Canada’s Kinross Gold sells stake in Brazilian mine to AngloGold for $220 million

Canada’s third-largest gold miner Kinross Gold (TSX:K) is selling its stake in the Crixas gold mine (Serra Grande), in Brazil, to South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti for $220 million.

AngloGold Ashanti already holds the other 50 per cent of the project through its subsidiaries and operates the mine.
Kinross president and chief executive, Tye Burt, said the mine was a non-core asset for the company.

“Its divestiture is consistent with our strategy of portfolio optimization and focusing our resources on the company's core operations and priority projects,” Burt said in a statement.

The sale is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012 and Kinross will update production guidance for 2012 when reporting second-quarter earnings.

Earlier this month, Kinross said it expected to produce between 2.6 million and 2.8 million gold-equivalent ounces from current operations this year.

The company has underperformed in the markets after taking a $2.5 billion write-down in February and produced six per cent less gold during the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year.

Shares in Kinross were up 16 cents to $8.58 after the announcement.