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III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII <br />999 <br />Nerwnont <br />buys out <br />Battle <br />Mou~rtain <br />$557 million stock bid <br />to create cash savings <br />Br Rklwd Yt0lfaetsoe <br />News StoffWriter <br />Denver-based Newmont Mining Co. will <br />swallow the nation's No. 6 gold mining com- <br />pany to strengthen its position as North <br />America's largest gold producer. <br />The $557 mil- <br />lion stock bid for <br />Houston-based <br />Battle Mountain <br />Gold Co. comes <br />amid chronic <br />weakness in gold <br />prices and a trend <br />towazd consolida- <br />tion. <br />"I truly believe <br />if we ie going to <br />get visibility in the <br />investment field, <br />we have got to <br />build strength and <br />size," said Battle <br />Mountain Chair- <br />man Kazl Ellers. <br />"Battle Mountain <br />was not meeting <br />that size criteria <br />and we were <br />becoming less and <br />less visible to the <br />investor." <br />For Newmont, <br />the deal repre- <br />sents the first <br />major acquisition <br />since its $2 billion takeover of Santa Fe Pacif- <br />ic Gold Corp. in 1997. That merger made <br />Newmont North America's lazgest gold pro- <br />ducer mead of Toronto-based Barrick Gold <br /> <br /> <br />Ne mw ont launches big takeover <br />NflIYM01R from IB <br />and the world's second largest <br />behind South Africa's AngloGold, <br />owner of the Crescent Mine in Crip- <br />ple Creek. Denver serves as Anglo- <br />Gold's North American headquar- <br />ters. <br />Stuart Sanderson, president of <br />the Colorado Mining Association, <br />said the merger "solidifies New- <br />mont's role as an industry leader <br />and indicates that Denver still has a <br />presence as a mining capita]." <br />Newmont Chairman Ronald <br />Cambre said the deal, expected to <br />close by the end of October, will cre- <br />ate cash savings of about $30 million <br />per year, The two companies oper- <br />ate nearby mines in Nevada,includ- <br />ing the Phoenix project in develop- <br />ment. <br />"Developing that on our own <br />would have been a prodigious un- <br />dertaking," Ellers said. <br />Cambre called Phoenix the <br />"prime attraction" for Newmont. <br />"We concur with Battle Mountain <br />Gold's management that it is one of <br />the best rmdeveloped gold, ro er- <br />nes in North America," ` <br />said. <br />In addition to adding ~ Battle <br />Mountain's 2.° millionsha[es,Bl0ty- <br />mont will take on $199 ntilRo <br />long-term debt. The coi»ptr#~. <br />retain its .rank as the world's No. 2 <br />producer with 5.4 millioelfarices at <br />a total cash cost of lessl8at$L70an <br />ounce. 1-%' '~ <br />Battle Mountain was a`s`pin~ <br />Pennzoil Co. in 1985.and•md~ed ~ <br />with Hernlo Gold Mines in 1996. Lt c <br />addition to Phoenix, the company <br />owns the Golden Giant and Hol- <br />loway mines in Ontario, Kori KoRo <br />in Bolivia and 50 percent of <br />Vera/Nancy in Australia. <br />Newmont, founded in 1921, has <br />9,300 employees with mines in <br />Nevada, California, Peru, Indonesia <br />and Uzbekistan. In addition to its <br />Denver headquarters, Newmont <br />operates a research facility in Ara- <br />pahoe County. <br />Contxt WNNaMeo~ N <br />13031892• 89aMiY'unnfonQ <br />~~ <br />See NLWMBNT on 206 <br />