08:19 AM EDT, 05/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Aris Mining (ARIS.TO) said on Thursday that it signed a binding agreement with MDC Industry Holding Co. to buy an additional 31% joint-venture interest in their Soto Norte gold-copper project in Colombia.

The purchase will increase Aris' total ownership to 51% while MDC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based investment company Mubadala Investment Co. PJSC, will retain the remaining 49%.

Under the agreement, Aris will issue 15.8 million shares to Mubadala, representing an approximate 9.9% ownership stake based on Aris' outstanding shares as of March 31. The company will issue an additional 6 million shares on receipt of an environmental license for the project. The transaction is expected to close in June.

Additionally, Aris Mining said it has completed optimization studies of a smaller, more efficient development plan for the project. Key changes include reducing the environmental footprint, building a smaller processing plant with a longer operating life, adopting a flexible mining method to target higher-grade material earlier in the mine life, and installing a paste backfill plant to reduce surface tailings storage requirements.