New SSR Mining Ownership Deal Creeping Closer to a Conclusion
Rick Langenberg
It was a “bitter/sweet” local ending for a veteran manager of Newmont Mining, who has held the head boss reins at the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine (CC&V) for the last year, and sports three-plus decades in the industry.
For elected leaders, Johan Van Huyssteen has almost become the commanding voice for the official exit of Newmont from the CC&V district and in laying out the welcome mat for the pending owner, SSR Mining. He regularly briefed the Cripple Creek and Victor city councils on the eventual changing of the guard for possibly the biggest economic venture in the area during the last year. This $275 million-plus acquisition deal is now expected to close shortly, right on par with the timeline originally outlined by the CC&V Gold Mine boss.
But don’t look for a departure of familiar managers. “It will be a very smooth transition,” promised Huyssteen. In fact, he doesn’t expect many employee changes, with possibly a few current workers joining Newmont, and possibly some new faces from SSR Mining. Moreover, he reiterated the fact that no layoffs are expected, and the new operators will maintain Newmont’s commitment towards community support. He stressed that SSR Mining was vetted extensively to assure they were a good fit to assume the operations of CC&V from a business and environmental standpoint, and to work with the community.
During a CC&V, informal open house at the Aspen Mine Center on Feb. 27, Huyssteen, known also for his strong South African accent that almost make him sound at times like an international television broadcaster on mining issues, officially bid farewell. He noted that the open house would be his last function as the CC&V Gold Mine general manger, as he was returning to Denver to assume other managerial responsibilities with Newmont. Huyssteen sports quite an extensive career as a mining manager and even worked with the company that ran CC&V prior to Newmont, AngloGold Ashanti, based in South Africa.
He got quite emotional about his exit in recent weeks. “It is with a sore heart that I am leaving,” said the CC&V general manager, in addressing the Cripple Creek City Council. He described the relations between Newmont and local elected officials and civic leaders in the area as excellent.
Huyssteen at the CC&V open house again touted CC&V as a prosperous mining operation. And under SSR Mining, it could even gain more notoriety within the company, noted Huyssteen.
Of the nearly 20 gold mining operations Newmont runs around the world, CC&V ranked as the lowest-producer. It was one of six operations that Newmont opted to divest, under a new corporate restructuring plan. But under the realm of SSR Mining, based in Denver, CC&V will reign as one of the company’s largest operators in the United States.
Business insiders say this could create more managerial stability, as CC&V has frequently undergone a number of general managers and operator changes in its recent past mainly due to its smaller size, compared to mammoth operations that mine more than 500,000 ounces of gold a year.
Still, two questions are still up for grabs. When exactly will the keys change and is there any hope of an underground mining operation?
No sure answers were provided on these issues, although Newmont officials contended that the closure of the CC&V sales deal will get finalized very shortly. “It is very, very close,” said Huyssteen, on several occasions, at the recent forum at the Aspen Mine Center. As far as reigniting an underground operation, that decision rests with SSR Mining.
About six years ago, Newmont actively pursued this possibility and even had public forums, outlining the details of a possible underground operation and the equipment it may use, highlighted by state-of-the art technology.
But in the end, the company sought not to pursue this avenue.
Interest still remains strong in rekindling the possibility of an underground mining bid, but the costs involved often have served as the main hurdles.
But regardless of the operator, CC&V won’t be ending its pursuit in the district anytime soon. The company is pursuing efforts to extending its mine life and has plans for expanding its leach pad facilities and to do other technical enhancements.
A new amendment (Amendment 14) has gotten the initial okay by state officials and will eventually be addressed by the Teller County commissioners, probably next year.
Regardless of a slew of regulatory approvals the company must deal with, CC&V will remain an active presence in the district for decades.
