This acquisition is expected to strengthen Triple Flag’s position as the world’s fourth-largest senior streaming and royalty company.
The merged business will retain the Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp. brand and is projected to have a more diversified portfolio offering ‘strong’ cash flows.
The combined business will remain based in Toronto, Ontario, and own 29 paying assets and 228 overall assets.
Triple Flag expects the consolidation to add to its net asset value and cash flow per share, further stating that the merged company will have ‘greater scale’.
Under the definitive agreement, Maverix shareholders will have the option to receive either $3.92 in cash or 0.360 of a Triple Flag share for each share held in Maverix.
This represents a 10% premium to Maverix’s last close.
In a press statement, Triple Flag said: “The shareholder election will be subject to pro-ration such that the cash consideration will not exceed 15% of the total consideration and the share consideration will not exceed 85% of the total consideration.”
However, Maverix shareholders not opting for either Triple Flag shares or cash will have to accept a default consideration of 0.360 Triple Flag shares for each share held.
Triple Flag founder and CEO Shaun Usmar said: “This transaction creates the world’s leading gold-focused emerging senior streaming and royalty company, bringing together two complementary portfolios in a compelling combination.
“Triple Flag’s portfolio, with a strategic emphasis on larger, cash-generating assets, with more than 90% by NAV associated with producing mines, is complemented by Maverix’s highly diversified portfolio of 148 royalties and streams, with paying assets equating to around 60% of NAV.”
Upon deal completion, which is anticipated in January 2023, Triple Flag shareholders will own a 77% stake in the combined entity while Maverix shareholders will hold the remaining 23% interest.
In accordance with the agreement, Triple Flag would be allowed to match superior proposals and receive a $24m termination fee.
The deal is currently pending regulatory and court clearances.
It has already received the approval of the two companies’ boards, with the Maverix board recommending that Maverix shareholders vote in the deal’s favour in the special meeting scheduled in January next year.
Maverix founder and chair Geoff Burns said: “The increased scale of the combined company, with its highly complementary portfolios and a knowledgeable and supportive shareholder base, will provide real competitive advantages and should attract a premium valuation, to the benefit of both sets of shareholders.”
Under Stage 1, the SMP refinery is expected to produce 10,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) of nickel and 2,000mtpa of cobalt metal cathode starting in Q1 2024.
In a press statement, Jervois said: “While not part of the restart, over time, Jervois will target the historic nameplate SMP capacity of 25,000mtpa of nickel via debottlenecking, including further investment.
“Assessment of the potential addition of a pressure oxidative autoclave (POX), is in progress, with its scope and potential release linked with third-party concentrate sale negotiations.”
The Australian company said it has increased the total capital needed for the SMP refinery project restart from the earlier estimate of $55m to $65m.
Furthermore, Jervois plans to undertake a fully underwritten A$231m ($150m) equity capital raising to fully fund the restart of the SMP nickel-cobalt refinery.
The equity-raising proceeds will also be used by Jervois to enhance its Idaho cobalt operations and for mine-sustaining capital expenditure and other general corporate activities.
In September 2022, Jervois secured an environmental installation licence for the SMP nickel cobalt refinery from the São Paulo State environmental regulator, Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo (CETESB).
Located in an industrial zone in São Paulo, the SMP nickel and cobalt electrolytic refinery began operations in 1981.
Designed and constructed by Outotec , the facility was placed on care and maintenance in 2016 by Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio (CBA), a subsidiary of Votorantim.
At that time, CBA also placed its Niquelândia mine and processing plant in Brazil on care and maintenance in the wake of weaker market conditions. Niquelândia provided nickel carbonate to the SMP Refinery.
Jervois purchased the refinery from CBA in 2020. The SMP Refinery had a 25,000mtpa production capacity of refined nickel cathode and 2,000mtpa of refined cobalt cathode.
In-line water driven foam proportioning pumps have become more and more popular in the last decade. Their low pressure drop and accurate foam proportioning over a wide range of flows are necessary in many systems. But this technology is not simple: the equipment on the market until now is quite complicated and sensitive to contamination and over speeding. The new Turbinator water driven foam proportioning pump developed by Knowsley SK effectively solves these problems, making this technology the preferred choice for a wide range of fire fighting systems.
Precision proportioning – Always
The Turbinator is a positive displacement foam proportioning pump designed for Fixed and Mobile applications. The unit is driven by a special volumetric water motor which is directly coupled to a precision gear foam pump. Because both parts of the Turbinator are positive displacement devices, the ratio of foam concentrate to firewater is fixed over the full operating range. This makes Turbinator the ideal proportioning technology for systems with different flows, such as multi-legged deluge systems, sprinkler systems and mobile large incident equipment.
The Turbinator unit does not require setting up or on-site adjustment – the proportioning rate is achieved at any flow rate and pressure within the operating range.
MAXI Turbinator installed on fixed skid feeding foam pouring systems on storage tanks and bunds.
Technology built to last – Forever
With Turbinator technology, Knowsley introduced a flexible, abrasion resistant paddle material in the water motor which gives the unit its unique wear characteristics. The usual contamination present in fire water does not damage the paddles. Overspeed up to 120% of the nominal flow, which can occur during automatically controlled activation of large systems, does not damage the unit. In addition, the Turbinator resists dry running in accordance with NFPA20.
Design and installation: Simple as 1-2-3
The close-coupled design offers a very compact and efficient installation with just three connections: fire water inlet (1), foam concentrate inlet (2) and foam solution outlet (3). The unit can be installed directly into vertical or horizontal piping systems. The Turbinator foam pump delivers 3m suction height easily, which makes it possible to install the foam concentrate tank below the unit installation level – even with high viscosity concentrates in arctic conditions (thick foams). Simple, cost effective atmospheric foam tanks are fine for Turbinator.
With its unique low differential pressure, Turbinator fits in the most complicated systems, even when long pipe runs or static pressure loss are involved. Turbinator does not require external power supply or control circuits and is safe for any ATEX environment.
The Turbinator is available in 3 sizes from 500 l/min to 12’000 l/min with proportioning of 1% and 3% with freshwater and saltwater construction. Each Turbinator built in our Manchester, UK factory is 100% functionally tested on a high flow test rig through its whole operating range ensuring functionality at all times.
Managers of petrochemical, refining, power, offshore, pulp and paper and other facilities with extensive hot processes and piping systems are frequently challenged with performing all the necessary coatings maintenance work only during periods of outages. Outages are required so that process equipment can be properly maintained and repaired including cleaning of pipelines and vessels, maintenance and replacement of pumps, motors and valves, maintenance coating operations, and other work that can only be accomplished when the operations are shut down.
When coatings work has to be performed on areas where elevated temperatures are involved, many think that the facility has to be shut down. This may not be the case.
A question frequently posed by facility managers is, “Can I do maintenance painting work while the plant is operating?” As described below, the answer is, “Yes you can, but there are safety and health issues that must be considered”.
Dangers to personnel must be managed regardless of when or where work is performed.
Safety and health considerations
There is a range of safety and health hazards that must be considered on every industrial maintenance painting project, whether the coating material is being applied to hot steel or not. Some of these include proper material handling and storage, fall protection, control of fire and explosion hazards, and exposure to noise, heavy metals, solvents and other health risks.
These risks must be properly evaluated and controlled on every industrial maintenance painting project, regardless of when or where the work is performed. While present on any job, when applying specialty coatings to hot surfaces, some safety and health issues should receive additional consideration.
Flammable and combustible liquids in many coatings (solvents) can vaporize and form flammable mixtures in the air, especially when atomized during spray application or heated. The degree of hazard depends on the following:
The auto ignition temperature (AIT) of the coating material is the single most important issue when applying coatings to hot operating equipment. AIT is defined (by the National Safety Council publication Accident Prevention Manual For Business and Industry: Engineering & Technology) as “…the minimum temperature at which a flammable gas-air or vapour-air mixture will ignite from its own heat source or contact with a heated surface without the presence of an open spark or flame.”
The concept of flash point as defined by NFPA 30 is “the minimum temperature of a liquid at which sufficient vapour is given off to form an ignitable mixture with the air, near the surface of the liquid”. In other words, the flash point describes the temperature of the liquid that is high enough to generate enough vapour to create a flame if a source of ignition were introduced.
For vapours of flammable liquids, there is a minimum concentration below which the spread of the flame does not occur when in contact with a source of ignition. This is the Lower Flammable Limit (LFL). There is a maximum concentration of vapour in the air above which the spread of the flame does not occur. This is the Upper Flammable Limit (UFL). The flammable range is between the LFL and the UFL, when the concentration of vapours can support combustion.
If safety procedures are followed, outages may not be required while maintenance is performed.
Implementing controls
Applying coatings to hot surfaces increases the rate at which the solvents are driven off. When applying solvent borne coatings to hot surfaces it must be assumed that the concentration of vapours in the air could exceed the LFL (at least for a short time after application). As with coating application to ambient temperature steel, controls must be implemented.
While the LFL is likely to be achieved over a shorter period of time during hot application of coatings than coatings work performed at ambient conditions, the resulting fire hazard exists in both applications. That is, the fire hazard and associated controls must be considered for the application of any solvent-borne flammable coating system, regardless of the work environment. It must be recognized that the fuel component of the fire tetrahedron will be present in both ‘hot’ and ‘ambient’ environments and basic steps must be taken to minimize unnecessary solvent vapours in the work area. In addition, as outlined later, attention must also be directed to eliminating the remaining element of the tetrahedron – the source of ignition.
Controlling flammable vapours
The fuel element of a fire can be reduced by implementing basic controls such as handling and storing flammable liquids in approved, self-closing containers, keeping the number of flammable liquids containers in the work area and in storage areas to the minimum necessary and within allowable (regulatory) limits.
Alkaline detergents such as tri-sodium phosphate may be substituted, followed by surface washing with fresh water or steam cleaning and pH testing of the surface, or non-combustible solvents such as 1,1,1 trichloroethane) for pre-surface preparation solvent cleaning.
Combustible gas indicators should be used to verify that the concentration of flammable vapours is below the LFL. Combustible gas indicators must be calibrated in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and must be approved for use in flammable atmospheres. Operators of the equipment must be trained in proper equipment operation.
Readings should be taken in the general work area and the vicinity of the operator and in areas where there are potential sources of ignition. Typically, units are set to alarm at 10% of the LFL. If the alarm sounds, coatings application work should immediately cease until the concentration of flammable vapours is controlled. The purpose of setting the alarm below the LFL is to provide a safety factor that results in control measures being implemented before there is an imminent danger of fire or explosion.
Monitoring of the flammable vapour concentration will be necessary as the effectiveness of natural ventilation may be variable. If control of flammable vapours requires mechanical ventilation, an occupational safety or health professional or engineer with experience in industrial ventilation should be consulted.
At a minimum, mechanical ventilation systems should provide sufficient capacity to control flammable vapours to below 10% of the LFL by either exhaust ventilation to remove contaminants from the work area or by dilution ventilation through introduction of fresh air to dilute contaminants. As with combustible gas indicators, ventilation equipment must be approved for safe use in flammable atmospheres. In addition, ventilation equipment must be grounded and bonded.
Additional ventilation, if needed, should be continuous during coatings application as concentrations may increase as more surfaces are coated during the course of a work shift, and especially on hot surfaces where the rate of vaporization is higher.
Ventilation during coatings application should be continuous, especially when working on hot surfaces.
Sources of Ignition
When applying coatings to hot surfaces, the first source of ignition that readily comes to mind is the heat from the surface being painted. The AIT of the coating material is the single most important issue when applying coatings to hot operating equipment. The AIT of a substance or mixture is the minimum temperature at which a vapour-air mixture will ignite when in contact with a heated surface, without the presence of any open spark or flame.
The key to controlling this source of ignition is to verify the surfaces being coated are below the AIT of the coatings being applied. While surface temperatures may be known/available in many facilities, all surface areas of the process/piping being painted and/or any equipment adjacent to the items being painted where overspray may deposit should be measured for actual surface temperature. The results should be compared to the AIT of the coating system.
While auto-ignition and open sources of ignition may be readily apparent, a more subtle but nonetheless critical source of ignition to control on any industrial painting project involving flammable solvents involves the production of static electricity. Equipment associated with the spray-painting operation, such as spray application equipment and ventilation equipment, can generate static electricity.
In addition to external sources of ignition, spontaneous ignition can occur when rags or wastes soaked with paint solvents are left in open containers. Spontaneous ignition occurs when the slow generation of heat from oxidation of organic chemicals such as paint solvents is accelerated until the ignition temperature of the fuel is reached.
This condition is reached when the material is packed loosely allowing a large surface area to be exposed, there is enough air circulating around the material for oxidation to occur, but the natural ventilation available is inadequate to carry the heat away fast enough to prevent it from building up.
The offer comprises 153.5 million Pan American Silver shares, 36.1 million Agnico Eagle shares and $1bn in cash.
Pan American offered to acquire all of Yamana Gold’s issued and outstanding common shares.
Yamana Gold would offload certain subsidiaries and partnerships that own stakes in its assets in Canada to Agnico Eagle.
Subsequently, Yamana Gold’s board has determined the latest joint offer to be superior and informed that Gold Fields holds the option to improve its existing offer in five business days.
According to the all-stock deal signed in May 2022, Gold Fields agreed to acquire Yamana Gold for $5bn (C$6.5bn).
The offer values Yamana Gold at $5.02 per share and comprises 153.5 million Pan American Silver shares, 36.1 million Agnico Eagle shares and $1bn in cash.
Under the definitive binding offer, Pan American will acquire all of Yamana Gold’s issued and outstanding common shares.
Yamana Gold would offload certain subsidiaries and partnerships that own stakes in its assets in Canada to Agnico Eagle. These assets include the Canadian Malartic mine, which is claimed to be one of the largest gold mines in the world.
The deal is expected to create Latin America’s major precious metals producer with about 28.5Moz to 30Moz of annual silver production and around 1.1Moz to 1.2Moz of annual gold production.
In May 2022, Yamana Gold signed a definitive agreement with Gold Fields whereby the latter agreed to acquire Yamana in a $6.7bn all-stock deal.
Yamana Gold’s board has determined the latest cash and stock offer to be superior and informed that Gold Fields holds the option to amend its existing proposal in five business days if it wants to.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Gold Fields called its bid for Yamana ‘strategically and financially superior’, adding it will not change the terms of its existing offer.
In a press statement, Yamana Gold said: “At this time, there can be no assurance that the new offer will lead to a termination of the Gold Fields Arrangement Agreement and the execution of a definitive arrangement agreement with the new offerors in respect of the new offer, or that the proposed transaction contemplated by the new offer will be consummated.”
Agnico Eagle president and CEO Ammar Al-Joundi said: “This transaction is a continuation of Agnico Eagle’s strategy to operate in regions where we believe we have a competitive advantage, in this case over 50 years of operating history.”
sisko Gold Royalties has agreed to provide $50m in royalty financing to SolGold to fund the development of the latter’s Cascabel copper-gold property in northeastern Ecuador.
As part of the deal, Osisko will make $50m in an upfront cash payment to SolGold in exchange for a 0.6% net smelter return royalty (NSR ) on the Cascabel property, including SolGold’s Alpala deposit.
The Cascabel property comprises 4,979ha of Andean Copper Belt and is located on the margin of the Eocene and Miocene metallogenic belts, which are claimed to host some of the world’s largest porphyry copper and gold deposits.
Osisko will receive $4m in minimum annual payments under the NSR, beginning in 2030 and until the end of 2039.
SolGold also has a buy-back option, which is exercisable for one-third of the NSR interest, for four years.
Osisko president and CEO Sandeep Singh said: “We believe that Alpala has the potential to become a Tier-1 asset with a much longer mine life than currently envisaged.
“SolGold was a first mover in Ecuador and we view the broader Cascabel property as having the geological potential to support significant further discoveries.”
The deal is subject to customary conditions.
SolGold chairperson Liam Twigger said: “This funding immediately removes the financing overhang that has encumbered SolGold and provides an accretive and attractive financing solution. SolGold can now devote its complete attention to the Strategic Review Process which is currently underway to maximise shareholder value.”
SolGold director Dan Vujcic said: “Working with Osisko, a party, like SolGold, with big aspirations is exciting and is a testament to the relationships that can be forged on the back of owning a Tier 1 project in a commodity essential to the global shift to decarbonisation.”
UK-based mining firm Petra Diamonds has paused operations at its Williamson mine in Shinyanga Province, Tanzania, after the eastern wall breach of the tailings storage facility (TSF).
The breach led to flooding that extended into certain areas outside of the mine lease area.
Also operating three underground producing mines in South Africa, Petra Diamonds said no injuries or fatalities had been reported due to the TSF wall breach.
The government and mine emergency response teams have been deployed at the mine site, where a probe into the incident is planned to be carried out.
In a press statement, Petra said: “A CEO-led team is being sent to the site to assist the mine team and to provide any support required. Williamson’s management is working closely with local and regional authorities and Petra will provide further updates as information becomes available.”
Petra owns a 75% stake in the Williamson mine while the remaining stake is held by the Tanzanian Government.
Said to be Tanzania’s only important diamond producer, the Williamson mine is an open pit operation based upon the 146ha Mwadui kimberlite pipe that is claimed to be one of the world’s largest economic kimberlites.
The mine was put on care and maintenance in April 2020 to preserve its liquidity. However, its operations resumed in Q1 2023
Canada-based mining firm Lithium Americasplans to separate its business units in North America and Argentina into two independent public companies by the end of 2023.
Following a months-long review, the decision will result in the creation of Lithium International and Lithium Americas (NewCo).
Lithium International will own Lithium Americas’ 44.8% stake in Caucharí-Olaroz and a 100% stake in the Pastos Grandes lithium brine project in Salta.
It will also hold Lithium America’s 17% investment in Arena Minerals.
Furthermore, Lithium Americas (NewCo) will hold Lithium Americas’ 100% stake in Thacker Pass in Nevada, US, as well as investments in Green Technology Metals and Ascend Elements.
Lithium Americas president and CEO Jonathan Evans said: “Following a comprehensive review of the merits of separating Lithium Americas into two public entities, we have reinforced our beliefs that separating the North American and Argentine businesses will facilitate unlocking the full potential of their significant asset base to deliver maximum value to our shareholders and other stakeholders.
“Upon completion of the separation, Lithium Americas shareholders will retain ownership in two leading lithium businesses – one of the largest known lithium developments in North America, which is central to the US domestic supply chain, and a near-term producing portfolio with significant growth from two high-quality projects in Argentina.”
Lithium Americas anticipates the two new business units to benefit from enhanced operating flexibility and strategic focus needed to drive long-term growth.
The separate North American and Argentine businesses are planned to be publicly listed in Toronto and New York by the end of 2023.
The separation is subject to approvals from the board, stock exchanges, shareholders, and the Canada Revenue Agency, among others.
anada’s Osino Resources has received a 20-year mining licence and positive environmental permitting review for its Twin Hills gold project in Namibia.
The ‘Preparedness to Grant’ licence has been issued by the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME ) and is subject to meeting certain customary conditions.
Some of these conditions include the issuance of the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC ) by the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Fisheries and Tourism (MEFT) and securing remaining secondary permits to operate the mine, among others.
Based on the pre-feasibility (PFS) study, the Twin Hills mine will have an average gold production rate of 169koz per annum during its ten-year operation. It is expected to have a 13-year open-pit mine life.
Osino co-founder, president and CEO Heye Daun said: “Receipt of the mining licence is a major endorsement of the progress Osino has made with the advancement of the Twin Hills Gold Project and confirms the support of the Namibian government for the ongoing development of the project.
“Twin Hills’s stature as one of Namibia’s most exciting mining development projects continues to grow and we are very appreciative of the partnership shown by all Namibian permitting authorities throughout this process.”
Osino carried out more than 220,000m of drilling and advanced technical studies on the Twin Hills project since its grassroots discovery in August 2019.
The Twin Hills Discovery forms part of the firm’s Karibib Gold Project, which comprises 12 contiguous licences to the north-east of Karibib.
