Yesterday Aur announced that 93,620,968 common shares of Aur had been validly deposited pursuant to the offer made by Teck Cominco to acquire all of the Aur shares. Teck Cominco has announced that, as all conditions of the offer have been satisfied, it has taken up and accepted for payment all Aur shares so deposited, which represent approximately 93% of the outstanding Aur shares on a fully-diluted basis. Payment for Aur Shares taken up then will be made on or before August 24, 2007.
Teck Cominco has announced that it intends to acquire all Aur Shares not tendered to the offer by way of a compulsory acquisition pursuant to the Canada Business Corporations Act and will shortly be mailing a notice of compulsory acquisition to Aur shareholders who have not tendered into the oOffer.
At a meeting of the Aur board of directors held August 22, the board of was reconstituted and now consists of the following individuals: Jalynn H. Bennett, Hugh J. Bolton, Dr. Norman B, Keevil, Peter G. Kukielski, Donald R. Lindsay, Janice G. Rennie and Robert J. Wright. In addition, Peter Kukielski, Executive Vice President and COO of Teck Cominco, has been appointed President and CEO of Aur, with responsibility for the integration of Aur’s operations with those of Teck Cominco’s as soon as possible.
Aur’s currrent production history starts in 1994 when it acquired control of the undeveloped Andacollo copper deposit in Chile. The Andacollo mine, which is an open-pit, heap leach copper mine producing copper cathode, was developed by Aur at a cost of $80 million and commenced production in 1996. In January 2007, Aur increased its interest in the Andacollo Mine, and in the Andacollo hypogene deposit currently being developed for production, from 63% to 90%.
In 2000 Aur purchased a 76.5% interest in the Quebrada Blanca mine in Chile, which is an open pit, heap leach copper mine producing copper cathode, for C$304 million. As a result of the Quebrada Blanca purchase, Aur’s copper reserves at the time were quadrupled and its annual copper production was almost tripled.
In 2004 Aur made a production decision on its Duck Pond copper-zinc deposit in central Newfoundland, Canada, which it had acquired in 2002. The Duck Pond underground mine commenced production of copper and zinc concentrates in January 2007. Capital expenditures to develop the Duck Pond Mine are expected to total approximately C$134 million.
Last year, Aur made a production decision on its Andacollo hypogene deposit, which lies beneath the Andacollo supergene deposit currently being mined at Aur’s Andacollo mine. Production from the hypogene deposit is expected to commence in late 2009, with capital expenditures to develop the deposit for production estimated to be approximately C$336 million.
