$RUP.TO

B2Gold Closes Sale of 70% Stake in Fingold to Agnico Eagle

B2Gold (BTO.TO) has completed the sale of a 70% interest in Fingold Ventures to Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) for US$325 million, B2Gold said Thursday.Fingold owns several exploration claims adjacent to Rupert Resources' (RUP.TO) Ikkari project in Finland.B2Gold plans to use the proceeds to further strengthen its financial position, to continue to purchase shares under its recently renewed normal course issuer bid, and for general working capital purposes, the company previously said.Aurion Resources (AU.V) owns the remaining 30% in Fingold.

TSX Down 27 Points at Midday

The Toronto Stock Exchange is down 27 points at midday as Middle East peace prospects grow fainter.Miners, down 0.5%, is the worst performer, as precious metals prices decline.Healthcare and energy, up 2% and 0.9% are the best performers.On the economic front, all eyes were on the release of Canadian CPI for March.CIBC noted the 2.4% headline reading, driven by a 0.9% not seasonally adjusted m/m increase (0.5% after seasonal adjustment), was actually slightly below the consensus expectation (2.6%) but still a sharp acceleration from 1.8% in the prior month."Everyone knew that inflation jumped in March due to higher gasoline prices, the only question remaining was how high?," CIBC said. "As it turned out," the bank added, "the jump in headline inflation wasn't quite as high as expected, and core measures continued to show little sign of inflationary pressure outside of the surge in fuel prices. Pass-through from higher energy prices into core measures of inflation may become more evident closer to the summer months, particularly in areas such as air fares, but slack within the Canadian economy should prevent those measures from reaccelerating too much, enabling the Bank of Canada to remain on the sidelines through 2026."For RBC the bottom line is that while some components, particularly grocery prices and rent, are still running well above year-ago levels, the March report reinforces its view that recent increases in oil prices can push headline inflation higher in the near term but are unlikely to re-ignite broader inflation pressures. RBC said the BoC will keep a close eye on inflation expectations, but added slower core price growth measures leave the central bank flexibility to also keep an eye on what is still a soft economic backdrop with the unemployment rate still elevated.In stocks, Rupert Resources (RUP.TO) jumped 65% to an all-time high of $11.86, after it announced that it was being acquired by Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) in a deal that values the company at $2.9 billion.

Update: Agnico Eagle Consolidaing Finland's Central Lapland Greenstone Belt In Three Separate Deals; Involves Rupert, Aurion, B2Gold

(Adds additional detail on the B2Gold deal in the fourth paragraph and further details on the three separate transactions in the fifth and sixth paragraphs)Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE and TSX: AEM) announced Monday a plan to complete a consolidation of properties in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of Northern Finland that involves it entering into definitive agreements in respect of three separate transactions.These transactions include the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Rupert Resources Ltd. (RUP.TO); the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Aurion Resources Ltd. (AU.V); and the acquisition of a 70% interest in Fingold Ventures Ltd. held by B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO), which together with the 30% interest held by Aurion, would result in Agnico Eagle owning a 100% ownership interest in the Fingold JV.A statement noted the company currently owns 13.9% of Rupert on a non-diluted basis and 9.9% of Aurion on a partially diluted basis.For its deal, B2Gold has agreed to sell to Agnico its 70% interest in Fingold in exchange for US$325 million in cash. In addition, B2Gold and Agnico Eagle have agreed to enter into a collaboration agreement related to their respective gold mining operations located in Nunavut, Canada.On the three separate transactions, Agnico said it puts Finland on a pathway to become an approximately 500,000-ounce annual gold production hub within the next decade; provides the financial, technical and on-the-ground resources to develop the highly prospective Ikkari gold project; and "creates significant value through optimized project development, including an extension of the Ikkari open pit onto the Fingold JV area, which is expected to capture additional gold ounces in the mine plan on both sides of the property boundary."AEM added the three separate transactions consolidate an approximate 2,492 km squared regional land position within the under-explored Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, "unlocking significant exploration potential with robust targets across all stages of exploration"; while integrating Ikkari into the company's established Finland platform delivers operating, development and construction synergies estimated at up to C$500 million, "over and above the value benefit that is expected to be realized by eliminating the property boundary constraint."Agnico Eagle's President and Chief Executive Officer, Ammar Al-Joundi said: "These transactions deliver on our long standing regional strategy and build on our more than 20 years of best-in-class operating experience in Finland to establish another multi-asset, multi-decade platform in our portfolio within a world class gold belt. By consolidating the highly prospective and under explored Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, we are bringing together our long life Kittila mine, the Ikkari gold project, unconstrained by property boundaries, and a district scale land position with clearly defined targets across all stages of exploration. Supported by a proven local team with the technical, operating and exploration expertise to execute, this consolidation positions us to accelerate development, capture unique synergies, drive project level value and unlock substantial long term exploration upside for our shareholders. This approach mirrors how we have successfully built value across our Canadian platforms and represents an important next chapter for our Finland business".Shares in AEM were last look down 1.1% in US premarket trade on Monday, amid a lower U.S. futures market. AEM was up 2.3% in Canada and 2.4% in the U.S. last Friday.

Agnico Eagle Consolidaing Finland's Central Lapland Greenstone Belt In Three Separate Deals; Involves Rupert, Aurion, B2Gold

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE and TSX: AEM) announced Monday a plan to complete a consolidation of properties in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of Northern Finland that involves it entering into definitive agreements in respect of three separate transactions.These transactions include the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Rupert Resources Ltd. (RUP.TO); the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Aurion Resources Ltd. (AU.V); and the acquisition of a 70% interest in Fingold Ventures Ltd. held by B2Gold Corp. (BTO.TO), which together with the 30% interest held by Aurion, would result in Agnico Eagle owning a 100% ownership interest in the Fingold JV.A statement noted the company currently owns 13.9% of Rupert on a non-diluted basis and 9.9% of Aurion on a partially diluted basis.Agnico Eagle's President and Chief Executive Officer, Ammar Al-Joundi said: "These transactions deliver on our long standing regional strategy and build on our more than 20 years of best-in-class operating experience in Finland to establish another multi-asset, multi-decade platform in our portfolio within a world class gold belt. By consolidating the highly prospective and under explored Central Lapland Greenstone Belt, we are bringing together our long life Kittila mine, the Ikkari gold project, unconstrained by property boundaries, and a district scale land position with clearly defined targets across all stages of exploration. Supported by a proven local team with the technical, operating and exploration expertise to execute, this consolidation positions us to accelerate development, capture unique synergies, drive project level value and unlock substantial long term exploration upside for our shareholders. This approach mirrors how we have successfully built value across our Canadian platforms and represents an important next chapter for our Finland business".Shares in AEM were last look down 1% in US premarket trade on Monday, amid a lower U.S. futures market. AEM was up 2.3% in Canada and 2.4% in the U.S. last Friday.

Agnico Eagle To Buy Aurion Resources In All Cash Transaction For Near C$481M; Also Rupert Resources To Be Acquired By Agnico Eagle

Agnico Eagle To Consolidate Finland's Central Lapland Greenstone Belt In Three Separate Transactions; Involves Rupert, Aurion, B2Gold