Cashed-up bargain hunter SSR is on the prowl for next gold mine
VANCOUVER – Flush with cash and armed with a knack for spotting mines producing below their potential, SSR Mining is on the hunt for more assets.
“We want to continue to grow, no question,” John DeCooman, VP of strategy and business development, said in an interview Wednesday. “We’ll continue to look for assets” that are ripe for operational improvements or with good exploration potential but short on funding, he said.
The Vancouver-based miner, formerly known as Silver Standard Resources, changed its name to reflect its tilt toward gold after acquiring the Marigold mine in Nevada in 2014 and the Seabee mine in Saskatchewan in 2016.
At those sites, the company has demonstrated what Macquarie analyst Michael Gray terms a “relentless” ability to extract more value by lowering costs, boosting production and lengthening lifespans.
This week, SSR Mining extended Marigold’s mine life to 2028 and forecast output would rise more than 30% to 265 000 oz by 2021 – that’s two-thirds more than what the site was producing when the company bought it from Goldcorp. and Barrick Gold.
With its growing pile of cash – $473 million as of March 31 – and one of the strongest balance sheets among intermediate miners, SSR Mining is positioned for "potential disciplined M&A", Gray said in a recent note.
Any future acquisitions would preferably be in the Americas, said DeCooman. "We would need some sort of exceptional returns in order to justify the risks of going to other jurisdictions."
SSR Mining expects total annual output to rise by a third to 440 000 oz of gold equivalent by about 2021, according to DeCooman. The ramp-up coincides with what Credit Suisse Group AG calls a “looming production cliff” in global gold output post-2020.
The stock is up 18% this year, making it one of the best performers on the S&P/TSX Materials Index and among the drivers that pushed Canadian stocks to a record high this week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. An index of large gold producers is down 12% this year.
“The fruits of our labor for the last several years is really paying off in spades now,” DeCooman said. “Even in the weaker markets that we have today, we’re getting attention. That hasn’t always been the case but it resonates with folks right now.”
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation