Cda Mines Boosts Stake In Australian Mine

Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. said Wednesday it has paid $18 million to become an equal partner in an Australian gold mine.

The agreement gives Coeur and Sons of Gwalia Ltd. equal share of Gasgoyne Gold Mines Ltd., a company that owns half of the Yilgarn Star Mine in Western Australia and part of an Indonesian mine.

The deal boosts Coeur’s stake in Gasgoyne from 36.2 percent to 50 percent.

Sons of Gwalia, a West Perth, Australian firm that last year bid against Coeur for control of Gasgoyne, sold the 13.8 percent stake to the North Idaho firm.

The Yilgarn mine annually produces 135,000 ounces of gold. Coeur’s share will be 34,000 ounces.

Coeur Chairman Dennis Wheeler said in a statement that the deal “gives us a platform to continue to grow our business in this strong mining country.”

Gasgoyne also holds a 45 percent interest in the Awak Mas Gold project in Indonesia. It has entered into an agreement to sell its interests to another firm for $15 million in cash, future royalties and stock.

Coeur in late 1995 paid $18.4 million for its initial 20 percent stake in Gasgoyne. Earlier this year, the Coeur and Sons of Gwalia successfully bid to share control of the company.

Coeur will place its Gasgoyne holding under a newly created subsidiary, Coeur Australia Ltd.

, DataTimes