Red Back Mining Inc. is an unhedged Vancouver based mineral resource company. Its focus is West Africa where it operates the Chirano Gold Project in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and the Tasiast Gold Mine in

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

. It has one division, Red Back Mining NL, based in

Perth, Australia Perth () is the capital city of Western Australia. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The world's most isolated major city by certain criteria, Perth is part of the ...

. While independent it was considered one of Canada's

Largest gold companies Gold mining companies can be ranked by various metrics, including annual production, cash costs per ounce, and market capitalization. The most common rankings are based on either total gold output (in ounces) or market capitalization, which refle ...

with a

market capitalization Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...

of $ 5.8 billion or 3/4 as much as the 10th largest gold mining company in the world however at the time its key mines hadn't yet reached full potential or critical mass. In May 2010, there was an announcement of a

private placement Private placement (or non-public offering) is a funding round of securities which are sold not through a public offering, but rather through a private offering, mostly to a small number of chosen investors. Generally, these investors include frien ...

in which one of the world's largest gold mining companies

Kinross Gold Kinross Gold Corporation is a Canadian-based gold mining, gold and silver mining company founded in 1993 and headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Kinross currently operates six active gold mines, and was ranked fifth of the "10 Top Gold-mini ...

will purchase 9.4% of Red Back's

outstanding shares Shares outstanding are all the shares of a corporation that have been authorized, issued and purchased by investors and are held by them. They are distinguished from treasury shares, which are shares held by the corporation itself, thus representi ...

. When the deal is completed Kinross will be the company's largest shareholder next to Fidelity Management which currently owns 6%. On August 3, 2010 an announcement was made by Kinross offering to merge Red Back into Kinross with Kinross paying $7.1 billion for all outstanding shares of Red Back. The price offered was 15% above the current price of Red Back stock. According to Tye W. Burt, Kinross’s President, Red Back has reserves Kinross has the ability to develop. On September 15, 2010 two thirds of Kinross Gold's shareholders voted in favour of the USD 7.2 billion deal to acquire Red Back Mining (99% of Red Back's shareholders approved the deal). Despite opposition from an advisor to Kinross's Investors (and others who estimate the company is overpaying for Red Back based on reserves estimates), KGC plans to close the deal within days of the approval. Red Back Mining was delisted from the Australian stock exchange in May 2004. Delisted from Toronto stock exchange in May 2004.

History

In 2003 it was formed after a merger between Red Back Mining NL of Australia and Champion Resources Inc of Canada. Its flagship mine, Chirano began producing gold in 4th quarter of 2005 through its subsidiary Chirano Gold Mines Limited (CGML). In August 2007 acquired the Tasiast gold mine from Lundin Mining Corporation for 225 million USD which opened on July 18, 2007. The Chirano mine produced 30,427 ounces of gold its first year and was scheduled to produce 123,000 ounces in each of the next 8.5 years. 2007 saw a 76% increase in gold production on a rising gold price; acquisitions; and higher probable reserve estimates for its key mines. In 2009 it failed in its attempt to acquire Moto Goldmines whose key asset was a 70% stake in one of Africa's largest undeveloped gold deposits.

Production in 2010 and 2009

The company produced 342,085 ounces in 2009, a 31% increase over 2008 production, and has set a target of 800,000 oz for 2012. Red Back's 90% share of Chirano and 100% share of Tasiast produced 402,000 ounces of gold equivalent in 2010. The Tasiast Mine produced 158,660 oz in 2009, 185,000 in 2010 (2010 was previously forecast to be 245-265,000 ounces). The Chirano Mine produced 185,425 oz in 2009, 240-260,000 oz projected for 2010. 4.4 million ounces of gold. Cash operating costs per ounce in 2009 rose to $391 compared to $325–$350 for the previous year.{{cite web, url=http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/26022010/28/link-f-ccnmatthews-red-reports-record-net-income-109-million-2009.html, archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707003824/http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/26022010/28/link-f-ccnmatthews-red-reports-record-net-income-109-million-2009.html, url-status=dead, archive-date=2012-07-07, title=Red Back Production to grow to 500,000 oz in 2010, date=2010-02-26

Main areas of exploration

*Mauritania - Tasiast *Ghana - Chirano, Bolgatanga (in cooperation with

Etruscan Resources Endeavour Mining plc is a multinational mining company that owns and operates gold mines in Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Senegal. The company is headquartered in London, England, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is a constitue ...

Inc.), Ahafo North, Bibiani North, Akyem, Enchi, and Bole.

References

Gold mining companies of Canada Companies based in Vancouver

History

Production in 2010 and 2009

Main areas of exploration

See also

References