Mining
Friday, September 6th, 2024 3:19 pm EDT
Key Points
- Acquisition of 51% of Antino Gold Project: Founders Metals Inc. exercised its right to acquire 51% of the Antino gold project in southeastern Suriname, marking a significant milestone for the company.
- Amendment of the Option Agreement: The company amended the option agreement with Nana Resources NV, simplifying and accelerating the earn-in process by removing conditions such as the mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment.
- Ongoing Exploration: Founders Metals is actively drilling in three areas of the project, with promising results expected from Upper Antino, Buese, and Lower Antino in the near future.
Founders Metals Inc. has exercised its right to acquire 51 per cent of the Antino gold project in southeastern Suriname. In addition, the company has amended and restated the option agreement with Nana Resources NV on the project.
“Exercising our right to acquire 51 per cent of Antino alongside the restated option agreement is a major milestone for Founders and a critical step in advancing and derisking the project,” commented Colin Padget, president and chief executive officer. “The restated agreement \adds clarity and removes the mineral resource estimate and subsequent preliminary economic assessment conditions for completing option 1 and option 2, respectively. For Founders, the changes simplify and potentially accelerate our timeline through the next earn-in stage. We are particularly excited to strengthen our partnership with Nana Resources towards our mutual goal of developing Antino into a world-class deposit.”
Exploration note
The company is actively drilling in three locations on the project: Upper Antino, Buese and Lower Antino. Upper Antino drilling continues to test the northward extension of parallel mineralization into the Cupcake area, with drill results expected shortly. Continuing phase 1 drilling at Buese tests bulk-tonnage and high-grade shear-hosted gold mineralization and is nearly complete, with results expected soon after the coming Upper Antino release. Drilling at Lower Antino has commenced. For details on Lower Antino and other prospective areas on the project, refer to the company’s Aug. 26, 2024, news release.
Amended and restated option agreement
On March 21, 2023, Founders assumed the option agreement between Nana as optionor and Orea Mining Corp., dated March 16, 2022, with its subsequent amendments by way of an assignment agreement dated Oct. 19, 2022. Under the assignment agreement, Orea assigned its rights and interests in the option agreement to Founders. As a result, Founders assumed all of Orea’s rights and obligations, giving Founders an option to acquire up to a 75-per-cent interest in the project, as previously disclosed by the company. Upon satisfying option conditions, Nana and Founders will form a joint venture in accordance with the shareholder agreement, which provides Founders with a potential pathway to increased ownership.
The amended and restated option dated Aug. 27, 2024, updates the option agreement with the correct parties’ names and includes previous and new amendments to clarify the terms for exercising the option to gain interests in the project in three stages as outlined as follows. Key changes include the removal of a National Instrument 43-101 resource requirement in option 1 and the removal of a preliminary economic assessment in option 2. As noted herein, the company is now in the process of completing the exercise of option 1 to acquire a 51-per-cent ownership of the project as described as follows.
Option 1 — 51-per-cent ownership:
- Option to acquire an initial 51-per-cent interest in Antino within three years of a commencement date of Sept. 18, 2023 by:
- Making cash payments totalling $1.65-million (U.S.) (of which $550,000 has been paid);
- Incurring $6-million (U.S.) in exploration expenses (complete);
- Issuing 1,615,000 common shares of the company (of which 475,000 shares have already been issued).
Option 2 — additional 19 per cent for a total of 70-per-cent ownership:
- Option to acquire an additional 19-per-cent interest in the project, for a total of 70 per cent, within two years of completion of the option 1 stage by:
- Making cash payments totalling $1.5-million (U.S.);
- Incurring $10-million (U.S.) in exploration expenses;
- Issuing 95,000 shares;
- Completing and delivering to Nana, a concept study similar to a preliminary economic assessment of the project by an independent qualified professional.
- Upon completion of option 2, Founders may either proceed with option 3 or decline and immediately enter a joint venture with Nana, which would otherwise begin after option 3 is complete.
Option 3 — additional 5 per cent for a total of 75-per-cent ownership:
- Option to acquire an additional 5 per cent of the project, for a total of 75 per cent, within three years of completion of the option 2 by:
- Incurring a minimum of $10-million (U.S.) in exploration expenses;
- Completing a bankable feasibility study on the project by an independent qualified professional.
The amended and restated option is subject to the policies and approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
About Founders Metals Inc.
Founders Metals is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on advancing the Antino gold project located in Suriname, South America, in the heart of the Guiana Shield. Antino is 20,000 hectares and has produced over 500,000 ounces of gold from surface and alluvial mining to date. The company drilled 10,000 metres in 2023 and is fully financed for drilling in 2024.
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