Century Iron Royalty Deal1) These Lab Trough iron ore properties were staked in late 2010, and Altius has invested very little in them so far, just paying for an airborne magnetic survey and some fieldwork. A small initial investment, maybe a couple hundred thousand, will be worth a lot more if any of these properties ever reach production (a 4% royalty can be an incredible cash generator with the volumes in the iron ore business). A great business model.
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2) Century's a very new company but they have some impressive looking (and signed) joint venture deals with WISCO and MinMetals. The Altius properties look like little better located (very near existing rail)
than their flagship properties, in Western Quebec and north of Shefferville. Unclear which properties will take priority.
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3) The 5 million plus in payment shares to Altius is significant (current market value = $12 million). Century has 92.8 million shares outstanding, so ALS would become a sizeable shareholder over time.
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4) Iron ore is becoming the hot commodity that companies are willing to spend their partnership dollars on. The last Altius partnership deal was with Cliffs for the Saglek iron ore project. Altius is also talking with a potential partner about the Snelgrove Lake project.