Freeport Indonesia to process 400,000t of copper concentrate at new smelter
Earlier this month, Freeport obtained an export permit for the rest of the year from the government.
TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Feb. 1, 2012) – Auriga Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:AIA) (“Auriga Gold” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce it has entered into an agreement to purchase a 100% undivided interest in a 12,622 ha (126 km2) property consisting of 29 mining claims named the Prosperity North Property in the Clinton Mining Division of British Columbia from Pioneer Metals Unlimited Liability Company (“Pioneer”), a subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation (“Barrick”). The Prosperity North Property is contiguous with Taseko Mines Limited’s (Taseko’s) Prosperity copper-gold deposit in the Williams Lake area of British Columbia.
Taseko’s Prosperity deposit is a gold-copper porphyry with a 1.0 billion tonne Measured and Indicated Resource containing 5.3 billion pounds of copper and 13.3 million ounces of gold and is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in Canada. The Prosperity North Property covers a similar geological trend to the Prosperity deposit and contains a largely untested Induced Polarization (IP) anomaly that may be consistent with a porphyry-style copper deposit.
The purchase price for a 100% undivided interest in the Prosperity North Property is the issuance of 5-year warrants to purchase 1.5 million Auriga Gold common shares at a strike price of $1.00 per share. The warrants and the underlying common shares will be subject to a hold period of four months plus one day after issuance. Barrick will also retain a 2.5% net smelter return royalty. The acquisition is subject to the approval of the TSXV.
Richard Sutcliffe, Auriga Gold’s President and CEO commented, “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to purchase the Prosperity North Property from Pioneer Metals, with Barrick being our largest shareholder. Prosperity North is a significant property both in size and geological profile and offers a large regional gold-copper porphyry style target. While we intend to focus on the development of the Maverick Gold Project in Manitoba, our team has the necessary experience to develop a drill program to selectively test the existing anomalies and we anticipate drilling Prosperity North this summer.”
About Auriga Gold
Auriga Gold Corp. is a Canadian mine development and exploration company focused on developing the Puffy Lake Mine and expanding gold resources on its Puffy Lake and Nokomis deposits (the “Maverick Gold Project”). The Company plans to upgrade and expand the resources at the Maverick Gold Project, initiate test mining, complete feasibility studies of mineral reserves, and bring the Puffy Lake Mine back into production. The Puffy Lake Mine includes a 1,000 tpd flotation mill, a developed underground ramp to 135 metres depth, is fully road accessible and close to existing mining infrastructure. The Maverick Gold Project is located in the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt of Central Manitoba.
Certain information regarding the Company including management’s assessment of future plans and operations, may constitute forward looking statements under applicable securities laws and necessarily involve risks associated with mining exploration and development, volatility of prices, currency fluctuations, imprecision of resource estimates, environmental and permitting risks, access to labour and services, competition from other companies and ability to access sufficient capital. As a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. A feasibility study has not been completed and there is no certainty the disclosed targets will be achieved nor that the proposed operations will be economically viable. This press release is not and is not to be construed as an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
