Saracen Mining Holdings has acquired the unloved Thunderbox gold mine in Western Australia. The firm bought the said assets from Russian giant Norilsk in a deal valued at $20 million, according to The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH).

The transaction will allow the ASX-listed firm to take over the dormant gold assets including a set of smaller assets. Thunderbox had been owned by Norilsk since 2007, the report detailed.

As Norilsk focused on its nickel production, the firm's loss-making division in Australia has kept the acquired assets under care in the recent years prior to the deal, the report added.

According to Saracen boss Raleigh Finlayson, he believes Thunderbox could be revived into production in less than a year despite the plunge of the gold price last year. Should this endeavor be successful, Thunderbox would become Saracen's third operating mining asset, next to Red October and Whirling Dervish, the report explained.

Under the terms of the said transaction, Norilsk can gain a further $3 million from the Australian miner if a certain production quota is achieved within a certain timeframe, SMH reported.