B2Gold’s Johnson does not expect run of M&A in wake of Barrick/Randgold union

Clive Johnson, CEO, B2Gold

B2GOLD Corporation CEO, Clive Johnson, said it was unlikely that the combination of Barrick Gold with Randgold Resources would trigger a number of similar transactions in the gold sector, and that there had been no approaches for his company.

Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Johnson also acknowledged interest in buying some of the African mines that Barrick or Randgold might sell post-merger. Barrick and Randgold said they were only interested in owning ‘tier one’ type gold assets.

“If there are opportunities in West Africa that don’t perhaps fit the new Barrick model, in terms of the size of project, or other things, then we’d be keen to look,” Johnson told Reuters. He was interested in mines of not less than 200,000 ounces a year in production for a life mine of 10 years.

“I think it will be pretty unlikely for a big company to come and make a premium offer for a company like ours,” said Johnson. “People have memories of the last 15 years – we’ve seen so many deals done where they’ve become negative,” he said.