Wesgold Options the 25,790 Hectare Cordoba Property, Colombia; Arranges Convertible Debenture Financing
VANCOUVER, June 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Wesgold Minerals Inc. (TSX-V: WSG) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement pursuant to which it may obtain, subject to stock exchange approval, the option to acquire up to a 51% interest in a Colombian mineral target known as the Cordoba Property from Minatura International LLC ("Minatura"). The Cordoba Property consists of one mining concession contract and several mining claims covering 25,790 hectares in the Department of Cordoba, Colombia, 200km north of the city of Medellin, which are prospective for iron-oxide-copper-gold style (IOCG) mineral deposits.
The terms of the transaction are as follows:
- The Company will lend $2.0 million (the "Loan") to Minatura, the Loan being secured by the Property.
- The $2.0 million will be raised by the Company, subject to exchange approval, by way of a private placement of debentures which are convertible into an aggregate of 4,878,050 common shares of the Company at the rate of $0.41 per share on or before May 31, 2012, and will bear interest at the rate of 8% per annum.
- Upon completion of the Loan, a mutually acceptable person nominated by Minatura will be appointed to serve on Wesgold's Board of Directors.
- Subject to due diligence on the Cordoba Property satisfactory to Wesgold and receipt of stock exchange approval, Wesgold will acquire an initial 11% interest in the Cordoba Property (through the purchase of shares in a wholly-owned subsidiary of Minatura) by paying $2,030,000 to Minatura and forgiving the Loan (for a total cash cost of $4,030,000), and issuing to Minatura warrants to purchase up to 5.0 million shares of Wesgold at a price of $0.41 per share, exercisable until the earlier of the exercise or expiry of the Option (described below).
- If Wesgold does not elect to acquire the 11% interest, the Loan will be repayable no later than May 31, 2012, with interest accruing at 8% per year.
- Assuming completion of the acquisition of the 11% interest, the Company will then be granted an option (the "Option") to acquire an additional 40% interest (for a total of 51%) in the Cordoba Property by expending $15.0 million on exploration of the Cordoba Property and paying to Minatura an additional $2.0 million within 2.5 years. $5.0 million of the exploration expenditures will be a firm commitment.
- If Wesgold acquires the full 51% interest, Minatura will have a one-time right to sell its remaining 49% interest in the Cordoba Property to Wesgold in consideration for shares in Wesgold. The issuance of these shares would be subject to approval by the Wesgold shareholders at that time.
- If Minatura does not sell its remaining interest, Wesgold and Minatura will form a 51:49 joint venture to further develop the Cordoba Property.
The Property
The Cordoba Property is located in the Municipality of Puerto Libertador, village of San Pedro, in the Department of Cordoba, Colombia. The Property lies adjacent to the San Pedro River and covers approximately 26,000 hectares of under explored marine volcano-sedimentary rocks. The target rocks are part of the Cretaceous Calima terrane, which is believed to be highly prospective for Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG), porphyry and skarn type deposits. Numerous artisanal gold workings occur throughout the Cordoba Property which has seen small scale artisanal production for over 30 years.
Qualified Person
Harmen Keyser, P.Geol. (NWT), the President of Wesgold and a Qualified Person in accordance with NI 43-101, is responsible for the accuracy of this news release.
About Minatura
Minatura International LLC is a private company engaged in the business of exploration, development and, ultimately, extraction of precious and base metals in Colombia, South America. Minatura holds various projects in Colombia totaling over 352,000 hectares of mining titles and applications for mining titles, all except one of which are owned 100% by Minatura. The company is dedicated to achieving a high return for its investors while adhering to the highest environmental and safety standards in its projects and creating legacy micro-economies for the communities in which it operates.
About Wesgold Minerals
Wesgold Minerals Inc. is a Vancouver-based mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of early-stage gold projects. For further information, please refer to the Company's filings on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or contact the Company by telephone at 604-801-5432.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
"Harmen Keyser"
Harmen Keyser, President
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
SOURCE Wesgold Minerals Inc.
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