The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition Alamos Gold has agreed to buy junior miner Esperanza Resources and add a promising development project in Mexico to its portfolio. The Post's Peter Koven writes the announcement comes nearly four months after Alamos took a failed run at buying Aurizon Mines Ltd., a much larger target with a mine in Quebec. Alamos pulled its hostile bid after the price got too high. The takeover of Esperanza is worth $69.4-million in cash, or 85 cents a share, plus five million warrants. The price is a 33-per-cent premium over Esperanza's volume-weighted average price over the last 30 days. Esperanza's gold project holds 1.5 million ounces of gold in measured and indicated resources, along with 16 million ounces of silver. Once built, it is expected to produce more than 100,000 ounces a year at cash costs below $900 an ounce. Alamos chief executive officer John McCluskey said the transaction has the potential to increase Mexican production by more than 50 per cent. Shares of junior gold companies like Esperanza have been decimated in the past 12 months, creating buying opportunities for larger players like Alamos to pick those with proven deposits.