NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 17, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FIREWEED METALS CORP. (“Fireweed” or the “Company”) (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQX: FWEDF), is pleased to announce that, due to strong demand, it has elected to increase the previously announced non-brokered private placement offering (the “Offering”) of Offered Shares (as defined below).
The increased Offering consists of three parts for gross proceeds of approximately C$43 million, as follows:
- 12,985,586 common shares of the Company (“Shares”) at a price of C$1.10 per share;
- 909,090 common shares of the Company that will qualify as “flow-through shares” within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (“FT Shares”) at a price of C$1.55 per share; and
- 15,828,359 common shares of the Company that will qualify as “flow-through shares” within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) to be sold to charitable purchasers (“CFT Shares” and collectively with the Shares and the FT Shares, the “Offered Shares”) at a price of C$1.73 per share.
The FT Shares and CFT Shares are being issued by the Company at a premium to the trading price of the Shares, as is customary for such issuances, because subscribers of those shares receive a flow-through of the Company’s eligible exploration expenses which are then used by such subscribers as a personal tax attribute. CFT Shares are generally issued at a higher premium relative to FT Shares given subscribers benefit from an additional tax incentive.
The proceeds from the Offering will be used for exploration and development of the Company’s projects in northern Canada, and, to the extent permissible, for general working capital purposes.
The gross proceeds from the issuance of FT Shares and CFT Shares will be used on the Company’s projects to incur Canadian Exploration Expenses (“CEE”), with the largest portion qualifying as “flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures” under the Income Tax Act (Canada). These expenses will be renounced by the Company to the purchasers of FT Shares and CFT Shares with an effective date no later than December 31, 2024, in an aggregate amount no less than the proceeds raised from the issue of FT Shares and CFT Shares.
The issuance of Offered Shares to insiders, including The Lundin Family Trusts, will constitute a “related party transaction”, as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 (“MI 61-101“). Such participation by insiders will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 under section 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, respectively, as neither the fair market value of the securities acquired by the insiders nor the consideration for the securities paid by such insiders, will exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.
Closing of the Offering is subject to certain customary conditions, including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals and approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Company anticipates closing the Offering on or about June 19, 2024, or as soon as practicable thereafter, subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. All securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day following the date of closing.
This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein in the U.S., or in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or sale would be unlawful. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the U.S. or to the account or benefit of a U.S. person or a person in the U.S. absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements.
New Board Chair
Subsequent to the Annual General and Special Meeting of shareholders held by the Company on June 11, 2024, Paul Harbidge was appointed by the Fireweed Board of Directors (the “Board”) to take over as Chair in the place of John Robins.
Peter Hemstead, Director and Interim President and CEO commented, "John has been an outstanding Board Chair, providing insightful feedback and strong leadership that has driven the Company's growth to date. On behalf of Fireweed's Board, we extend our deepest gratitude for his invaluable contributions and look forward to his continued involvement as a dedicated Board member."
Peter Hemstead also commented, "We are excited to welcome Paul as our new Board Chair. His extensive experience as a seasoned mining executive, combined with his exploration expertise, will be invaluable as we advance our initiatives and unlock the potential of the Macpass District.”
Paul Harbidge
Mr. Harbidge is a geologist with more than 25 years of experience in mining exploration and development with a proven track record of discovering world-class gold deposits. Mr. Harbidge is President, CEO and director of Faraday Copper Corp. Mr. Harbidge was previously the President and CEO of GT Gold and led the company to a CDN$456 million acquisition by Newmont Mining Corp. in May 2021. Prior to this Mr. Harbidge was the Senior Vice President of Exploration at the multinational gold mining company Goldcorp Inc. from 2016 until its acquisition by Newmont Mining Corp. in April 2019. Prior to that, Mr. Harbidge successfully led the exploration team at Randgold Resources Ltd., resulting in five major gold discoveries including the +5Moz Gounkoto deposit in the Loulo area of Mali and the +4Moz Massawa deposit in Senegal. Mr. Harbidge is also a director of the gold exploration company Japan Gold Corp. is a technical advisor to Kalo Gold in Fiji and Gemdale Gold in Finland. He has a First-class Honours Degree in Geology from Kingston University, London (UK) and a Masters of Science in Mineral Exploration and Mining Geology from Leicester University (UK).
About Fireweed Metals Corp. (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQX: FWEDF; FSE:M0G): Fireweed Metals Corp. is an exploration company unlocking significant value in a new critical metals district located in Yukon, Canada. Fireweed is 100% owner of the Macpass District, a large and highly prospective 977 km2 land package. The Macpass District includes the Macpass zinc-lead-silver project and the Mactung tungsten project, both characterized by meaningful size, grade and opportunity. At the Macpass project, Fireweed owns one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources worldwide*, in a region with enormous exploration potential. The Mactung project is a strategic critical metals asset that hosts the world’s largest high-grade tungsten resource*—a potential long-term supply of tungsten for North America. A Lundin Group company, Fireweed is strongly positioned to create meaningful value.
In Canada, Fireweed (TSXV: FWZ) trades on the TSX Venture Exchange. In the USA, Fireweed (OTCQX: FWEDF) trades on the OTCQX Best Market for early stage and developing U.S. and international companies and is DTC eligible for enhanced electronic clearing and settlement. Investors can find Real-Time quotes and market information for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. In Europe, Fireweed (FSE: M0G) trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Additional information about Fireweed and its projects can be found on the Company’s website at FireweedMetals.com and at www.sedarplus.com
Qualified Person Statement
Technical information in this news release has been approved by Fireweed Metals VP Geology, Jack Milton, P.Geo. (BC), a ‘Qualified Person’ as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.
ON BEHALF OF FIREWEED METALS CORP.
“Peter Hemstead”
Interim CEO & Director
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.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking” statements and information (“forward-looking statements”). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to i the terms of the Offering, the participation of certain insiders in the Offering, the use of proceeds of the Offering, future work plans, and the potential of the Company’s projects, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “potential”, “possible”, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results “will”, “may”, “could”, or “should” occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company management and reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made.
Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include but are not limited to, exploration and development risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, expenditure and financing requirements, general economic conditions, changes in financial markets, the ability to properly and efficiently staff the Company’s operations, the sufficiency of working capital and funding for continued operations, title matters, First Nations relations, operating hazards, political and economic factors, competitive factors, metal prices, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulations and oversight, permitting, seasonality and weather, technological change, industry practices, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and laboratory tests, and one-time events. There is no assurance that (i) the Company will be able to complete the Offering on the terms set out above, or at all, (ii) that all closing conditions will be satisfied, (iii) the funds raised will be used in the manner outlined above, and (iv) the 2024 exploration initiatives will be carried out as planned, including that a 14,000-metre drilling program will be completed at Macpass. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward‐looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections or other factors, except as required by law.
Footnotes and References
*: References to relative size and grade of the Mactung resources and Macpass resources in comparison to other tungsten and zinc deposits elsewhere in the world, respectively, are based on review of the Standard & Poor’s Global Market Intelligence Capital IQ database.
*: For Tom and Jason Mineral Resources, see https://www.sedarplus.ca/ Fireweed Technical Report titled “NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Macmillan Pass Zinc-Lead-Silver Project, Watson Lake and Mayo Mining Districts Yukon Territory, Canada” filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/ on February 23, 2018, and Fireweed News Release dated January 10, 2018. Leon McGarry, P.Geo., Senior Resource Geologist for CSA Global Canada Geosciences Ltd. is independent of Fireweed Metals Corp. and a ‘Qualified Person’ as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Mr. McGarry is responsible for the Macpass Mineral Resource Estimate.
*: For Tom and Jason PEA study, see https://www.sedarplus.ca/ Fireweed Technical Report titled “NI 43-101 Technical Report Macmillan Pass Project Yukon Territory Canada” filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/ on July 9, 2018, and Fireweed News Release dated May 23, 2018. This Technical Report includes a Preliminary Economic Analysis (PEA) disclosing an economic analysis of mineral resources that is preliminary in nature and does not include any mineral reserves. It is equally emphasized that the mineral resources disclosed within this Technical Report are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Michael Makarenko, P.Eng., Project Manager for JDS Energy and Mining, Inc., is independent of Fireweed Metals Corp. and a ‘Qualified Person’ as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Makarenko is responsible for the PEA results.
*: For Mactung Mineral Resources, see Fireweed news release dated June 13, 2023 “Fireweed Metals Announces Mineral Resources for the Mactung Project: the Largest High-Grade Tungsten Deposit in the World” and the technical report entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mactung Project, Yukon Territory, Canada,” with effective date July 28, 2023 filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/. Garth Kirkham, P.Geo. is independent of Fireweed Metals Corp., and a ‘Qualified Person’ as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. Garth Kirkham, of Kirkham Geosystems Limited., is responsible for the Mactung Mineral Resource Estimate.
Contact: Peter Hemstead
Phone: +1 (604) 689-7842 
Email: info@fireweedmetals.com
