History
The company was incorporated on 7 March 1984, as Southern Star Resources, though it changed its name to Golden Star Resources on 25 February 1985. The company was founded by geologist Roger Morton and former football player Dave Fennell, and backed by politician Don Getty, for the purposes of pursuing exploration and development of mineral deposits in Guyana. [1] [2] They entered into a joint venture with Placer Dome on exploration and then Cambior on development of the Omai gold deposit leaving Golden Star a 35% stake in the deposit once it started producing in 1992. [3] Meanwhile, spun-off Takla Star Resources in 1990 as a separate company to manage certain exploration properties and invested in exploration efforts of Guyana's Mazaruni diamond with Vancouver-based South American Goldfields [4] with whom they merged with in May 1992 in an all-stock deal. [5] [6] In 1993, the company moved its headquarters from Edmonton to Littleton, Colorado, and based on its 35% stake in the Cambior-operated Omai mine and exploration efforts elsewhere it was listed on the TSE 300 index. [7] They pursued another joint venture with Cambior on the exploration of Rosebel gold deposit in Suriname. [8] In 1999, as the company was removed from the TSE 300 index, it sought to change its business strategy from exploration to production by replacing Fennell as CEO with Peter Bradford, [9] acquiring an older producing mine in Ghana, and selling its remaining stakes in Omai and Rosebel to Cambior. [10]
Golden Star Resources got involved in Ghana with their 1999 purchase of a 70% interest in the Bogoso gold mine. [11] They would acquire Anvil Mining's 20% interest in the next few years. [12] Consequently, the company recorded its first attributable gold production in 1999 and would continue to produce over 100,000 ounces of gold a year from the Bogoso gold mine until 2005 when the Wassa mine came online. The company had spent the intervening years conducting the feasibility study and constructing the Wassa mine. While operating those two mines until 2020, the company produced between 200,000 and 400,000 ounces of gold annually. Golden Star Resources sold the Bogoso gold mine and its associated Prestea underground operation, effective October 2020, to new company Future Global Resources, owned by the British private equity firm Blue International Holdings. [13]
During those years, Golden Star Resources moved its headquarters from Colorado to Toronto in 2012 [14] and then to London in 2020. [15] In 2004 the company coordinated with Coeur d'Alene Mines, BMO Nesbitt Burns and CIBC World Markets to break up a proposed merger of Iamgold and Wheaton River Minerals (later purchased by Goldcorp) by launching a hostile takeover bid for Iamgold. [16] The Iamgold board of directors refused the offer but Golden Star Resources filed a lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court which ordered that Iamgold shareholders must vote on the Golden Star Resources offer, too. The Golden Star bid failed as the Iamgold shareholders also voted against the all-stock deal offer. [17]
Golden Star Resources agreed to be acquired by the Chinese company Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining, a public company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, in an all-cash deal amounting to US$470 million. [18] [19]
Cambior Inc. was a Canadian based international gold producer with operations, development projects and exploration activities in the Americas. Cambior's shares traded on the Toronto (TSX) and American (AMEX) stock exchanges under the symbol "CBJ". Cambior's warrants "CBJ.WT.C" traded on the TSX. In November 2006 IAMGOLD acquired 100% of Cambior shares.
Eldorado Gold Corporation is a Canadian company that owns and operates gold mines in Turkey, Greece and Canada. Since its merger with European Goldfields in 2011 the company has been pursuing the development of the Skouries mine, Olympias mine and Stratoni mine in Greece. The company previously developed and operated gold mines in China, Brazil and Mexico. Headquartered in Vancouver and listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges, Eldorado Gold has developed and operated assets from several merged companies HRC Developments Corporation, Afcan Mining Corporation, Sino Gold Mining, Brazauro Resources, Integra Gold, as well as European Goldfields.
Newmont, based in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States, is the world's largest gold mining company. Incorporated in 1921, it has ownership of gold mines in Nevada, Colorado, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Ghana, Argentina, Peru, and Suriname. In addition to gold, Newmont mines copper, silver, zinc and lead.
NOVAGOLD is a Canadian company that is pursuing the development of the Donlin Gold mine in Alaska. Headquartered in Vancouver, the company is listed on the NYSE American and the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company was founded in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, in 1984, to pursue exploration and development of mining properties. While the company bought and sold numerous exploration rights across North America, they have principally focused on four properties. They developed and operated the Murray Brook Mine in Nova Scotia from 1989 to 1992 and developed the Rock Creek Mine in Alaska but defaulted on financial obligations forcing it to close shortly after opening in 2008. They conducted exploration and development work on the Galore Creek mine in British Columbia between 2003 and 2018 but sold its interests. The development of the Donlin Gold mine has been pursued since the formation of a joint venture with Barrick Gold in 2012.
Dave Fennell is a former defensive lineman for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. After graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1973, he played for Edmonton from 1974 to 1983, and helped lead the team to five straight Grey Cup championships from 1978 to 1982 as a key member of the "Alberta Crude" defence.
Prestea is a town in the Western Region, in southwest Ghana and about 50 km north of the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies on the west bank of the Ankobra River, about 60 mi (100 km) northwest of Cape coast. The town is part of the Prestea-Huni Valley District. Prestea is the forty-sixth most populous in Ghana, in terms of population, with a population of 35,760 people. A railway line used to connects with Prestea to Tarkwa and beyond to the coastal city of Sekondi-Takoradi.
The Mining industry of Ghana accounts for 5% of the country's GDP and minerals make up 37% of total exports, of which gold contributes over 90% of the total mineral exports. Thus, the main focus of Ghana's mining and minerals development industry remains focused on gold. Ghana is Africa's largest gold producer, producing 80.5 t in 2008. Ghana is also a major producer of bauxite, manganese and diamonds. Ghana has 20 large-scale mining companies producing gold, diamonds, bauxite and manganese, and, there are also over 300 registered small scale mining groups and 90 mine support service companies.
Lundin Mining Corporation is a Canadian company that owns and operates mines in Sweden, United States, Chile, Portugal and Brazil that produce base metals such as copper, zinc, and nickel. Headquartered in Toronto, the company was founded by Adolf Lundin and operated by Lukas Lundin. While it was incorporated to pursue an interest in a diamond mine in Brazil, the company re-structured and raised funds to develop the Storliden mine in Sweden. It purchased the Swedish Zinkgruvan Mine from Rio Tinto and then merged with Arcon International Resources for its Galmoy Mine in Ireland and Eurozinc for its Neves-Corvo mine in Portugal. The company subsequently purchased and operated the Eagle mine, Candelaria mine, and Chapada mine.
Iamgold Corporation is a Canadian company that owns and operates gold mines in Burkina Faso, Suriname and Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, the company was incorporated in 1990, and went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1996, with additional shares being listed on the New York Stock Exchange beginning in 2005. The company formerly owned or had stakes in the Sadiola and Yatela gold mines in Mali, the Mupane gold mine in Botswana, the Niobec niobium mine in Quebec, as well as a royalty in the Diavik Diamond Mine.
The Canadian Malartic Corporation is a mining company that operates the Malartic mine near Malartic, Quebec. Prior to 2014 the company was a public company named Osisko Mining Corporation with shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange. In 2014, Osisko Mining was subject to a hostile takeover bid by Goldcorp but an alternative bid by white knights Yamana Gold and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited was accepted that, in addition to offering a higher price, created the spin-off Osisko Gold Royalties and turned Osisko Mining Corporation into the subsidiary company Canadian Malartic Corporation jointly owned by Yamana Gold and Agnico Eagle. From its founding in 1982 until 2006, Osisko Mining bought and sold mineral exploration rights in Quebec, conducting exploration work. The company acquired an interest in the Canadian Malartic property in 2004 and after promising feasibility studies the mine was constructed with commercial production achieved in May 2011.is a Canadian company engaged in the exploration and development of several mineral properties in Quebec.
Sandstorm Gold Ltd. is a Canadian company that provides funding to mining companies in exchange for royalties, principally in the form of net smelter returns and streams. The company focuses on precious metals but did spin off Sandstorm Metals & Energy Ltd. in 2010 as a separate TSX Venture Exchange-listed company to make volumetric production payment transactions in the base metal and fossil fuel sectors, then bought it back in 2014. Sandstorm Gold graduated from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange and began listing shares on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.
New Gold Inc. is a Canadian mining company that owns and operates the New Afton gold-silver-copper mine in British Columbia and the Rainy River gold-silver mine in Ontario, Canada. Through a Mexican subsidiary company, they also own the Cerro San Pedro gold-silver mine in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, which ceased operation in 2017. While New Gold was founded in 1980 for the purposes of mineral exploration, the company became a mine operator with its merger of Peak Gold and Metallica Resources in 2008. A fourth company, Western Goldfields, joined in 2009. Together they operated the Peak mine in Australia and Mesquite Mine in California but sold both in 2018. Headquartered in Toronto, shares of the company are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American.
Royal Gold is one of the world's leading precious metals stream and royalty companies engaged in the acquisition and management of precious metal streams, royalties and similar production-based interests. Royal Gold owns a large portfolio of producing, development, evaluation and exploration stage streams and royalties on properties located in some of the world's most prolific gold regions and operated by some of the most well-known companies in the mining industry.
The Rosebel gold mine is jointly owned by Iamgold (95%) and the government of Suriname (5%).
The Omai Gold Mine is located in Guyana on the north coast of South America near the west bank of the Essequibo River in the interior of the country. Access to Omai is by road from the capital of Georgetown on the coast, and from the town of Linden approximately 60 km away. There is an operational airstrip on site which can accommodate aircraft from Georgetown. Gold mining at Omai is known from at least the 1880s, and when it was developed as a large scale mine in 1992 by Cambior, the mine was the largest gold mine in the Guiana Shield and a major source of income and employment in Guyana. During the period from 1992 – 2005, Omai produced 3.7 Moz of gold at an average grade of 1.5 g/t Au from the Fennell and the Wenot open pits.
Rio Alto Mining was a Vancouver-based international gold producer engaged in the exploration, development, and production of mineral resource properties throughout Latin America, with its principal asset, the La Arena mine, in La Libertad Region, Peru. The company and its assets were acquired by Tahoe Resources, Inc. in 2015, and the company no longer exists.
Mining is a significant contributor to the economy of Guyana, owing to sizable reserves of bauxite, gold, and diamonds. Much of these resources are found in Guyana's Hilly Sand and Clay belt, a region that makes up 20% of the country.
B2Gold Corporation is a Canadian mining company that owns and operates gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, and was founded in 2007, and was then listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, then later listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Namibian Stock Exchange. The company was formed by several executives from Bema Gold following its acquisition by Kinross Gold. The company built itself up through mergers with several other mining companies, including Central Sun Mining, CGA Mining, Auryx Gold and Papillon Resources to give it five operating mines, two of which have been divested, and several exploration properties.
Guyana Goldfields is a Canadian company that owns and operates the Aurora gold mine in Guyana. It is a publicly-traded company with shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and previously TSX Venture Exchange. Beginning in 1996 the company acquired exploration rights to the former Peters and Aurora mines with the objective of utilizing modern exploration technology to re-evaluate the potential gold reserves. Following positive exploratory results, the company received financing from the International Finance Corporation and other investors and conducted economic and technical feasibility studies. The Aurora gold mine began commercial production in 2015 and has produced approximately 125,000 to 160,000 ounces of gold per year from the mine since then. These lower than expected results and a revised technical study that significantly lowered the recoverable reserves estimates, led to the removal of the CEO and directors involved in making the investment decision and a class action lawsuit alleging misrepresentations in public disclosures.
Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd is a Canadian company that holds royalties in gold, silver and diamond mines, principally in the form of net smelter returns and streams. The company also invests in mineral exploration companies in the form of purchases of shares. Like its predecessor company, Osisko Mining, it is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, with shares listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.
