UPDATE 1-China's Zijin Mining to buy Newmont's Ghana gold project for $1 bln

(Adds details from paragraph 2 onwards) Oct 9 (Reuters) - China's Zijin Mining Group 601899.SS will buy the Akyem Gold Mine Project in Ghana from U.S.-based Newmont Corp NEM.N for $1 billion, the companies said on Wednesday. The sale is a part of Newmont's ongoing programme to divest non-core assets as the company makes a strategic shift to focus on its tier one assets, the U.S. gold producer said. Newmont is expected to receive cash consideration of $900 million upon the deal's closure, with a further $100 million upon satisfaction of certain conditions. The deal will see Zijin's unit Gold Source International acquiring a subsidiary of Newmont, which in turn owns the Akyem project. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to regulatory approvals, Newmont said in a statement. "After study, the company is of the view that under the current and anticipated future gold price conditions, the project's utilisable resources and reserves still have significant potential," Zijin said in a statement. The Chinese miner said certain Ghanaian entities had expressed interest in acquiring a minority stake in the asset, adding that it was open to exploring such potential transactions. (Reporting by Ayushman Ojha; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) (([email protected];))