Tokyo — Asahi Holdings, a Tokyo-based precious metal refiner, is expected to emerge as the largest gold and silver refinery in the US following its planned acquisition of Republic Metals, Kunihiko Chogo, company's general manager for corporate planning and communications told S&P Global Platts Monday.

Asahi won the US court-supervised auction last week to acquire Miami-based Republic Metals and Republic Carbon for $25.5 million. The two firms filed Chapter 11 in November last year.

Republic Metals has a production capacity of 2,500 mt/year of silver and 350 mt/year of gold. Feedstock is mostly primary ore.

Asahi Holdings runs a gold and silver refinery in Utah, and another in Brampton, Canada. Outside of North America, it runs refineries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and China for recycling gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and indium from industrial scrap.

Chogo declined to elaborate on the production capacity of its two facilities in North America.

Republic Carbon treats sludge generated from mines.

The acquisition also allows Asahi to enter carbon treatment and mint coin fabrication businesses, complimenting Asahi's North American strategy to add value both in the downstream and upstream, Chogo said.

Following the February 1 auction of Republic Metals and Republic Carbon, a public hearing will be held at the US Bankruptcy Court on February 13, and the Asahi acquisition deal is expected to finalize by February 28.

-- Mayumi Watanabe, mayumi.watanabe@spglobal.com

-- Edited by Ikhhlaq Singh Aujla, newsdesk@spglobal.com