Gold Fields and Bolivar Gold Execute Definitive Agreement
December 01 2005 - 12:30PM
PR Newswire (US)
JOHANNESBURG, TORONTO, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gold Fields
Limited (Gold Fields) (NYSE and JSE: GFI) and Bolivar Gold Corp.
(Bolivar) (TSX: BGC) announced today that the companies have
executed a definitive agreement by which Gold Fields will combine,
through a court approved plan of arrangement, all of the
outstanding securities of Bolivar with its international asset
portfolio for a total cash consideration of approximately US$330
million (approximately ZAR 2.2 billion). As announced on November
29, 2005, the proposed transaction has been approved by the South
African Reserve Bank. Furthermore, the Board of Directors of
Bolivar have today unanimously approved and recommended acceptance
of the Gold Fields offer. An independent committee of the Board of
Directors obtained a valuation of Bolivar and fairness opinion from
Sprott Securities Inc. which confirms the fairness of the Gold
Fields offer. The recommendation of Bolivar's Board of Directors is
also supported by a fairness opinion from its financial advisor,
GMP Securities Ltd. Full details of the definitive agreement, as
well as the Sprott valuation, will be included in the proxy
circular to be mailed to Bolivar security holders on or about
December 12, 2005. A shareholders meeting has been scheduled for
January 12, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. in the TSX Auditorium in Toronto,
Canada. Gold Fields is one of the world's largest unhedged gold
producers, with annual gold production of approximately 4.2 million
ounces from mines in South Africa, Ghana and Australia as well as a
developing mine at Cerro Corona in Peru. The Company has reserves
of 64.8 million ounces and mineral resources of 174.5 million
ounces. Gold Fields has its primary listing on the Johannesburg
Securities Exchange and secondary listings on the NYSE, LSE,
Euronext in Paris and Brussels, and on the Swiss Exchange. All of
Gold Fields' operations are ISO 14001 certified. Bolivar Gold Corp.
is a gold exploration, development and production company. At its
95%-owned Choco 10 property in Venezuela, drilling has confirmed
near-surface proven and probable ore reserves of 1.3 million
ounces. The 5,400 tonne per day Choco 10 operation commenced
commercial production in August 2005. Bolivar Gold intends to
exploit this reserve while continuing to pursue the exploration
potential of the Choco 10 property, as well as throughout the El
Callao district in conjunction with its joint venture partner, Gold
Fields Limited. DATASOURCE: Bolivar Gold Corp. CONTACT: Gold
Fields, Willie Jacobsz, +27 11 644-2505, ; Nerina Bodasing, +27 11
644-2630, ; Cheryl Martin, (303) 796-8683, ; Bolivar Gold, Robert
Doyle, (416) 360-4653,
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