The Australian mining company Genesis Minerals will acquire the smaller rival Vault Minerals: a deal worth nearly 9 billion dollars that will create – the agreement is expected to be finalized in November – the third largest gold producer in Australia, after Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining.
WHAT GOLD IS USED FOR AND WHO PRODUCES IT
Gold is mainly used in the production of jewelry and, in the form of bars, as a store of value; but it also has applications in the electronics industry due to its high electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion and oxidation.
The top gold producing country is China with 384 tonnes in 2025 and a 10 percent share of the global total; it is followed by Russia, with 345 tonnes, and Australia, with 293 tonnes. Other significant producers include Canada, Peru, Ghana, and the United States.
WHAT GENESIS AND VAULT WILL DO
By merging with Vault, Genesis is expected to reach an annual production capacity of 700,000 ounces of gold. In particular, the proximity between the sites of the two companies in Western Australia – those of Leonora and Bardoc and Mount Monger – will allow Genesis to use Vault’s processing plant for the extracted ore, instead of investing in expanding its own.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE NEW COMPANY
Genesis shareholders will hold 59.8 percent of the “expanded” company, while Vault shareholders will obtain the remaining 40.2 percent. The new board of directors will be composed of four directors from Genesis and three directors from Vault; the CEO will remain Matt Nixon, currently head of Genesis.
THE WITHDRAWN OFFER FROM REGIS RESOURCES
Vault’s valuation after Genesis’s offer is nearly 4 billion dollars. The company had also been targeted by another Australian mining company, Regis Resources, which however withdrew its acquisition offer as it was not competitive with Genesis’s, which was 14.5 percent higher.
