Goldcorp Inc. G-T

has matched Minera Penmont Inc.’s $277-million bid for Canplats Resources Corp. CPQ-X

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Goldcorp’s offer is the latest in a string of bids and counter-bids that has pitted it against Penmont, jointly owned by Fresnillo PLC and Newmont Mining Corp. NEM-N

, for control of Canplats, developer of the Camino Rojo gold and silver discovery in Mexico.

Goldcorp is now bidding $4.80 per share for Canplats, $4.60 in cash per share plus shares of a newly formed company.

The new bid means that “Canplats must enter into an agreement with Goldcorp to reflect the amended terms of the transaction and must recommend that the Canplats security holders approve the business combination with Goldcorp,” Goldcorp said in a statement.

On Monday, Minera Penmont had sweetened its bid for Canplats, which caused the junior miner to declare that a “superior proposal” to an earlier Goldcorp offer that in turn was a response to an even earlier Minera Penmont bid.

Canplats shares gained 14 cents to $5.10 on the TSX Venture Exchange.

Minera Penmont owns the operating Herradura mine and the nearly complete Soledad and Dipolos project, both located in Sonora, Mexico.

Goldcorp also has a mine in the area, 50 kilometres northwest of Camino Rojo. The company said last month that it expected strong synergies between Camino Rojo and Goldcorp’s Penasquito mine.