Newmont Mining Corp. will issue a special dividend in an effort to quash a brewing shareholder revolt that could have torpedoed the company’s takeover of Goldcorp, a deal that will create the world’s largest gold miner.

Two large Newmont shareholders said last week that the company’s $10 billion merger with Goldcorp transferred away significant gains from a recently announced Nevada joint venture between Newmont and Barrick Gold Corp. The January merger deal had been struck before the Nevada agreement was completed.

Newmont owns Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co., which operates Colorado’s largest gold mine between Cripple Creek and Victor.

On Monday, Newmont said it would pay 88 cents per share to its own investors if the Goldcorp deal is approved by both companies’ shareholders next month.

The move reflects feedback from investors, Tom Palmer, Newmont’s chief operating officer, said in an interview.

“The special dividend allows us to pass on the full, after tax, synergies that would have gone to the Goldcorp investors,” he said.

Newmont estimates that the Nevada joint venture will result in cost savings of $4.7 billion, but those savings will be split between Newmont and Barrick’s shareholders.

Paulson & Co. sent a letter to Newmont Chief Executive Gary Goldberg last week saying the Goldcorp deal needed to be renegotiated. VanEck, one of Denver-based Newmont’s largest investors, backed that sentiment several days later.

Investors have also criticized the size of post-deal compensation for Goldcorp’s current chief executive and its chairman.

Palmer said this was a matter for Goldcorp, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokesman for hedge fund giant Paulson & Co. said it’s evaluating Newmont’s planned dividend. Goldcorp declined to comment.

Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining, owned by Newmont Mining, is Teller County’s largest employer.

Courtesy photo