Altiplano Metals (APN) has entered an agreement to acquire the Pastillas gold exploration project in the Atacama region of Chile.
The agreement provides the company with the opportunity to acquire a 100 per cent undivided interest in the property for a total cost of US$1,230,000, plus 1,000,000 common shares of Altiplano to be paid in instalments over the next four years, as well as a commitment to incur a minimum of US$2,900,000 in exploration work on the property over the next 4 years.
The optionor will retain a 2.0 per cent net smelter returns royalty.
Pastillas highlights
- Comprises 3,100 ha of exploration concessions covering an extensive zone of advanced argillic, steam-heated type alteration typical of shallow exposure in productive high-level epithermal systems.
- Located in the highly prospective Maricunga belt of northern Chile with potential for Maricunga style porphyry Au-Cu mineralization at depth (Figure 1).
- Proximal to four world-class, advanced stage gold projects: 20 km south of Fenix (Rio 2); 20 km north of Volcan (Hochschild); 12 km northeast of La Pepa (Yamana Mineros); and 14 km west of Lobo-Marte (Kinross).
CEO Alastair McIntyre commented on the acquisition.
"I am very pleased to reach an agreement on the acquisition of Pastillas. This is an excellent exploration project with scalable potential located within elephant country of the prolific Maricunga district which hosts numerous mines and advanced stage gold and copper projects. The acquisition of Pastillas syncs with the Company's strategy of developing near term cash flowing assets but also focusing on large scale exploration projects with the potential of developing significant mineral resource potential."
Terms of the agreement
Under the terms of the agreement, Altiplano may acquire a 100 per cent interest in the property by paying a total of US$1,230,000 in cash and issuing 1,000,000 in common shares of the company over four years, as follows:
- US$30,000 and 50,000 shares within 5 business days of the date of approval of the agreement by the TSX Venture Exchange
- US$50,000 and 100,000 shares on the first anniversary of the approval date
- US$100,000, and 150,000 shares on the second anniversary of the approval date.
- US$250,000 and 300,000 shares on the third anniversary of the approval date.
- US$800,000 and 400,000 shares on the fourth anniversary of the approval date.
Altiplano must incur a minimum total of C$2,900,000 in exploration expenditures over the next 4 years, as follows:
- $150,000 within the next 12 months from the date of the agreement
- $250,000 within 12 months of the first-anniversary date of the agreement
- $1,000,000 within 12 months of the second-anniversary date of the agreement
- $1,500,000 within 12 months of the third-anniversary date of the agreement.
The agreement also provides a 2.0 per cent NSR retained by the optionor with a provision for the company to buy back one-half (reducing to a 1 per cent NSR) for US$2,000,000 until the 8th anniversary of the agreement.
The agreement is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.
Altiplano Metals is a Canadian mining company focused on the acquisition and development of near-term cash-flowing assets and exploration projects of significant scale. Altiplano's goal is to grow into a mid-tier producer of copper, gold, and silver with immediate plans of generating profits from three cash-flowing projects in 2021.
Altiplano Metals Inc. (APN) opened trading at C$0.295 per share.