AngloGold Ashanti to Boost Presence With Augusta Gold Buyout

AngloGold Ashanti plc AU announced that it has inked a deal with Augusta Gold Corp. to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Augusta Gold. This move will boost AU’s footprint in the Beatty District of Nevada through the acquisition of the Reward and Bullfrog properties. These adjacent properties will add mineral resources.

Details of AngloGold Ashanti Deal With Augusta Gold

Per the agreement, AngloGold Ashanti will acquire Augusta Gold at a cash price of C$1.70 (roughly $1.24) per share of common stock. This implies an equity value of approximately C$152 million (roughly $111 million). AU will also fund the repayment of certain shareholder loans. 

The acquisition strengthens AngloGold Ashanti's position in a major U.S. gold district, enabling the company to undertake integrated development.

The transaction has already been approved by Augusta Gold’s board of directors. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to closing conditions.

AU’s Focus on Portfolio Optimization

AngloGold Ashanti has been active in optimizing its portfolio.  On June 2, the company announced that it had inked a deal to sell its interest in the Mineração Serra Grande mine (“MSG”) to Aura Minerals Inc. AngloGold Ashanti will sell Mineração Serra Grande S.A., the owner of the MSG mine, to Aura for a cash consideration of $76 million. 

This is subject to working-capital adjustments as of the closing date. AngloGold Ashanti will also receive deferred consideration payments equivalent to a 3% net smelter returns royalty on the MSG mine's current mineral resource, including the mineral reserve.

The MSG mine produced 80 thousand ounces of gold in 2024 and 86 thousand ounces in 2023.

However, the mine remains one of AngloGold Ashanti's higher-cost and lower-production operations. The mine sale will enable AU to enhance its capital allocation focus and drive operating efficiencies.

The transaction excludes subsidiaries of Mineração Serra Grande S.A. that hold non-core assets, including properties. These assets will be retained by AngloGold Ashanti and transferred out of Mineração Serra Grande S.A. through a spin-off before closing.

AngloGold Ashanti Stock’s Price Performance

Shares of the company have skyrocketed 72.4% in the past year compared with the industry’s 38.4% growth.

AU’s Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

AU currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Other top-ranked stocks from the basic materials space are ATI Inc. ATI, Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS and MAG Silver Corp. MAG, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

ATI has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 12.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $3.02 per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 22.8%. ATI shares jumped 58.2% last year.

Carpenter Technology has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS’ 2025 earnings is pegged at $7.28 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 53.6%. CRS’s shares skyrocketed 141.4% last year.

MAG Silver has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 2%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MAG’s 2025 earnings is pegged at 96 cents per share. The company’s shares have gained 64.5% in the past year.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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