Coeur Mining Sells Bolivian Subsidiary to Private Swedish Firm

Coeur Mining Inc. (NYSE:CDE) announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell all the outstanding capital stock of Empresa Minera Manquiri SA, its subsidiary. Empresa owns and operates the Bolivia-based San Bartolome mine and processing facility.
As quoted in the press release:

The Agreement provides that Manquiri will be sold to Argentum Investments, AB (“Argentum”), a privately-held Swedish company owned by a group of Mexican individuals with extensive mining experience in Latin America.
As an all-stock transaction, except as otherwise specifically provided in the Agreement, all of the current and future assets and liabilities of Manquiri, including its processing facility, mineral rights and other assets, and its current and long-term liabilities (including future reclamation and closure liabilities), will remain with Manquiri after ownership of the entity is transferred to Argentum.

Mitchell J. Krebs, president and CEO of Coeur, commented:

The sale of 100% of the shares of Manquiri reflects our strategy to continually optimize our portfolio and to focus on developing and operating high-quality, North American precious metals assets. San Bartolomé was an important operation for the Company after it was constructed and placed into production in 2008. However, the mine’s short remaining life, higher operating costs and future estimated closure-related costs led the Company to conclude that a sale to a new owner at this time made strong strategic sense. By retaining a 2.0% NSR, Coeur will also preserve upside exposure to San Bartolomé as Argentum continues to operate the mine and pursue opportunities to generate additional value from this asset.

Click here to read the full Coeur Mining Inc. (NYSE:CDE) press release.