05:03:36 EDT Thu 28 Mar 2024
Enter Symbol
or Name
USA
CA



Precipitate Gold Corp
Symbol PRG
Shares Issued 129,716,808
Close 2022-05-13 C$ 0.07
Market Cap C$ 9,080,177
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Precipitate amends Pueblo agreement for $5M (U.S.)

2022-05-13 16:25 ET - News Release

Mr. Jeffrey Wilson reports

PRECIPITATE RECEIVES US$5.0M CASH AND 3% NSR FROM BARRICK FOR RELINQUISHING NON-CORE AREAS OF PUEBLO GRANDE PROJECT IN AMENDMENT TO ONGOING EXPLORATION EARN-IN AGREEMENT

Precipitate Gold Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp. have entered into an amendment to the existing exploration earn-in agreement in respect of the company's Pueblo Grande project, located immediately adjacent to Barrick's world-class Pueblo Viejo mining operation in the Dominican Republic, pursuant to which Precipitate has agreed to relinquish or reduce certain portions of select exploration concessions within the project for a cash consideration of $5-million (U.S.) and the granting to Precipitate of a 3-per-cent net smelter return (NSR) royalty over the subject areas.

In consideration for Precipitate's relinquishment or reduction of the subject areas, Barrick:

  • Paid Precipitate $5-million (U.S.) in cash (approximately $6.4-million) upon entering into the amendment;
  • Agreed to grant Precipitate a 3-per-cent NSR over the subject areas (with no resale restrictions or rights of first refusal or rights of first offer to Barrick);
  • Agreed to commence, within three months of receipt of a drilling permit, the final 1,200 metres of a minimum 3,200-metre condemnation drilling program within the subject areas (2,500 metres already completed);
  • Agreed that if, following the completion of the above-mentioned condemnation drilling, Barrick determines that the extraction of mineralization within a certain portion of the subject area is economically justifiable, Barrick will transfer the mining rights in such area back to Precipitate at no cost, at which time such area will be reinstated as part of the project under the earn-in agreement and the NSR will be amended to remove any royalties with respect to such area;
  • Agreed that it will provide advance notice to Precipitate if, at any time prior to the 10-year anniversary of the amendment, Barrick intends to relinquish the mining rights over all or a portion of the subject areas and will work cooperatively with Precipitate to facilitate the transfer of such mining rights to Precipitate if Precipitate notifies Barrick that it wishes to acquire such rights.

Jeffrey Wilson, Precipitate's president and chief executive officer, stated: "We are excited to announce this amendment to our ongoing earn-in agreement with Barrick as we believe the cash consideration of approximately $6.4-million Canadian and an unencumbered 3-per-cent NSR over the subject areas represents a highly accretive proposition for the company and its shareholders. The magnitude of the cash consideration reinforces management's strategy to tactically acquire undervalued or underappreciated mining prospects with the potential to yield a significant return on investment. This injection of capital from Barrick, when combined with the company's existing treasury, positions Precipitate to finance it's near- and long-term growth initiatives with reduced risk of share dilution. Importantly, in management's assessment, the subject areas exhibit limited exploration potential with a low probability of hosting minable mineralization. Barrick's requirement to conduct and complete condemnation drilling within the subject areas supports this assessment and the terms of the amendment provide protection for Precipitate in the event extractable mineralization is encountered during the condemnation program. Barrick's continued involvement in the revised Pueblo Grande project, along with the exploration potential of the balance of the company's property portfolio, positions Precipitate for future project advancement and value creation."

The cash consideration paid to Precipitate as part of the amendment does not impact or reduce the exploration expenditure requirements under the earn-in agreement. As previously reported (see the company's news release dated April 14, 2020), under the earn-in agreement Barrick must incur certain amounts of exploration expenditures and achieve certain milestones by certain dates, including incurring a minimum of $10.0-million (U.S.) in qualifying work expenditures and delivering a prefeasibility study before the sixth anniversary of the agreement (April 13, 2026) in order for Barrick to earn a 70-per-cent interest in the project.

Specific subject area locations will be disclosed upon completion of the granting of the NSR, however, the subject areas are situated immediately to the northwest and southeast of Barrick's Pueblo Viejo project, in regions of the Pueblo Grande project that management considers low priority exploration zones with either: (a) substantial prior drill testing that returned limited, or no significant mineralization (a total of 119 holes have been drilled in the subject areas), or (b) are situated over geological terrain not expected to host sizable economically feasible mineralization. The project has been reduced from 9,819 hectares to 7,097 hectares.

Barrick has advised Precipitate that its Dominican Republic exploration team will continue systematic exploration of various prospective areas within the project with a focus on those regions underlain by favourable Los Ranchos formation geology that exhibit promising combinations of surface alteration and geochemically anomalous surface samples. Three general regions of the project are slated for continuing evaluation, (i) northeast of the active neighbouring Pueblo Viejo mine area, (ii) the eastern portion of the project and (iii) the western portion of the Lithocap zone. All three of these areas exhibit prospective geological and geochemical attributes but have been subject to limited systematic exploration and/or drill testing.

This news release has been reviewed by Michael Moore, vice-president of exploration of Precipitate Gold, the qualified person for the technical information in this news release under National Instrument (NI) 43-101 standards.

About Precipitate Gold Corp.

Precipitate Gold is a mineral exploration company focused on exploring and advancing its mineral property interests in Newfoundland, Canada, and the Dominican Republic. The Company has entered into an earn-in agreement with Barrick Gold, whereby Barrick can earn a 70-per-cent interest in the company's Pueblo Grande project by incurring $10-million (U.S.) within six years and producing a qualifying prefeasibility study. Precipitate is also actively evaluating additional high-impact property acquisitions with the potential to expand the company's portfolio and increase shareholder value in other favourable jurisdictions.

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