Australian gold producer St Barbara to acquire Atlantic Gold

StBarbara Ltd., an Australian gold producer, has agreed to purchase Atlantic Gold.

Vancouver-based AtlanticGold is operating and developing open pit gold mines in Nova Scotia.

St Barbara offered $2.90 a share for Atlantic Gold in the $722-million deal, according to media releases.

Atlantic Gold said its board unanimously approved the offer.

Atlantic Gold began producing last year at the Touquoy site at Moose River Gold Mines, about 40 kilometres inland from Sheet Harbour, N.S.

Three more sites Beaver Dam, Cochrane Hill and Fifteen Mile Stream are in development nearby and will start producing in 2021-2022, pending environmental assessments.

Atlantic Gold was also actively exploring additional deposits in Nova Scotia.

Last month, Eastern Shore residents protested Atlantic Gold's proposed Cochrane Hill mine near Melrose, N.S., raising concerns about the mine's potential impact on the watershed, at-risk speciesand tourism industry.

The projects are expected to create hundreds of jobs, but will only span about six years.

St Barbara operates an underground gold mine in Australia and an open pit mine in Papua New Guinea.