BHP Billiton Plc (LON:BLT) entered into an agreement with Guyana Goldfields Inc. to acquire its 6.1 per cent interest in SolGold Plc (SolGold), the majority owner and operator of the Cascabel porphyry copper-gold project in Ecuador.
BHP Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Mackenzie, commented: the investment in SolGold would give BHP exposure to a high quality copper exploration project in Ecuador, which is a highly prospective location for BHP.
“Consistent with our positive long-term outlook, copper is a key exploration focus for BHP as we seek to replenish our resource base and grow this important business.”
Under the terms of the agreement with Guyana, BHP will acquire 103.1 million shares in SolGold. SolGold is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The purchase price payable by BHP is 26.592 pence per SolGold share, representing a 20 per cent premium to the 20 day volume-weighted average LSE price of 22.16 pence per share as determined on 4 September 2018.
