PAN African Resources announced on Monday it was to buy out its joint venture partner in its Australian Tennant Creek joint venture in an all-share deal worth £163m (A$311m) and list on the Australian Securities Exchange.
The South African gold miner will issue 103 million shares for Emmerson Resources which owns 25% of Tennant Creek. Pan African controls the balance and operates the joint venture’s Nobles gold mine, located in Australia’s Northern Territory.
At £1.58 per share, the transaction represents a 36.4% premium to Emmerson’s last closing price of A$0.330 per share on March 6 and a 42.7% premium to Emmerson’s 30-day volume weighted average price of A$0.315 per share up to March 6.
The transaction, which has the support of Emmerson’s board and 26.2% of its key shareholders, represents another significant advance in Pan African’s emergence as a mid-tier gold miner.
Pan African forecast full year gold output of 275,000 to 292,000 oz for its 2026 financial year ended June which represents a major improvement on 187,000 oz it achieved just two years ago.
Nobles is scoped to produce between 46,000 to 50,000 oz this year with potential to increase to 100,000 oz in the longer term.
“The transaction consolidates our position in the prospective Tennant Creek mineral field, a district with significant long-term potential,” said Cobus Loots, CEO of Pan African in a statement to the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
“Bringing the assets under single ownership allows us to optimise project sequencing and capital allocation across the region, maximising value for all shareholders,” he added. Emmerson requires support of 75% of shareholders for the deal to pass.
Shares in Pan African have gained 27% year to date and about 800% since 2024 when the company first announced its acquisition of the control of Tennant Consolidated Gold Mines (TCMG), the holding company for Tennant Creek JV for (£40.6m) $54.2m.
Under implementation of the scheme Emmerson shareholders will hold about 4.2% of Pan African’s total shares and will be able to trade them once the South Africans have listed on ASX. Commenting on the listing, Loots said it reflected his firm’s “long-term commitment” to the Australian market.
Emmerson’s non-executive chairman, Mark Connelly welcomed the “alignment” on Tennant Creek the transaction brought.
According to a Pan African presentation on its website, Nobles gold mine has a 15 year life of mine with potential to expand through the Warrego project.
