Renaissance Gold Inc (CVE:REN) announced Wednesday that it had received a US$300,000 payment from AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) to maintain the global miner’s option on the Silicon project in Nevada for the third year.
Vancouver-based project generator Renaissance optioned its Silicon project to South Africa’s AngloGold Ashanti in 2017, allowing the gold company to acquire a 100% interest in the project in exchange for US$3 million over a three-year term ending in June 2020.
If AngloGold exercises the option and completes all outstanding payments, Renaissance would retain a 1% net smelter royalty on Silicon’s future production. The most recent payment announced Wednesday means AngloGold has paid US$600,000 in total to Renaissance.
READ: Renaissance Gold says Altius Minerals now owns near-10% stake in the company
"We are very pleased to receive the notification and payment from AngloGold indicating that they plan to continue into the third and final year of the agreement,” said Renaissance CEO Robert Felder. “Based on the observed amount of drilling they have completed, and recent comments by AngloGold's CEO, we think it is safe to say they are significantly encouraged by the results generated to date."
The Silicon project is located in Nevada’s Bare Mountain mining district. The project comprises a collection of 277 unpatented mining claims owned by Renaissance and an additional 271 unpatented claims owned by AngloGold for a total of nearly 11,000 acres of land.
While the project is at an early stage, the property includes multiple small historic pits and underground mines.
Altius increases stake
Renaissance recently announced that Altius Minerals Corporation (TXS:ALS) increased its ownership in the company to nearly 10%.
Newfoundland-based Altius has completed its C$1.4 million investment through a private placement of 5.7 million units at a price of $0.25 each.
Shares of Renaissance Gold were trading at C$0.20 on Wednesday morning in Toronto.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
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