Yamana (AUY) Offers Option to Partners in Minera Alumbrera

Yamana (NYSE:AUY) has offered an option to its Minera Alumbrera joint venture partners to eventually add the gold company's nearby Agua Rica gold Project to the Alumbrera operation.

Acting through their Minera Alumbrera joint venture, Xstrata Copper and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) have signed a letter of intent for an option to acquire the Agua Rica copper-gold project in Argentina.

The LOI outlines an agreement in which Minera Alumbrera will be granted an exclusive four-year option to acquire Yamana's interest in the Agua Rica deposit, located 35 kilometers southeast of the Bajo de la Alumbrera copper mine operated by Minera Alumbrera.

Xstrata is the manager and 50% owner of Minera Alumbrera, along with Goldcorp which holds 37.5% and Yamana, which owns 12.5% of the joint venture, which averages annual production of 180,000 tons of copper and 600,000 ounces of gold.

Yamana will receive progressive options payments of up to US$110 million for Agua Rica. Xstrata and Goldcorp will finance all payments related to the option on a 57.14% and 42.86% basis respectively.

Yamana closed Wednesday at $12.92, down $0.07, or 0.54 percent.




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