TSX.V: ANE
VANCOUVER, Dec. 18, 2013 /CNW/ - Altan Nevada Minerals Limited, TSX.V: ANE ("Altan Nevada" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a
wholly owned subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited, Canada's largest
diversified resources company ("Teck"), to further explore the
Company's North Star Gold Project (the "Project") situated on the
Carlin Trend, northern Nevada , whereby Teck has the option to earn up
to an undivided 70% interest in the North Star Property (the
"Property") and participate as joint venturers by incurring $5,000,000
in expenditure on the project (the "Agreement").
Mr Evan Jones, President & CEO of Altan Nevada commented:
"We are delighted to be moving this project forward with a company of
the caliber of Teck. This independently validates Altan Nevada's view
that North Star is a compelling target.
"As shareholders will be aware, the ability for junior explorers such as
Altan Nevada to raise capital to fund a significant drilling program is
somewhat limited in the current market environment. As such, by
entering into this agreement, Altan Nevada will be able to participate
in the drilling of a project that we otherwise may not have been in a
position to evaluate for some time.
With permitting already in place, drilling at North Star is expected to
commence towards the middle of 2014. Altan Nevada and Teck will work
together to finalize drill targets in the intervening period.
North Star
North Star is an under-explored gold play situated at the northern end
of the Carlin Trend, one of the world's major gold districts with
cumulative gold production to date of in excess of 80 million ounces.
The project is situated approximately 55 km north-northwest and along
strike from Barrick Gold Corporation's Goldstrike mine, which has
cumulative gold production to date of approximately 40 million ounces
and current proven and probable reserves of approximately 12 million
ounces.
Altan Nevada's interest in the Project, which covers an area of 3,152
acres, consists of 163 lode mining claims, 44 of which are owned by the
Company, with the balance held under option from Genesis Gold Corp, a
Utah Corporation ("Underlying Option Agreement").
In 2011, a mapping and sampling campaign was undertaken for the purpose
of verifying previous geochemistry profiling and identifying targets. A
follow-up deep looking IP profile obtained in 2011 demonstrated the
presence of a major structure associated with a chargeability feature
at depth. Following the excavation of two exploratory trenches in late
2012, the Company announced encouraging assay results including gold
values up to 1.06 g/t over 3 m within much broader gold bearing zones
ranging from 18 m wide in Trench 3 up to 63 m wide in Trench 2. Within
the gold bearing zones, geochemical anomalies of arsenic, antimony and
thallium confirmed the presence of Carlin-type alteration and
mineralization.
As such, North Star is considered by Altan Nevada to be a compelling
target.
The Agreement
Pursuant to the Agreement (key terms of which are summarized in the
following discussion), Teck can earn an undivided interest of up to 70%
in North Star pursuant to two options.
Under the first option, Teck can earn a 55% interest by:
-
Incurring aggregate expenditure of $2.5 million on or in respect of the
Project over four years, in accordance with the following schedule:
|
On or before
|
Cumulative Aggregate Expenditures
|
|
December 31, 2014
|
|
$400,000
|
|
December 31, 2015
|
|
$1,000,000
|
|
December 31, 2017
|
|
$2,500,000
|
-
Making payments when due per the Underlying Option Agreement
It is noted that:
-
Teck is obligated to spend the amount of $400,000 by December 31, 2014
-
Unless Teck fulfills its obligations under the first option, it will
have no ongoing interest in the Project
Upon satisfying its obligations under the first option, Teck is entitled
to nominate its intention to exercise the second option, pursuant to
which it can earn an additional 15% interest in the Project (for an
aggregate 70% interest) by:
-
Incurring further expenditure of $2.5 million on or in respect of the
Project (for aggregate expenditure of $5 million) by December 31, 2019
-
Making payments when due per the Underlying Option Agreement
If Teck nominates its intention to exercise the second option but fails
to meet its obligations thereunder, its ongoing interest in the Project
shall be 55%.
Pursuant to the Agreement, the North Star Joint Venture is deemed to be
formed at the later of:
-
The date Teck fulfills its requirements under the first option
-
The date the second option terminates or expires unexercised, in the
event it should do so (and providing Teck so nominates in the first
instance)
-
The date Teck fulfills its requirements under the second option
From the date of formation of the Joint Venture, both Altan Nevada and
Teck are responsible for costs in proportion to their respective
pro-rata interests.
The Joint Venture agreement is to include provisions consistent with an
agreement of this type, including as it relates to such matters as
project management, production decision, calculation of costs and
dilution.
It is noted that claims held under option from Genesis are the subject
of a Net Smelter Royalty payable on the commencement of production.
Altan Nevada Exploration Manager, Brion Theriault, a Certified
Professional Geologist (AIPG), is the "qualified person" under National
Instrument 43-101 who has reviewed the technical disclosure in this
news release and is responsible for the technical information contained
in this release.
About Altan Nevada
Altan Nevada is a leading exploration innovator focused on the discovery
of large-scale ore systems in under-explored districts of Nevada, USA.
The Company's holdings in Nevada currently total more than 15,002
hectares. Projects include two potential district-scale extensions to
the north Carlin Gold Trend, three Yerington District copper-gold
targets and three large-scale gold alteration systems along the Walker
Lane lineament in central Nevada.
On behalf of Altan Nevada Minerals Limited,
"Evan Jones"
Evan Jones, President & CEO
This press release may contain forward looking statements including
those describing Altan Nevada's future plans and the expectations of
management that a stated result or condition will occur. Any statement
addressing future events or conditions necessarily involves inherent
risk and uncertainty. Actual results can differ materially from those
anticipated by management at the time of writing due to many factors,
the majority of which are beyond the control of Altan Nevada and its
management.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider
(as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Altan Nevada Minerals Limited
Image with caption: "Figure 1 - Gravity map of Carlin Trend, illustrating proximity of North Star to producing mines, including Goldstrike. (CNW Group/Altan Nevada Minerals Limited)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131218_C5409_PHOTO_EN_35110.jpg
Image with caption: "Figure 2 - North Star trench location on geology background showing soil arsenic anomaly and gold results from trench samples. (CNW Group/Altan Nevada Minerals Limited)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131218_C5409_PHOTO_EN_35111.jpg
