that it has entered into a bid implementation agreement with Shandong Gold Mining (Hong Kong) Co, under which Shandong Gold has agreed to acquire 100% of Cardinal, valuing the company at around US$230 million. The offer price is significantly higher than an offer made in March by Moscow headquartered Nordgold.
According to the Cardinal Resources Feasibility Study, which was released October 28 2019, the Namdini Gold project has a published gold ore reserve of 5.1 million ounces.
Shandong Gold will shortly submit its application to the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). It is anticipated that the FIRB approval process would be completed within the usual timeframe. The offer is also conditional upon Shandong Gold obtaining approval from the following regulatory bodies of the People’s Republic of China: the National Development and Reform Commission; the Ministry of Commerce; the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Cardinal’s directors, who collectively hold approximately 6.37% of Cardinal’s ordinary shares, intend to accept the Shandong Gold offer.
“We have tremendous respect for the Cardinal organization for the manner in which it has advanced Namdini to its current development status,” says Shandong Gold chairman, Li Guohong. He added that Shandong would build on the close working relationships established by Cardinal in Ghana.
Shandong Gold is currently the largest gold producer in China, and also has substantial mining interests in Argentina. It is listed on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges, and as of June 18 had a market capitalization of US$14.5 billion. In 2019, Shandong Gold produced mined gold of 1.273 million ounces and generated revenue of US$9 billion.
Shandong Gold is 48% owned by Shandong Gold Group Co, which is ultimately controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shandong Province of China.
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Credit: The Asset
