Tombill Mines Ltd V.TBLL

TBLL - now rub shoulders with Equinox Gold and Orion Finance

[ndiamond]

A note from Research Mackie Capital Corp (Vancouver) :

In a nice boost for Tombill Mines (which started trading today under the symbol TBLL on the Venture), Centerra sold it’s 50% stake in Greenstone Gold Mines (GGM), which owns the Hard Rock Gold Project (GGM being a JV with Premier Gold) to Orion Mine Finance Group for U$225mm plus Centerra's obligations totalling around U$75mm. Not only does this bring the region into focus, but it puts a price on the Hard Rock Project of close to U$1 billion. The Hard Rock is a 6.4mm ounce, open-pit project which is ready for construction. The PEA shows a 15 year mine life on a mill throughput of around 27,000 tonnes per day. Centerra had been delaying on committing the capital to begin mine construction.  This deal should now get the project moving forward.

 

The Tombill Mine property is adjacent to Hard Rock project and the Company hopes to prove continuation of the down-plunge from the Hard Rock Project through a winter drill program, creating a natural fit for continuation of the Hard Rock Mine.

From the news release of Premier Gold :

“This transaction paves the way for the development of Premier’s flagship asset. We look forward to working with Orion, a long-standing supportive partner of Premier, in advancing the Hardrock Project on an expedited timeline”, stated Ewan Downie, President and CEO of Premier. “This new partnership will unlock the substantial value of one of North America’s most advanced, permitted and well-located, multi-million-ounce gold projects.”  

 

Istvan Zollei, portfolio manager at Orion, commented: “Orion looks forward to being a partner in turning the Hardrock Project into Ontario’s next prominent mine. After years of successful exploration and development work, we believe the Greenstone Project has the potential to grow into a large, long-lived gold mining operation with multiple deposits.

Following the closing of the Transaction, Orion intends to support a positive feasibility decision for the Hardrock project based on the feasibility study conducted in 2019.     (Orion owns 15% of Premier Gold).
 

Equinox Gold has now made a takeover bid for Premier Gold.   From Equinox news release:

Equinox Gold will acquire a 50-per-cent interest in the permitted, development-ready, multimillion-ounce Hardrock project through a joint venture between Equinox Gold and Orion Mine Finance:

• 5.54 million ounces of proven and probable mineral reserves grading 1.27 grams per tonne gold;
• 414,000 ounces average annual gold production with average head grade of 1.45 g/t gold for the first five years; 358,000 ounces average annual gold production over the initial 14-year mine life.

Equinox Chairman Ross Beatty :  "Mr. Beaty stated: "This transaction is exactly the kind of accretive Americas-focused growth we promised shareholders when we started Equinox Gold at the beginning of 2018. The addition of a top-tier, low-risk mining jurisdiction in Ontario, Canada, creates a lower risk profile, with greater asset and country diversification. Hardrock will be an excellent, low-cost, long-life gold mine with significant exploration upside, further enhancing our existing peer-leading growth profile without stretching our financial capacity."

Christian Milau, chief executive officer of Equinox Gold, stated: "Combining a 50-per-cent interest in the permitted, development-ready Hardrock project with our strong balance sheet and operating cash flow provides a clear path to production for Hardrock that I believe will unlock substantial value for both Equinox Gold and Premier Gold shareholders. We look forward to developing Hardrock with Orion as our partner..."

[tbnorthstar]

Money coming in from the U.S. Smart guys with a good track record. They picked up 1.9 million today...

[GMon]

This Hardrock Mine play has multi-million ounce potential for Tombill. Drills start hopefully in January.  Should be exciting

[tbnorthstar]

Big money watching this one. Going to take a while what with the deep drilling but still a good play to own here.