The Bilboes project is a large, high-grade gold deposit located about 75 km north of Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe.

The British Columbia-focused explorer has district-scale holdings, the Kitsault Valley project, in the southern leg of the province’s 'Golden Triangle'.

According to the company, Cortez is expected to be a top three revenue producer in the Royal Gold portfolio.

The company's stock fell as much as 11% after a decision to re-asses the extension of the gold and silver mine environmental impact authorization.

Traders now await the US Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls data on Friday.

“They’ll need to raise another C$300 million before the larger, second stage is built,” industry blogger Mark Turner wrote.

There is some optimism in the market ahead of the release of minutes from the Fed's December meeting later in the day, says analyst.