Northgate Set To Grow Again

Article Excerpt

NORTHGATE MINERALS CORP. $3.00 (Toronto symbol NGX; SI Rating: Speculative) (604-681-4004; www.northgateexploration.ca; Shares outstanding: 254.2 million; Market cap: $762.7 million) has made a friendly $257 million U.S. takeover offer for Australian gold miner Perseverance Corp. Northgate will pay $160 million in cash and assume $97 million of Perseverance’s debt and gold hedge liabilities. Perseverance produces 200,000 of gold annually from two mines. Northgate aims to expand output and cut costs at the mines. In September 2007, an environmental review panel rejected Northgate’s proposed Kemess North copper-gold mine in B.C. So Northgate will now use Perserverance’s mines to provide future growth. The combined company will have estimated 2008 gold production of about 434,000 ounces. Northgate is now a buy, buy,…