Endeavour Silver Paying Up To $250M To AuRico Gold For 2 Mines

(REUTERS) -- Canada's Endeavour Silver Corp (EDR.TO) is buying two of AuRico Gold's (AUQ.TO) silver and gold mining interests in Mexico for up to $250 million in cash and stock to expand its footprint in the country.

Endeavour will pay AuRico $100 million in cash and $100 million in Endeavour common shares for the El Cubo mine and the Guadalupe y Calvo exploration project, the companies said.

Toronto-based AuRico is also entitled to get an additional $50 million in cash payments upon the occurrence of certain events during the three years after closing.

El Cubo is a producing mine located in the Guanajuato state in central Mexico and Guadalupe y Calvo is an advanced exploration project based in the Chihuahua State, Mexico.

The deal is expected to increase Endeavour's 2012 silver production by at least 12 percent to 4.8 million ounces.