Agnico Eagle is one of the biggest players in mining. And they’re coming after a publicly traded Canadian gold explorer now.

‍What’s happening:‍

• Mining giant Agnico Eagle (NYSE: AEM) has announced a take over offer for 03 Mining (TSXV: OIII)
  

By the numbers:‍

• Agnico Eagle will pay $1.67 CAD per share for O3 Mining, which represents roughly a 57% premium to the share price over the past month
  
• On a fully diluted basis, the acquisition is worth a total of $204M CAD
  

Why it matters:‍

• O3 Mining’s flagship property is the Marina Alliance gold project which is located just kilometres away from Agnico Eagle’s Canadian Malartic complex in the Abitibi region of Quebec
  

Going deeper:‍

• Agnico Eagle has made multiple acquisitions in the Abitibi region of Quebec in the past, previously acquiring the Wasamac project from Yamana Gold prior to them being acquired by Pan American Silver (NYSE: PAAS)
  
• The Abitibi region of Quebec is one of the most historic locations in Canadian mining, which has recently seen Abitibi Metals (CSE: AMQ) significantly expand their copper and gold resource estimate
  

Market reaction:‍

• Shares of O3 Mining soared +60% following the announcement

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