Great Divide Mining (ASX: GDM) has resolved a dispute that had halted operations at the Challenger gold mine in New South Wales.
A new agreement has now cleared the way for Great Divide to acquire the remaining 49% interest in the mine from Adelong Gold (ASX: ADG).
Great Divide successfully poured its first gold at Challenger in mid-July, however, the mine site was shut down in August pending resolution of the dispute.
The company announced in late November that it had come to an arrangement with Adelong that removed a number of barriers to finalising the acquisition.
Complete Resolution
As consideration for the sale, Adelong will receive 10 million fully paid ordinary Great Divide shares, and will also retain a 1% royalty on all gold produced at Challenger, capped at 125,000 ounces.
The agreement also includes a deed of termination, settlement and release condition, under which Adelong will pay $27,288 to a Challenger Mines joint venture company in relation to tax obligations arising from a prior property sale in Adelong.
The company has already paid $107,000 as its share of joint venture expenses up to the end of October 2025.
Adelong will retain the full $455,000 proceeds from the property sale, with all claims between the parties relating to the joint venture and the dispute – other than the ongoing standard tax indemnities – now resolved.
Restructured Mining Plan
Once the agreement is completed, Great Divide aims to restructure its plans for Challenger to suit sole-funded development, optimisation, and operations.
It has also revealed plans to ramp-up “lower and slower” to production, which will result in lower capital and operating cost requirements.
“Finalising this transaction with Great Divide gives our shareholders clarity and a clean exit from the Challenger joint venture, while still retaining material exposure to any upside through our shareholding in Great Divide and the royalty," Adelong managing director Ian Holland said.
"The agreed-upon structure improves our balance sheet, removes future funding risk, and allows us to direct capital to the Lauriston and Apollo gold projects.”
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