Global mining giant, AngloGold Ashanti is set to acquire the 50 percent of  Brazil’s Crixas gold mine it does not already own for $220 million. According to reports, the mining giant is to buy the remaining 50 percent stake of Crixas gold mine from Kinross Gold Corp as part of its drive to expand in the Americas it stated on yesterday.

AngloGold Ashanti said it expected the deal to increase its annual attributable production from Brazil to over 500,000 ounces and the contribution from the Americas region as whole to more than 1 million ounces.

According to its Chief Executive, Mark Cutifani, “This deal further simplifies our portfolio and gives us greater exposure to Brazil, where we’ve had significant success in growing our production as well as our reserve and resource base”

“We see long-term, lower risk, potential from Serra Grande (Crixas), which is a key component of our strategy to grow the contribution from the Americas”, he added.

The deal will be funded by existing cash reserves and debt facilities. According to Kinross, the deal is expected to be rounded off by the second quarter of 2012.

The transaction is the latest in a series of disposals by Kinross as it looks to sell off non-core assets.

Last year, it sold an 8.5 percent equity interest in diamond miner Harry Winston, while in 2010 it sold a 22.5 percent interest in the partnership holding Harry Winston’s 40 percent interest in the Diavik Diamond Mines joint venture.

According to reports, Kinross’s share of Crixas’s proven and probable gold reserves was about 375,000 ounces as of December 31, and its share of forecast production for 2012 was about 70,000 gold equivalent ounces.

AngloGold Ashanti is a global gold producer with 21 operations on four continents, with listings on the New York, Johannesburg, Accra, London and Australian stock exchanges, as well as the Paris and Brussels bourses.

The mining giant ranked 13th on the list of African Top 250 Companies