Gold Fields has entered into an agreement with Bateman Engineering to sell its BIOX business to Bateman Engineering for a net cash consideration of $8.84 million. The BIOX business is the owner of a proprietary and patented technology, known as the BIOX process, which is used for the pretreatment of refractory ores and concentrates prior to gold recovery through conventional cyanide leaching techniques. Included in the sale is a second technology, currently in development, for the efficient removal of thiocyanate and cyanide from leach solutions. The technology, known as ASTER (Activated Sludge Tailings Effluent Remediation), is currently undergoing pilot plant testing and if commercially viable could be applied to many conventional gold
processing plants worldwide.

As part of the transaction Bateman will be acquiring Biomin Technologies, a Swiss registered entity, holder of the relevant intellectual property, patents and trademarks, as well as the majority of the related licensing agreements with the mining companies that make use of the technology.

Gold Fields says it has chosen to dispose of this business “as it does not form part of its core business activities. A focused engineering and technology company such as Bateman is better placed to develop BIOX and its related technologies to their full potential.