Aris pays $80M for full ownership of Soto Norte

Aris Mining (TSX: ARIS) (NYSE-A: ARMN) has gained full ownership of the Soto Norte gold project in Colombia after reaching an $80 million deal to buy out the remaining 49% joint venture interest from Mubadala.Under a term sheet signed this week, Aris will pay the Abu Dhabi investment firm $60 million cash and issue approximately 1.74 million shares priced at $11.50 each.Aris’ New York-listed stock traded at $11.75 as of midday Friday, giving it a market capitalization of $2.38 billion. It had hit an all-time high of $12.17 the previous session, when the deal was announced.Post transaction, Aris’ total reserve base would increase to 9.1 million oz., up from 6.9 million oz. when it held only 51% of the Soto Norte project. Its total measured and indicated resources would also rise from 18.3 million oz. to 21.7 million oz.By gaining full ownership of Soto Norte, Aris is now positioned to become a million-ounce-per-year gold producer, the company said in a press release. The project would complement its existing mines in Colombia — Segovia and Marmato — as well as the development-stage Toroparu project in Guyana, the Vancouver-based miner added.“With 100% ownership of Segovia, Marmato, Toroparu, and now Soto Norte, Aris Mining has scaled to a point where our buy-and-build strategy naturally shifts to a clear focus on building,” chief executive Neil Woodyer stated.Last year, its Segovia and Marmato mines produced over 210,000 oz. of gold. Expansions are currently taking place at both sites, with the company targeting output of 500,000 oz. a year.22-year mineAris first entered the Soto Norte project in April 2022 and later increased its ownership to 51% in mid-2024. Since then, the company has advanced the project through a new smaller-scale development plan, culminating in a prefeasibility study completed in September 2025. The study confirmed Soto Norte as a high-grade underground gold operation with a designed mill capacity of 3,500 tonnes per day.The deposit has total gold reserves of 4.6 million oz., enough to support a mine life of 22 years and an annual production of over 200,000 oz.Using a base-case gold price of $2,600/oz., the PFS estimated an after-tax net present value (at 5% discount) of $2.7 billion, an internal rate of return of 35.4% and a payback of 2.3 years. The initial capital cost is $625 million.Aris is currently finalizing the project’s environmental studies, with licensing submissions planned for the first half of 2026.Colombia settlementAris’ transaction to consolidate Soto Norte follows a settlement agreement earlier this week with the Colombian government over a dispute initiated by Gran Colombia Gold, its predecessor company.In 2018, Gran Colombia initiated arbitration before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) against the Latin American nation, seeking damages over disruptions to its mining projects. The dispute lingered on after it merged with Aris Gold to form Aris Mining in 2022.Under the settlement, the parties would drop the ICSID arbitration case and instead form “pillar agreements” on the Marmato mining area. These agreements will be valid for 10 years, overseen by representatives from both Aris and the state.No cash payments were required as part of the settlement, reflecting an agreement structured on the exchange of performance obligations rather than financial consideration, Aris said.“By electing not to continue the legacy cash claim from 2018, and with both parties agreeing to suspend the arbitration process to explore constructive solutions, this settlement reflects the success of a collaborative approach. Importantly, this is the first agreement of its kind in Colombia to resolve an investor-state arbitration,” Woodyer said in a Nov. 19 press release.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com