First Mining Gold Corp said it has entered into an earn-in agreement with ALX Resources Corp, through the former’s wholly-owned subsidiary Gold Canyon Resources Inc. (TSX-V:GCU)
Comprised of two stages spanning five years, the deal will allow Gold Canyon to earn as much as 100% interest in ALX's Vixen North, Vixen South and Vixen West properties.
The Vixen collection is located near First Mining's flagship Springpole Gold Project in northwestern Ontario.
READ: First Mining says JV partner completes stage two earn-in for Pickle Crow Gold Project in Ontario, Canada
The Vixen Properties consist of 521 single cell mining claims covering approximately 10,600 hectares.
First Mining will have the option to earn an initial 70% interest in the Vixen Properties by making cash payments totaling $550,000, and share payments totaling $400,000. The company will also have to incur at least $500,000 worth of expenditures on the Vixen Properties during the first three years of the earn-in term.
Once this portion is complete, First Mining will hold, through Gold Canyon, a 70% interest in the Vixen Properties, and will have an additional period of two years within which to acquire the remaining 30% by paying $500,000 to ALX and issuing $500,000 worth of First Mining shares to ALX.
In the event the second stage of the earn-in is not completed, ALX and Gold Canyon will enter into a joint venture agreement with respect to the Vixen Properties.
In addition to the Vixen deal, the gold developer has also acquired approximately 6,000 hectares of additional claims within the Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt. The claims also include the past-producing, high-grade Sol d'Or mine located adjacent to the Swain Lake Property, on which First Mining has a three-year option agreement with Whitefish Exploration Inc.
Operational between 1933 to 1936, the mine produced 258 ounces of gold and 33 ounces of silver from 458 tonnes of ore, with a reported average grade of 17.5 gram per ton gold.
Since then, there have been several exploration campaigns at the site.
The company noted that the addition of the Vixen Properties and the new claims bolster the gold developer’s holdings to over 66,000 hectares in the Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt, making First Mining the largest single claim holder in the region.
"First Mining's recent land tenure consolidation in the Birch-Uchi Greenstone Belt is another major development for our Company and the region," Dan Wilton, CEO of First Mining said in a statement. "Since the beginning of the year, First Mining has significantly increased its land package around Springpole and believe the Birch-Uchi is the one of the most under-explored and highly prospective gold belts in Canada, with district-scale potential."
Wilton went on to say: "The region hosts several past-producing mines including our newly acquired Sol d'Or mine where there has been demonstrated historical, high-grade exploration potential. First Mining intends to undertake a comprehensive regional exploration program over the next twelve months for the first time since our acquisition of Springpole in 2015 and will be incorporating these newly acquired and optioned claims into the program. First Mining remains focused on advancing and permitting our flagship Springpole Gold Project which hosts the largest known gold deposit in the district and will be a critical strategic asset if more gold resources are found in the region."
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