Evolution Mining’s board of directors and Cowal Gold Operation employees met last Friday as a new era began at the local gold mine.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Evolution Mining recently acquired the gold mine from Barrick Pty Ltd and last Friday was the first day of operation under the new management.
Jake Klein, executive chairman of Evolution Mining, said that the purchase of the Cowal Gold Operation was one of the most exciting days of his career.
“It is a remarkable achievement for Evolution to take ownership of a mine of such high quality and it is something that we at Evolution could only dream about a few years ago,” said Mr Klein.
“We are in the stages of building a globally relevant mid-tier gold company and acquiring Cowal is a huge step toward that goal.”
“To say that we are excited is an understatement.”
Cowal general manager, Alan Fearon, acknowledged the hard work by all employees over the past 10 years under Barrick to make the mine such a success.
“While we are very excited about the future prospects with Evolution, it is important to remember our roots, where Cowal came from and who made it the success it is today. Ultimately, that comes down to the hard work of our employees,” said Mr Fearon.
Mr Fearon said that while there may be some minor operational changes over the coming months, it was business as usual for the mine.
“The local community have been strong supporters of the Cowal Gold Operation for well over a decade, and the commitments we have made under Barrick will continue to be delivered under Evolution,” said Mr Fearon.
“For example, the Cowal Partnering Program will continue this year with the next round of funding due to close on Friday, 28th August.”
After brief presentations to the workforce, Evolution’s board of directors enjoyed an informal barbeque lunch with site employees followed by a tour of the maintenance workshops, the processing plant and the open cut pit.
Details of the deal…
Evolution Mining is described as a leading, growth-focussed Australian gold miner, which previously operated five wholly-owned mines – Cracow, Mt Carlton, Mt Rawdon and Pajingo in Queensland and Edna May in Western Australia. Group production last financial year totalled 427,703 ounces of gold.
On April 20 Evolution announced that it had entered into a binding agreement with La Mancha Group International BV to acquire 100 per cent of La Mancha’s Australian operations.
On May 25 the company announced that it had entered into an agreement with Barrick (Australia Pacific) to acquire the Cowal gold mine through the US$550 million purchase of 100 per cent of the shares in Barrick (Cowal).
The Cowal gold mine is one of Australia’s most attractive gold assets - A large scale, long life operation with estimated annual production of 230,000 to 260,000 ounces of gold at $850–$900 (Australian) per ounce.
