Ridgeline Minerals (TSX-V:RDG, OTCQB:RDGMF, FRA:0GC0) Corp has struck a US$20 million earn-in agreement with Nevada Gold Mines LLC for its Swift gold project in Nevada.
The agreement sees Nevada Gold Mines – a joint venture between Barrick Corp and Newmont Gold Corp – gaining the ability to acquire up to a 60% interest in Swift and become the project’s operator, in exchange for funding a minimum of US$20 million in exploration expenditures over a five-year term.
Nevada Gold Mines has the option to increase its interest to 75%, according to a statement from Ridgeline.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Nevada Gold Mines will reimburse a total of $372,763 to Ridgeline to cover recent overhead and exploration expenses at Swift.
Nevada Gold Mines must spend at least $4 million in exploration expenses before the end of 2023 and another $16 million to help prepare a technical report by the end of 2026.
The Barrick-Newmont JV will also retain a one-time option to earn another 10% interest in the project by funding another $10 million in work expenses before the end of 2029.
The agreement also contains a development funding option that sees Nevada Gold Mines have a one-time option to elect to provide, or arrange for third-party, financing of Ridgeline's portion of debt financing required for the development for an additional 5% interest in the project to bring its total interest to 75% (or 65% if the second option was not exercised).
Located in the prolific Cortez district of the Battle Mountain – Eureka Trend, Swift is a district-scale land package that comprises 75 square kilometres.
"Our singular focus as a company is to create value per share through discovery and we are delighted to partner with the Nevada Gold Mines team as they apply their proven track record of discovery to the Swift gold project,” Ridgeline CEO Chad Peters said in a statement.
“Through this partnership, Ridgeline will significantly reduce the exploration risk inherent with deep drilling in Nevada, while retaining meaningful upside at Swift across all levels of project development moving forward."
Vancouver-based Ridgeline has a 154-square kilometre exploration portfolio across four projects in the highly prospective Carlin and Battle Mountain - Eureka Trends in Nevada.
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