Gold Fields Divests Asanko Stake, White House Scrutinizes Nippon's Bid for US Steel, ArcelorMittal Announces Companywide Audit: Friday's Top Mining Stories

Gold Fields Limited announced that certain of its wholly owned subsidiaries have entered a share purchase agreement with Galiano Gold Inc. to sell its stake in the Asanko joint venture in Ghana.

The payment includes $150 million in staggered cash payments, $20 million in Galiano shares and a 1% royalty on future gold production.

The various payment milestones are scattered over several years, including a significant sum upon the production of 100,000 ounces of gold from a specific mine deposit. The deal involves Gold Fields’ subsidiary, Marsh Holdings, which previously held about 9.8% of Galiano's shares.

White House Scrutizines Nippon-US Steel Deal: The White House voiced concerns over the proposed $14.1-billion acquisition of United States Steel Corporation X by Japan’s Nippon Steel, citing potential national security and supply-chain implications. The Biden administration’s top economic adviser commented on the matter, saying:

“This looks like the type of transaction that the interagency committee on foreign investment Congress empowered and the Biden administration strengthened is set up to carefully investigate …This Administration will be ready to look carefully at the findings of any such investigation and to act if appropriate.”

ArcelorMittal SA MT, the world’s leading steel company, announced that dss+ will be conducting a companywide audit of its safety practices across more than 350 sites.

Alongside its third-quarter financial results in November, the company said it would commission a third-party safety audit to assess all health and safety systems to prevent serious accidents.

The audit is anticipated to take up to nine months, with the results to be published in September 2024. CEO Aditya Mittal commented on the audit, saying:

“We look forward to working closely with dss+ over the coming months and to learn from the recommendations of the audit. This audit is of the highest importance, and we are committed to ensuring that its findings contribute to making ArcelorMittal a better, safer company. While it is underway, we continue to build on and accelerate our existing safety improvement activities.”

Photo via Shutterstock.