Brisbane-based company SolGold has rejected an offer from BHP Billiton for a stake in its Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador.
BHP’s proposal included the acquisition of a 10 per cent interest in SolGold for $US30 million, and to earn in to the project by spending $US275 million to acquire 70 per cent of ENSA (the company that currently holds the Cascabel project tenements) out of SolGold’s 85 per cent interest in the company.
SolGold decided BHP’s proposal was “not in the best interests of SolGold and its shareholders”.
“We are very pleased to see BHP join a growing list of international mining companies that are interested in investing in SolGold,” executive director Nick Mather said.
“However, the current US$33 million financing with Maxit and Newcrest is the preferred option at this time as it leaves us in control of this very exciting project at Cascabel.”
Other majors have also been looking at Cascabel, the AFR reports, with the deposit being compared to Rio’s Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.