News

April 15, 2009

Avocet Mining Buys West Africa Specialist Wega Gold To Take Production Up Towards 300,000 Ounces Of Gold Per Year

By Alastair Ford

“I don’t remember a bank holiday”, says Jonathan Henry, chief executive of Avocet Mining. That’s because while the rest of us were munching on chocolate eggs, Jonathan was busy nailing down the last facets of a deal that will see Avocet’s aspiration to becoming a mid-tier gold producer fulfilled. Thus it was that on Monday night, when the rest of us had sunk back into armchairs, duly contemplating our indigestion, he crossed the last “t” and dotted the last “i”, and issued out to market the news that Avocet is to acquire Oslo-listed Wega Gold for US$78.4 million, the consideration to be paid in Avocet shares. Avocet will also assume Wega’s outstanding debts.

No question then that the news would be in analysts inboxes first thing Tuesday morning, and having digested said news early the relevant analysts were duly summoned for a briefing at 11am. Jonathan spoke to the press some time later, in a series of telephone interviews conducted from somewhere inside of the dark heart of Cazenove. 

One ramification of all this is that the image of planet earth that’s pictured on the home page of Avocet’s website is going to have to start rotating,...