The merger of New Oroperu Resources Inc and First Light Capital Corp has now been completed, with the latter being renamed Anacortes Mining Corp - a new gold company for the Americas - paving the way towards production at the Tres Cruces asset in Peru, which is one of the highest-grade oxide deposits in the world.
Concurrent with closing, Anacortes consolidated its shares on the basis of 6:1 and the post-consolidation shares are expected to begin trading on the Toronto Venture Exchange on October 12 under the current symbol 'XYZ'.
"With the founding of Anacortes, our team now embarks on a corporate goal of creating a high-growth, Americas-focused gold producer," said Jim Currie, the CEO of the new company.
READ: New Oroperu Resources boss says merger with First Light Capital is a 'great move'
"Our team successfully pursued a foundational asset for Anacortes, a pursuit which will continue as we seek additional assets to complement Tres Cruces in the creation of a multi-asset gold company. At Tres Cruces, our 100% owned flagship asset, the Anacortes team plans to advance the project through a feasibility study and towards production, building on a heap-leach open pit scenario for the identified leachable oxides and sulphides."
"Furthermore, the team will continue to drill exploration opportunities to expand the leachable material across the property, in addition to delineating the sulphide gold mineralization that remains open at depth," he added.
Outlining the key highlights of the launch of the new company, the company listed the following:
- Tres Cruces is one of the highest-grade oxide deposits globally and hosts oxide plus sulphide indicated resources of 2.474 Mozs at 1.65 g/t gold and Inferred resources of 104 kozs at 1.26 g/t gold, inclusive of 630 kozs of high-grade leachable gold at 1.28 g/t gold
- Tres Cruces is strategically located in a highly prospective geological belt that hosts significant gold deposits such as Lagunas Norte, which is located within 10 km
- Anacortes is led by a new management team and board of directors with extensive experience in Latin America and Peru and proven capabilities in all facets of mine development and operations
- Anacortes is well-capitalized post-closing of the approximately $22 million private placement
- Underexplored property with oxide and sulphide resource growth potential - Tres Cruces has not been drilled since 2008 when gold prices were approximately US$850/oz, and several of the best drill intercepts from the previous drilling campaign are below and outside of the current pit-constrained mineral resource
- Attractive relative valuation on an enterprise value per indicated resource ounce basis
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com