ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR--(Marketwired - Nov. 17, 2014) - Altius Minerals Corporation ("Altius") (TSX:ALS) reports that Virginia Mines Inc. ("Virginia"), of which Altius owns 2,692,249 shares (or approximately 8%), has entered into an Arrangement Agreement to combine with Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. ("Osisko"). Based upon the relative closing prices of Virginia and Osisko at the time of the announcement the transaction values Virginia shares at $14.19 per share. Altius has entered into a support agreement with respect to the proposed transaction.
Altius has been a shareholder of Virginia for several years and is also an exploration partner of the company through two strategic Alliances in Labrador and Quebec. Altius wishes to express congratulations to Andre Gaumond and his team for negotiating an agreement that adds considerable strength, diversity and opportunity for all Virginia shareholders. We look forward to continuing to work together with the new combined company to generate exploration value through our successful exploration alliances.
About Altius
Altius is a diversified minerals royalty company with royalty interests in 12 producing mines located in Canada. The royalty interests include mining operations that produce thermal (electrical) and metallurgical coal, potash, nickel, copper and cobalt. Altius holds other significant pre-development stage royalty and its project generation pipeline contains a diversified portfolio of exploration stage projects and royalties, many of which are being advanced through various partner-funding arrangements.
Altius has also built a portfolio of directly and indirectly held junior resource investments, including a ~25% shareholding in Alderon (TSX:ADV), an ~8% shareholding in Virginia Mines Inc. (TSX:VGQ), and a ~5.9% shareholding in Callinan Royalties Corporation (TSX VENTURE:CAA).
Altius has 32,356,826 shares issued and outstanding that are listed on Canada's Toronto Stock Exchange. It is a member of both the S&P/TSX Small Cap and S&P/TSX Global Mining Indices.