Clean Air Metals Inc (TSX-V:AIR, OTCQB:CLRMF). has paid C$1 million to Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. (RTEC) to maintain the Escape Lake property option.
Clean Air Metals said it made the payment on behalf of Benton Resources Inc. under the terms of the definitive option agreement between the company and Benton to satisfy a payment requirement of Benton under its pre-existing option with RTEC.
Clean Air Metals acquired an option to receive a 100% interest in the Escape Lake property, subject to a 1% net smelter return royalty to be retained by RTEC.
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Clean Air Metals agreed to pay to RTEC C$6 million in order for Benton to exercise the pre-existing option, C$3 million of which was originally paid by Benton to RTEC on October 9, 2019, and C$1 million of which was paid by the company to RTEC on October 9, 2020. The remaining financial obligation to RTEC on behalf of Benton is $1 million, due October 9, 2022.
In addition, pursuant to an option agreement between the company and Magma Metals (ASX:MMW) Pty Ltd., Clean Air Metals said it has completed the acquisition of 100% of Panoramic Resources Limited's indirect subsidiary, Panoramic PGMs (Canada) Ltd. (Pan PGMs), which owns the Thunder Bay North Property (TBN Property) hosting the Current Lake Deposit.
Pan PGMs is now a 100%-owned subsidiary of Clean Air Metals.
In consideration of the acquisition of Pan PGMs, Clean Air Metals has also agreed to pay to Magma in equal installments over a three-year period, an aggregate of C$9 million -- C$4.5 million of which was paid on closing of the transaction on May 14, 2020, and C$1.5 million of which was paid on May 14, 2021. Two payments of $1.5 million remain by May 13, 2022, and May 13, 2023, respectively.
The Escape Lake property and the TBN Property are collectively referred to as the “TBN Project". The company has the right to prepay all remaining property payments at any time.
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