Gold Fields sells stake in Sino Gold for $282 million
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Gold Fields (GFIJ.J), the world's fourth-biggest gold producer, said on Wednesday it had sold for $282 million its 19.9 percent stake in Sino Gold Mining Ltd. SGX.AX to Canada's Eldorado Gold Corp (ELD.TO).
Under the deal, South Africa's Gold Fields will receive a share exchange ratio of 48 Eldorado shares for every 100 Sino Gold shares, resulting in Gold Fields holding 27.8 million shares in Eldorado or about 7 percent in the gold producer with exploration mainly in Brazil, China, Greece and Turkey.
Sino, which owns China's second-largest gold mine, is targeting production of a half million ounces a year from its Jinfeng gold mine in Guizhou Province, and is also developing another mine in the northern Jilin Province.
Nick Holland, Gold Fields' Chief Executive Officer, said the sale did not detract from the firms strategy to grow its international production, because it would retain some exploration joint ventures with Sino in China's Jinshu project.
Holland said Gold Fields would also strengthen its own team in China, to allow for independent growth in that country, which is the world's biggest gold producer.
"We have definitely not changed course and our aspiration to grow production in each of our three international regions, West Africa, South America and Australasia, to at least 1 million ounces per annum, within a three to five year time horizon, remains intact," Holland said.
(Reporting by James Macharia)
