Kinross Gold - History

History

Kinross Gold Corporation was founded in 1993 following the merger of Plexus Resources Corporation, CMP Resources and the numbered company 1021105 Ontario Corp. The merger resulted in the new company owning a stake and royalties on a mining property in Fallon, Nevada and the QR Mine in British Columbia. Kinross merged with Amax Gold (formerly known as Kinam Gold) in 1998, which gave Kinross the Fort Knox Gold Mine. In 2002 Kinross, TVX Gold (TVX), and Echo Bay Mines proposed a $3-billion merger, which would combine the three companies, while retaining the name Kinross Gold. The merger was delayed from its original closing due to Kinross' inability to raise the necessary funds, but was approved by shareholders in January 2003. In 2006 Kinross sold the Lupin Mine (in Canada) and the Blanket Mine (in Zimbabwe), and bought Crown Resources Corporation, which gave them ownership of the mineral resource Buckhorn Mountain (later Buckhorn Gold Mine) and the associated mineral processing facilities. Kinross also sold the Aquarius Project (acquired as part of the Echo Bay merger) in 2006 to St. Andrews Goldfields (who operated the nearby Stock Gold Mine). In 2002 Kinross and Placer Dome combined their assets in Timmins, Ontario and formed the Porcupine Joint Venture (51% Placer Dome, 49% Kinross). In 2007 Kinross traded assets with Goldcorp; Kinross received $200-million and the remaining portion of the La Coipa Gold Mine it had acquired with the TVX merger, in exchange for giving up its 49% of the Porcupine Joint Venture and 31.9% of the Musselwhite Mine. In 2010 Kinross purchased the remaining shares (91%) of Red Back Mining for $7.1-billion. The purchase brought with it the two gold mines in Africa (Chirano and Tasiast).