The move fits Gold Fields’ ambitions of expanding across the Americas, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere, despite investor concerns over populist policies and risks of higher mining taxes there.
Chief executive officer Chris Griffith, who qualified the acquisition of Yamana as a “monster deal”, said the transaction provided a solution to the relatively short lifespan of Gold Fields’ existing operations.
Griffith also said Gold Fields has been looking for assets that would complement its growth strategy and provide operational synergies.
“That’s what the Yamana assets do, they tick all those boxes for us. They bring high quality assets in Canada, Chile and Brazil, with great pipeline projects in both Canada and Argentina in particular,” Griffith said in a presentation.
The Toronto-based miner’s asset portfolio includes the development-stage Wasamac project in Quebec, Jacobina gold mine in Brazil, Cerro Moro…
