PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The merger of gold miners Saracen Mineral Resources and Northern Star was implemented on Friday.

All Saracen shares have been transferred to Northern Star, and eligible Saracen shareholders have been issued the scheme consideration of 0.3763 Northern Star shares for each Saracen share held.

In addition, Northern Star shares otherwise payable to ineligible shareholders have also been issued to a nominee appointed to sell those shares, with the net proceeds of the sale to be distributed to applicable Saracen shareholders.

Saracen on Friday said that shareholders have also been paid a special dividend of 3.8c a share.

An application has been made to remove Saracen from the ASX, which is expected to take effect on February 15.

Northern Star has meanwhile appointed a number of Saracen directors to the Northern Star board, effective immediately, including Raleigh Finlayson, who has been appointed as MD.

Anthony Kiernan has been appointed as lead independent director, John Richards as nonexecutive director, and Sally Langer as nonexecutive director.

Northern Star’s nonexecutive director Peter O’Connor will retire from the board, effective immediately.

Northern Star executive chairperson Bill Beament said that the board looked forward to working with the new directors as the company embarked on its next chapter of growth.

“We have a diverse board, with each director brining particular skills and experience. This composition will help ensure we continue growing returns for all stakeholders using our first class team of people, exceptional assets, strong cashflow and robust balance sheet.”

The merged entity will have a pro-forma market capitalisation of A$16-billion and a net cash position of A$188-million, with an immediate production profile of 1.6-million ounces and a pathway to increasing production to two-million ounces a year.

The merged entity will have a 19-million-ounce reserve and resources of 49-million ounces, with the company holding three large-scale production centers in exclusively Tier 1 locations.

The merger would also result in the consolidation of the Kalgoorlie Golden Mile to be consolidated under one owner for the first time in more than 125 years.