(Kitco News) - TomaGold Corp. (TSXV: LOT) went against the mining industry trend in 2013 as the company secured financing, engaged in merger-and-acquisition activity and continued exploration initiatives at its Quebec-based properties.
David Grondin, president and chief executive officer of TomaGold, told Kitco News during a telephone interview that he and the company are always looking for more opportunities.
“We’re still looking at opportunities. If I can pull the trigger on a deal or a takeover merger or a larger transaction, why not, but it needs to make sense,” Grondin said. “I think that will be the trend in 2014. Some companies, they’re dying right now so they might be looking into doing something more at the corporate level so we will be listening and looking around.
“We’ll be in the driver’s seat in any case,” he added.
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On Nov. 12, TomaGold announced a $17.575 million option agreement with IAMGOLD Corp. (TSX:IMG)(NYSE:IAG) whereby IAMGOLD may earn a 50% interest in each of the Monster Lake, Winchester and Lac à l´eau jaune properties in northern Quebec.
“IAMGOLD is now taking the lead, so they will be planning the next working phase, which will be sometime in January,” Grondin said. “We’ll be drilling on Monster Lake for likely the first half of 2014 with them and then we’ll address the next phase of work.”
Drilling at Monster Lake has returned some high-grade results highlighted by a bonanza grade of 237.6 grams per ton over 5.7 meters on the Annie Zone in late 2012 and 101.2 g/t gold over 4.50 meters on the Zone 325 in mid-2013.
Near the Monster Lake project, TomaGold is exploring its Cookie Monster, Little Monster and Fancamp properties.
“We’ve done some drilling on Cookie, Little and Fancamp to better define the general structure, not really for targeting grades in particular but just to find out what type of geology at depth we have,” Grondin said. “At some places it is similar to Monster Lake, but there are some differences.
“We saw different types of geology so we’re running through everything to better build the model on Little and Cookie,” he said. “It should be quite an active year in that specific area.”
The company’s continued activity is a contrast to the hard times the mining industry endured in 2013, something that Grondin and TomaGold believe is essential to a company’s survival.
“My strategy and the strategy of TomaGold was always that even the bad conditions, you have to work,” Grondin said. “If you stop working, you’ll be a sitting duck and will have trouble later on.
“We have access to capital, people really believe in the company, we have a good following, people approve our strategy and what we’ve been doing so far,” he added. “The only thing that matters right now is to deliver on these grades and with IAMGOLD working, I think it will create momentum.”
An added point of pressure in 2013 for miners and explorers working in Quebec was the uncertainty in mining from a political standpoint. In late 2013, Quebec’s Mining Act – Bill 70 – was adopted laying to rest a large portion of uncertainty.
“It needed to be resolved; we needed to close that chapter,” Grondin said. “When you’re in Hong Kong, at the other end of the world, and they know about the political soap opera about mining, that’s really bad.
“Now that it’s solved, it removes some pressure on the industry. It was about time they removed the uncertainty,” he said. “Now we now the parameters and can work again.”