Canadian miner Rua Gold has completed the acquisition of Reefton Resources, previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Siren Gold.
The acquisition expands Rua Gold’s tenement package to more than 95% in the Reefton Goldfield in the Buller Province of New Zealand's South Island.
The acquisition was completed under a share purchase agreement signed in July 2024, and amended on 18 October 2024.
Rua Gold paid Siren Gold a total consideration of A$20m, comprising A$2m in cash and 83,927,383 common shares in Rua Gold, valued at A$18m. Additionally, Rua Gold acquired ten million common shares in Siren Gold at A$0.20 per share, totalling A$2m.
Following the transaction, Reefton operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Rua Gold and owns approximately 7.5% of Siren shares. Siren holds around 26% of Rua Gold's shares, introducing a new Control Person as defined by the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) policies.
Siren Gold chairman Brian Rodan has joined Rua Gold's board of directors. Rua Gold will transfer tenement PP 60893, covering 7,305ha, back to Siren Gold.
Rua Gold CEO Robert Eckford said: "Today marks a pivotal point in Rua Gold's development. With the completion of this transaction, the Reefton district is largely under control of one company. This creates the opportunity to develop a world-class, scalable mining operation in an area that had high-grade production and is considerably underexplored at depth.”
The acquisition advances Rua Gold's goal to lead gold production in New Zealand, tapping into a high-grade, underexplored district. It positions the company for potential reductions in overall project capital expenditures by developing a central processing hub.
The company's regional tenement holdings have increased from approximately 34,000ha to 125,000ha, covering historical mine camps outside of the Blackwater and Globe Progress mines.
The Reefton Goldfield comprises six projects: Northern Area, Capleston Area, Murray Creek Area, Ajax Area, Crushington Area and Southern Area.
With the transaction finalised, Rua Gold has mobilised a third drilling rig to the Auld Creek target, highlighting a near-surface resource opportunity.
The existing two rigs will continue their work at the Murray Creek and shallow Capleston targets, following the notable discovery of a 1oz-plus gold intersection.
The company is also utilising VRIFY AI targeting methodology in an iterative process to analyse further targets, leveraging Rua Gold's extensive exploration and mining data sets.
