Fresnillo, the FTSE 100’s best-performing stock so far in 2025, has struck a deal to expand its operations into Canada, announcing the acquisition of Probe Gold Inc. for CAD$780 million in an all-cash transaction.
The acquisition price of CAD $3.65 per share represents a 24% premium over Probe’s 30-day volume-weighted average trading price on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The deal values the Canadian exploration company at approximately US$560 million.
Following a bumper year for the group amid soaring gold prices, Fresnillo is putting some of its cash to work by expanding its asset base.
This acquisition marks Fresnillo’s strategic entry into Canada, putting the company in Quebec’s prolific Val d’Or mining camp, an area with a rich history of gold mining and continued production growth.
The region offers significant advantages, including a skilled local workforce and established infrastructure, providing an ideal foundation for Fresnillo’s expansion plans.
Probe Gold will add the multimillion-ounce Novador Gold Project to Fresnillo, estimated to have a resource base of 8 million ounces. Probe has around 10 million ounces in total across its portfolio.
The Novador project has strong potential to produce over 200,000 ounces of gold annually for more than 10 years.
“Fresnillo has a significant track record of identifying, developing, building and operating successful gold and silver mines,” said Fresnillo CEO Octavio Alvídrez.
“We will take that considerable experience and build on the current work completed by Probe’s excellent team. We are confident that together we will continue to advance and further optimise the project. We are excited to be coming to Canada, an outstanding mining jurisdiction with a global reputation for responsible development, and to the Val d’Or region with its proud history of mining.”
Beyond the immediate production boost, the deal offers substantial exploration upside through Probe’s extensive land package. The company controls approximately 1,798 square kilometers of underexplored territory in Quebec, including both the Novador Gold Project and the early-stage Detour Gold Quebec project.