Deal: Johnson Winter & Slattery (JWS) is pleased to have advised its long-term client Novo Resources Corp. (Novo) on the acquisition of Millennium Minerals Limited (Millennium).  

Millennium owns 291 square kilometres of prospective mineral tenure and key processing infrastructure (including a 1.5 million tonnes per annum processing plant, tailings storage facility and 230-room camp) which is adjacent to Novo’s existing tenure in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Value: Undisclosed. 

Area: Energy and mining. 

Key players:  The Johnson Winter & Slattery team was led by partners Justin Harris and Paul Vinci and also involved partners Peter Smith, Samantha Daly, David Proudman, Craig Wappett and Marcus Clark and their respective teams.

Deal significance: Under the agreements, Novo will buy all shares in Millennium from IMC Resources (and related entities) for approximately $61 million in Novo shares and warrants. 

Novo will also fund the repayment by Millennium of IMC’s secured debt (for approximately $69 million). Novo has agreed to pay IMC deferred consideration in the form of a fee on future gold production up to an amount of approximately $20 million.

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Millennium’s assets are located approximately 10 kilometres south of Novo’s 100 per cent controlled Beatons Creek conglomerate gold project in the Nullagine region of the Pilbara in Western Australia, and will provide the required processing infrastructure to accelerate Novo’s planned transition into gold production. 

The acquisition is expected to complete during the third quarter of 2020 and is subject to customary conditions including the completion by Novo of an acquisition financing.

Mr Harris said the firm was delighted to support Novo on this strategic transaction.

“Becoming Australia’s first conglomerate gold producer has been a strategic ambition for Novo. This transaction will fast-track its transition to becoming Australia’s next junior gold producer by providing the necessary infrastructure for its Beatons Creek [project]. In turn, this will enable Novo to progress with broader exploration on its numerous other gold projects across the company’s existing 13,750 square kilometres of Pilbara tenure,” he said.