The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
McEwen, Sprott and senior gold miner join $7.65M financing North of 60 Mining News – September 13, 2019
Geologists investigate Johnson Tract, a 20,492-acre property in Southcentral Alaska that hosts gold- and base metal- rich mineralization reminiscent of the past producing Eskay Creek Mine in British Columbia.
Looking south over the main Johnson Tract deposit, where one 1988 hole cut 71.4 meters averaging 20.9 g/t gold, 5.2 percent zinc, 1.2 percent copper, 1.5 percent lead and 9.8 g/t silver.
HighGold Mining Inc. has received approval to have its shares listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and some big names in gold mining and investing are lined up to be initial shareholders of the new exploration company.
HighGold Mining shares, which will be listed under the symbol HIGH on the TSX.V, are expected to begin trading on Sept. 23.
In connection with listing, the gold-focused exploration company closed a C$7.65 million financing on Sept. 19. This non-brokered private placement involved the issuance of 17 million units at C45 cents apiece. Each unit will consist of one share and half of a non-transferable purchase warrant. Each full warrant can be exercised to purchase a HighGold share at C70 cents for two years.
As a result, HighGold will have roughly 33.12 million shares issued and outstanding when the company begins trading on the TSX.V.
Some big names in gold mining have subscribed for roughly 45 percent of the shares being offered in this first major HighGold financing:
• Rob McEwen has agreed to invest C$1 million to acquire 2.22 million of the units, giving the gold magnate a 10.1 percent interest in HighGold Mining;
• an unnamed senior North American gold producer has agreed to make a similar purchase of 2.19 million units, for a 9.9 percent stake in the company; and
• a partnership managed by an affiliate of the Sprott Group is investing C$1.4 million to buy 3.18 million units, for a 14.4 percent stake in the new gold explorer.
"We are very pleased to welcome Rob McEwen, Sprott and a senior gold producer, along with a long list of other quality investors who have participated in HighGold's current private placement," said HighGold Mining President and CEO Darwin Green.
Proceeds from the private placement will be used to fund exploration and development of HighGold's mineral properties, as well as for general working capital and other corporate purposes.
The exploration work will initially focus on Johnson Tract, the flagship of a group of gold assets Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. spun into HighGold, a portfolio that also includes the Munro-Croesus, Golden Mile and Golden Perimeter projects in Ontario's Timmins Gold Camp; a Yukon joint venture project; and certain royalty rights in Ontario.
Situated about six miles west of Cook Inlet and roughly 125 miles southwest of Anchorage, the 20,942-acre Johnson Tract property hosts a gold and base metals deposit that is reminiscent of the historical Eskay Creek Mine in neighboring British Columbia and a 7.5-mile stretch of prospects that provide a gold-focused exploration company plenty of upside.
This property is owned by Cook Inlet Region Inc., an Alaska Native regional corporation more commonly known as CIRI.
Prior to spinning Johnson Tract into HighGold, Constantine secured a lease agreement between Constantine and CIRI that has been crafted to accommodate advanced exploration, development and mining of this advanced staged gold exploration property.
Under the agreement, HighGold will make annual lease payments of US$75,000 to CIRI for the first five years, escalating to US$150,000 from year six until a mine is established at Johnson Tract.
A minimum of US$10 million of expenditures and at least a pre-feasibility level study for Johnson Tract over the initial 10-year term of the lease is also required, including US$7.5 million of spending during the first six years.
Considering the strength of HighGold's initial financing and the fact that the new gold explorer already has drills turning at Johnson Tract, it seems likely the company will meet the minimum spending requirements ahead of schedule.
In addition to Green, HighGold Mining's executive team includes Aris Morfopoulos as chief financial officer; Ian Cunningham-Dunlop as vice president of exploration; and Naomi Nemeth as vice president of investor relations.
Michael Gray, Michael Cinnamond and Lance Miller sit on HighGold's board.
"With exceptional exploration assets, healthy treasury, quality shareholder list, and strong board of directors and management team, HighGold is well positioned for success," said Green. "We look forward to providing the market with meaningful updates on the results of the exploration program at the Company's flagship Johnson Tract gold project (Alaska, USA), which is currently underway."
More details on HighGold and the Johnson Tract property can be found at HighGold strategy excites Constantine in the July 5 edition of North of 60 Mining News.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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