Mining
Friday, March 15th, 2024 3:50 am EDT
Key Points
- Blackrock Silver Corp. has exercised its option to acquire 100% interest in the Tonopah West project in Nevada, covering 101 patented and 19 unpatented mining claims.
- The project is considered one of the best silver discoveries of the decade, with high-grade undeveloped silver potential, positioning the company for further advancement and derisking.
- Payments totaling $3 million USD were made to Nevada Select Royalty over a four-year term, with additional royalty agreements in place, ensuring future payments and royalties to Nevada Select Royalty.
Blackrock Silver Corp. has exercised its option to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the Tonopah West project pursuant to an option agreement dated Feb. 24, 2020, between the company’s wholly owned Nevada subsidiary, Blackrock Gold Corp., and Nevada Select Royalty Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Gold Royalty Corp. Tonopah West consists of 101 patented and 19 unpatented lode mining claims covering mineral rights on approximately 1,380 acres (558.5 hectares) located within the historic Tonopah silver district in the Walker Lane trend of western Nevada.
Andrew Pollard, president and chief executive officer of the company, commented: “In the four years since we first optioned Tonopah West, it has quickly emerged as one of the best silver discoveries of the decade, cementing its status as the highest-grade undeveloped large silver project in the world, and we’re excited to now complete our acquisition granting us 100-per-cent ownership of the property. With title in hand, we are now squarely in the driver’s seat to continue on our mission to quickly derisk and advance the project through further engineering, hydrologic and metallurgic studies, while pursuing the vast resource expansion potential.”
David Garofalo, chairman and chief executive officer of Gold Royalty, commented: “The Blackrock team has delivered significant value with their advancement of the Tonopah West project, which has quickly become one of the most exciting precious metals projects in Nevada. We are encouraged to have continued exposure to the project through our royalty interest, and for Blackrock to continue to deliver on their strategy of unlocking the value of the project.”
In connection with the exercise of the option to acquire Tonopah West, the company made payments to Nevada Select Royalty totalling $3-million (U.S.) over a four-year term, with a final cash payment in the amount of $1-million (U.S.).
Pursuant to the terms of the option agreement, Nevada Select Royalty retained a net smelter return royalty on Tonopah West equal to 3 per cent of the net value of all precious and base metals, products, and materials of commercial value mined and removed from Tonopah West and sold by the company. Under the terms of the royalty agreement, the company is required to pay Nevada Select Royalty an annual advance minimum royalty of $50,000 (U.S.) until the earlier of the commencement of commercial production at Tonopah West or the 20th anniversary of the effective date of the NSR agreement. All advance royalty payments made by the company will be credited toward any future royalty payments to Nevada Select Royalty.
The royalty also covers 64 unpatented claims staked by the company in July, 2021, which fall within the one-mile area of interest delineated by the option agreement. Such additional claims cover 1,280 acres (518 hectares), bringing Tonopah West to a total size of 2,660 acres (1,076.5 hectares).
About Blackrock Silver Corp.
Backed by gold and silver ounces in the ground, Blackrock is a junior precious-metal-focused exploration company driven to add shareholder value via the drill bit. With 6.12 million tonnes grading 508.5 grams per tonne silver equivalent at its Tonopah West project, and a new bonanza-grade gold discovery at its Silver Cloud project, the company has a proven record of exploration success. In addition to its gold and silver project portfolio, the company is credited with a lithium discovery, the Tonopah North project, which is under option to a lithium exploration group. Anchored by a seasoned board of directors, the company is focused on its 100-per-cent-controlled Nevada portfolio of properties consisting of low-sulphidation, epithermal gold and silver mineralization located along the established Northern Nevada rift in north-central Nevada and the Walker Lane trend in western Nevada.
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