In return, the Vancouver-based exploration firm will purchase all issued and excellent shares of Aurea Mining, an Argonaut subsidiary that holds a 100% oblique curiosity in Ana Paula.
Larry Radford, Argonaut Gold president and CEO, commented in a information launch that the sale would enable the corporate to concentrate on its Magino mine, situated 40 km northeast of Wawa, Ontario, which it says will remodel Argonaut right into a “low-cost, intermediate producer.”
Argonaut acquired Magino in 2012 and the asset is at the moment below development. The corporate raised C$195.3 million this yr to assist finance the over-budget mission, which is now anticipated to value C$920 million to finish. Magino has confirmed and possible reserves of 58.9 million tonnes grading 1.13 grams gold per tonne for two.1 million contained ounces and a 19-year anticipated mine life.
Ana Paula is a developmental stage mission with open pit and underground potential. Based on a 2017 preliminary feasibility, it has a measured and inferred useful resource of 1.5 million oz. of gold and three.3 million oz. of silver in 21 million tonnes grading 2.17 grams gold per tonne and 4.8 grams silver.
Heliostar, a junior with a C$13.3 million market cap, will nonetheless want to lift the required funds for the upfront fee, “which can pose a problem, as was the case in 2021,” stated Ryan Hanley, mining analyst for Laurentian Financial institution Securities, in a analysis observe.
The businesses additionally entered into an choice settlement for Heliostar to accumulate 100% of the San Antonio gold mission, additionally in Mexico. Heliostar’s current portfolio incorporates initiatives in Alaska and Mexico that concentrate on high-grade gold.
