Chemicals and mining explosives company Orica has paid $260 million in cash to buy Axis mining technology, a specialized geospatial tool which will help miners explore, extract and refine material from “mine to mill.”
The deal is funded through the proceeds of a fully underwritten $650 million institutional share placement, reported earlier by Street Talk.
Orica’s shares went into a trading halt on Wednesday morning ahead of the deal.
Orica told investors Axis geospatial technology will accelerate Orica’s capabilities to support new mineral discoveries required for decarbonisation – as new mineral discoveries are increasingly located at greater depths and demand more precise geophysics.
Axis’ gold and copper exposure also accelerates Orica’s broader commodity mix objectives.
In addition to the cash payout, a deferred earn-out payment of up to $90 million is payable based on Axis’ cumulative earnings generated from 1 October, 2022 to the end of December, 2024. That is contingent on key management remaining employed by Orica during the earn-out period.
Orica Managing Director and CEO Sanjeev Gandhi said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Axis into Orica.”
“This strategic acquisition further strengthens our existing Digital Solutions vertical and expands our Orebody Intelligence portfolio upstream.”