Avoca Resources Ltd has increased its stake in takeover target and fellow gold miner Dioro Exploration NL as the market awaits further details of a rival proposal from Canada's Northgate Minerals.
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Avoca said on Tuesday, one week ahead of the close of its hostile bid, it had lifted its interest in Dioro to 19.03 per cent, from 17.13 per cent.
Dioro late on Monday said it would provide details of a potentially material transaction with Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Northgate within a week.
It said the Northgate proposal was "likely to be a superior transaction in value to the current Avoca offer".
Dioro said in May, when Avoca's original scrip offer opened, that it had been in talks with both international and Australian parties for the previous 12 months about selling some or all of its assets, and that the talks were ongoing.
Avoca's revised offer of one of its shares for every 2.4 Dioro shares valued the target at about $68.5 million or 74.8 cents per share when it was announced early this month, based on Avoca's share price at the time.
Dioro shares were up two cents at 73 cents while Avoca's shares had inched one cent lower to $1.74.
Dioro, which is listed on the Toronto exchange as well as the Australian bourse, is in a joint venture at its Frog's Leg mine near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia with Canada's La Mancha Resources.
