There are plenty of deals happening in the lead up to the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in Toronto, with Equinox Gold (TSX:EQX) and Calibre Mining (TSX:CXB) among the companies announcing a merger.
The pair have entered into a definitive agreement for a merger to elevate the combined company to the status of second largest gold producer in Canada.
Under the deal, Calibre shareholders will receive 0.31 of an Equinox Gold share for every Calibre share held.
Calibre and Equinox have market capitalisations of C$2.4 billion ($2.6 billion) and C$4.2 billion, respectively. The implied market value of the larger company on completion of the merger is estimated at C$7.7 billion.
Equinox says the deal will create an Americas-focused diversified gold producer with a portfolio of operating mines in five countries anchored by two high-quality, long-life, low-cost Canadian gold mines.
The Greenstone Mine in Ontario reached commercial production in November 2024 while the Valentine Gold Mine in Newfoundland and Labrador is nearing construction completion, with first gold pour targeted for mid-2025.
Collectively, the two operations are expected to produce an average of 590,000 ounces of gold per year at full production.
The larger company is expected to produce around 950,000 ounces of gold in 2025, not including production from Valentine or Los Filos, and has the potential to produce more than 1.2 million ounces of gold each year with Greenstone and Valentine operating at capacity.
Calibre Chair Blayne Johnson says the merger creates a major gold producer with a solid foundation of two brand-new, high-quality, long-life mines: Greenstone and Valentine.
“Positioned in Canada’s top gold regions, this combination transforms New Equinox Gold into the country’s second-largest gold producer,” he says.
“With a strong portfolio of highly profitable and prospective assets across the United States, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Brazil, the company is well-positioned for long-term growth.”
On completion of the transaction, existing Equinox shareholders and former Calibre shareholders will own about 65% and 35% of the outstanding common shares of the combined company, respectively, on a fully diluted in-the-money basis.
The combined operations will include executives from both Equinox and Calibre, with Equinox’s current CEO, Greg Smith, remaining in the role and Calibre’s current CEO, Darren Hall, joining management as President and Chief Operating Officer.
Meanwhile, Fury Gold Mines (TSX:FURY) and Quebec Precious Metals (TSX-V:QPM) are also merging, news that sent the latter’s share price up nearly 17% to close at C$0.035 on Wednesday (26 February).
The two companies have entered into an agreement under which Fury Gold is offering Quebec Precious Metals (QPM) shareholders 0.0741 of a Fury Gold share for every QPM share held.
This values the deal at C$0.04 per QPM share, a 33% premium to the closing price of both companies’ shares on 25 February.
Fury Gold has a capitalisation of C$80.5 million, while QPM’s market value is around C$3.6 million.
The deal consolidates a prospective gold and critical minerals exploration portfolio totalling over 157,000 hectares in Québec, according to Fury.
Fury Gold CEO Tim Clark says the transaction doubles the company’s land package in the Eeyou Istchee territory in the James Bay Region.
“Combining QPM’s gold and critical minerals portfolio of exploration projects with Fury’s projects and strong balance sheet will not only help improve cost efficiency but also add to the potential for new discoveries,” he says.
QPM CEO Normand Champigny says the company’s shareholders will benefit from the synergies and cost savings of leveraging the combined company’s skilled management team for funding and obtaining required permits to continue drilling at its flagship Sakami Project.
“We believe that the transaction with Fury offers QPM shareholders a high potential for share price appreciation in the current gold market environment,” Champigny says.
“The transaction demonstrates the progress made with our exploration work to date. Fury has the ability to rapidly advance our assets to identify a large gold mineral resource.”
Over 50,000m of drilling has been undertaken at Sakami which has identified gold mineralisation within two zones, La Pointe and La Pointe Extension, along the boundary between the Opinaca and the La Grande Geological sub-Provinces.
This year Fury plans to advance targets at Sakami to the drilling stage following a reinterpretation of the geology and geophysics paired with systematic geochemical sampling.
QPM also owns lithium and rare earths projects in Québec.
On completion of the merger, existing Fury and QPM shareholders will own about 95% and 5% of the combined company, respectively, on an undiluted basis.
Fury Gold plans to remain listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange under the same name and ticker.
The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention kicks off this coming Sunday 2 March and runs to Wednesday 5 March.
Companies attending the event include American Salars Lithium (CSE:USLI), American Rare Earths (ASX:ARR), Faraday Copper (TSX:FDY), Military Metals (CSE:MILI), Power Metallic Mines (formerly Power Nickel) (TSX-V:PNPN), Q2 Metals (TSX-V:QTWO), Kingsrose Mining (ASX:KRM) and Olympio Metals (ASX:OLY).
The annual convention brings together up to 30,000 attendees from over 130 countries for its educational programming, networking events, as well as business and investment opportunities.
Mining.com.au is an official media partner for the event. To register for PDAC 2025 click here.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: PDAC & Quebec Precious Metals
