(Sea of Okhotsk, east coast of Russia)
Freezing cold winds whistle around you. You're near the Arctic Circle of far-eastern Russia in the middle of nowhere, looking for a hidden gold deposit. The area is a vast undeveloped wasteland that resembles the surface of Mars but with snow covering it. You and a team of geologists are here to find a gold mine. Few have been there since Soviet geologists visited in the early 70s. Nobody has dared to do anything with the land because of its remote location and severe weather conditions. Nevertheless, you knew in your heart something was there and that you would find it, even if nobody else thought the same.
This was Clive Johnson and Tom Garagan, mining legends, and the Bema Gold team. Bema started in Russia in the late 90s when they first acquired the small but high-grade Julietta deposit. The Julietta mine is located in a remote and challenging region of Russia, with harsh weather conditions and limited infrastructure. Yet, the team managed to build the mine on-time and on budget at a time when nobody wanted to touch Gold or Russia. At its peak, the Julietta mine produced approximately 100,000 ounces of high-grade and profitable gold per year.
https://www.northernminer.com/news/julietta-mine-to-start-up-in-fourth-quarter/1000107875/
Three years later, Bema Gold went on to discover the Kupol deposit, an amazing discovery. Clive and his team were cementing themselves as one of the largest gold producers in the world…
Fast forward to 2006, Bema Gold was acquired in a massive deal with Kinross Gold for US $3.1B.
From desolate regions in Russia to an over $3B buyout. This wasn’t even Clive's most significant win.
B2 Gold
With the previous success of Bema Gold, Clive and his team had more deal flow than ever and they knew exactly what to do with it. Using their knowledge of gold mining, they scoured the globe for potential and they found it, down in Nicaragua.
It was 2009, the majority of miners had no money and we’re looking to sell all of their assets. Fortunately, this was not the case for Clive’s team.
B2Gold acquired Central Sun Mining in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $67 million, the company was financially distressed and so this was a steal. The acquisition gave B2Gold ownership of the La Libertad and El Limón mines, as well as several other exploration projects in Nicaragua.
Again, in another bear market, B2 Gold added a third mine as it merged with ASX-listed CGA Mining. This deal provided the Masbate mine in the Philippines.
Since then, B2Gold has continued to grow its portfolio of gold assets through acquisitions and exploration. The company's other major mines include the Fekola mine in Mali and the Otjikoto mine in Namibia. Today, B2Gold is one of the fastest-growing gold producers in the world, with a market capitalization of over $6 billion.
Not Done Yet
By now, Clive Johnson, Tom Garagan, Roger Richer, and the rest of the team behind Bema Gold and B2 Gold have become titans in the mining space. However, they weren’t done yet. Like many people who have founded successful companies, it becomes an addiction.
They sought out to find another gold project that had massive potential. This time, they landed in Japan and formed BeMetals (BMET.V) and there’s a chance you haven’t heard of it considering it only sits at a mere $20M market cap. They focus on two main projects, the Kazan Gold project in Japan and the Pangeni Copper project in Zambia. Last year was their first exploration drilling program in Japan and they already hit gold mineralization in four of their first five drill holes. They just commenced drilling at the Kazan Gold project in mid-February and we can expect to start seeing the results from this year’s program by early May 2023.
Considering this collective team has previously discovered more than 34Moz of gold, 56Moz of silver, 6Blbs of copper, has raised over US $3B in capital, and has operated 10 mines globally, BeMetals is worth adding to your watchlist.
Thanks for reading this article, my name is Matthew Nelson and I post content exploring how successful entrepreneurs got to where they are today. Follow me on Twitter for more!
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Disclaimer: Do your own due diligence before making any investments. This is not financial advice. I am affiliated with BeMetals and believe in their story. I intend to present information with 100% accuracy. However, I am not perfect. Please take this into account.
