Dublin and London-listed explorer Minmet is to sell its Swedish gold mine for $8 million (€6.5 million) in a deal announced yesterday.
The company said that it had agreed to sell the entire share capital of its Swedish arm, Bjorkdalsgruvan AB, to Gold Ore Resources Ltd of Vancouver, Canada.
The Swedish operation's assets include a gold mine, reserves and, milling and crushing plants at Bjorkdal in the north of the country. Under the terms of the deal, Gold Ore will pay Minmet a total of $8 million, made up of $3 million in cash up front and $5 million in cash or share equivalent on completing the share purchase equivalent.
The Canadian company intends completing a due diligence review of Bjorkdalsgruvan within 120 days.
It will give Minmet an option payment of €25,000 and further monthly payments of €25,000 during this time.
Minmet will not be able to sell any shares issued to it as part of the deal for four months.
However, the company said yesterday that it may opt to hold the stock as a long-term investment, and as a result could become a significant shareholder in Gold Ore.
Gold Ore plans to work with Bjorkdal's existing management and intends investing in new exploration and drilling to expand the Swedish operation's ore base.
It will also go ahead with an underground mining pilot plan scheduled to begin later this month.
