METALLIS RESOURCES ENTERS OPTION TO ACQUIRE PAST-PRODUCING GREYHOUND SILVER/GOLD MINE IN IDAHO, USA
VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 27, 2024 /CNW/ - Metallis Resources Inc. (TSXV: MTS) (OTCQB: MTLFF) (the "Company" or "Metallis") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an option agreement (the "Agreement") with Greyhound Mining & Milling, Inc., (the "Optionor"), to acquire a 100% interest in the Greyhound Property (the "Property"), located in the mining friendly state of Idaho, USA. The Property encompasses the past producing, Greyhound and Bulldog high-grade silver/gold mines along with multiple historic workings. The Agreement is subject to customary regulatory approvals.
Fiore Aliperti, President, and CEO of Metallis stated, "Although we are seeing an overall change for the better in investor sentiment, it's important to recognize the current market conditions and understand the cost and dilution implications of large-scale exploration in the Golden Triangle at this time. As the market continues to find its feet, it's critical for Metallis to add value in alternative ways, despite the fact that our principal project remains the Kirkham Property. With that in mind, we started the process in 2023 to look at possible acquisitions and the group that owned the Greyhound stood out. It is important that if we are to add a second project to the MTS portfolio, not only does the project need to show economic potential, the optionor needs to hold the same values as us. These include putting the project, the Company, and the investors first."
He went on to add, "This option agreement demonstrates the confidence both parties have in this high-quality resource asset as it favours long term success with low upfront costs. Metallis can efficiently put funds into the ground, with resources and services more accessible than operating in a remote access location. The Agreement for staged compensation over a 10-year period is structured to reward both parties as the project advances through the stages of exploration and development."
About the Property:
The 124 hectare Greyhound Property encompasses two past producing silver/gold mines (Greyhound and Bulldog) in central Idaho. The claims outlined in the Agreement comprise 12 patented mining claims and 3 patented mill site claims with 1 patented pending mining claim and 8 patented pending mill site claims. The Property is road accessible via paved and gravel road and is located 41 km from Stanley and 225 km from Boise, the state capital.
The Property is hosted in granites and granodiorites of the Idaho batholith and contains a 3.6 km long mineralized shear zone highlighted by two past producing mines as well as multiple historic surface workings. This shear zone, measuring up to 12 m across, contains multiple quartz-sulphide veins. Other parallel mineralized shears have been identified on the Property, but sill require evaluation.
Ongoing compilation of historic assays by the Metallis geological team has suggested a robust system that demonstrates consistent mineralization at multiple historic workings including the two most developed underground operations at the Greyhound and the Bulldog mine.
- In 1979 a 2,663kg bulk sample was taken from the lower Rufus Adit at the Greyhound Mine. This sample returned a grade* of: 2.39g/t Au, 1953 g/t Ag, 3% Pb and 2% Zn and exemplifies the high-grade nature of this target.
- In 1991, channel sampling across the mineralized vein in the Rufus Adit, taken at systematic intervals, returned an arithmetic average grade* for "ore-shoot 1350" of: 1.85 g/t Au, 785 g/t Ag over a length of 36.88m.
- In 1999 a grade summary was prepared by Robert Longe to assess grade potential along the Greyhound shear. His work on the Rufus Adit demonstrated average grades* for well documented "ore-shoots" to be 684 g/t Ag and 0.85 g/t Au including 3% Zn and 1% Pb.
*The reader is cautioned that all measurements and metal grades are derived from previous reports and the company has not independently confirmed the results. The similarity of values and conservative approach does lend confidence to these values. They are presented for completeness.
Property History
Initial exploration in the late 1800's led to multiple claims being staked along the Greyhound shear as prospectors and miners discovered the high-grade silver mineralization at surface on Greyhound Ridge. Five adits were driven into the mountain from 1896 to 1910 as local miners commenced small scale mining at the Greyhound and the Bulldog with multiple other pits and shafts being sunk across the Republican, the Buckhorn and the Idaho prospects. These prospects, along with the Greyhound and the Bulldog, provided high grade silver/gold/lead mineralization to a smelter built on site, until mining ceased with the decline of metal prices in 1910.
Since then, the Property has been privately owned with patented mining claims dating back to 1921. It has seen little activity except for a period of minor production on a trial basis in 1979 when the Lower Rufus Adit (Greyhound Mine) was driven 309 m along the mineralized shear zone. It was further extended to 458 m in 1991. Several minor underground and surface sampling programs have been completed, although the Property has never been explored by any modern techniques. Good quality concentrates are reported to have been produced from the Greyhound mine.
Next Steps
The Greyhound Property provides large upside potential due to a lack of modern exploration being performed over the Property's entire history. In the last 45 years, the Property has been held by a family-owned business as part of a larger asset portfolio. This has left a well-endowed property off the market, during a period where geological methodologies and approaches have changed, and exploration technologies have evolved. This allows Metallis to leverage its exploration experience to unlock the mineralized potential through geological mapping, drone arial surveys, geophysical surveys, and diamond drilling.
Continued compilation of historic reports will help the team determine the true grade and tonnage potential outside of the historic workings. To date, approximately 600 m of horizontal workings have been documented across the 3,600 m shear zone leaving significant underexplored strike length left for further testing. The last ore shoot encountered in the Lower Rufus Adit returned some of the best grades on the Property that are comparable to many of the operating mines in the state. A further 3,000 meters of untested ground remains across multiple high-grade silver/gold surface showings and pits. The system also remains open to depth as mineralization has been demonstrated over 500 vertical meters from the Rufus Adit to mineralization on top of Greyhound Ridge.
This region has recently seen exploration success where historic silver camps have been able to outline sources at depth and this will be factored into the team's exploration programs. During initial exploration, the team will be assessing the Property for source intrusions or disseminated mineralization. The Property's location, within the Great Falls tectonic zone and the Central Idaho batholith also lends itself to the potential for porphyry mineralization due to mapped Tertiary aged intrusions on the Property.
Agreement Terms:
The Agreement requires staged payments of US$670,000, which commence on the date of signing the Agreement being February 26, 2024 (the "Effective Date"), and exploration expenditures of US$10 million over a ten-year period. At any time during the option period, the Company may exercise the option to acquire a 100% interest in the Property by paying US$7.5 million, plus the balance remaining of the US$670,000 at the time of exercise. In addition, the Company will issue a share purchase warrant to the Optionor for the purchase of up to 1,000,000 common shares of Metallis at a price of CAD $0.34 per share for a three-year period. The following table specifies the above noted obligations:
Date |
Option payment (US) |
Minimum exploration |
On the Effective Date |
$20,000 |
- |
1st anniversary |
$35,000 |
- |
2nd anniversary |
$55,000 |
$90,000 |
3rd anniversary |
$75,000 |
$200,000 |
4th anniversary |
$85,000 |
$400,000 |
5th anniversary |
$100,000 |
$900,000 |
6th anniversary |
$60,000 |
$1,610,000 |
7th anniversary |
$70,000 |
$1,700,000 |
8th anniversary |
$80,000 |
$1,700,000 |
9th anniversary |
$90,000 |
$1,700,000 |
10th anniversary |
- |
$1,700,000 |
Total |
$670,000 |
$10,000,000 |
Any reference to the term "anniversary" in the above schedule or anywhere in this news release refers to the anniversary of the Effective Date for paying by the Company of balance of the staged payments of US$670,000 and exploration expenditures of US$10 million.
The Optionor retains a 2% Net Smelter Returns Royalty, which may be reduced to 1% by the payment of US$5 million during the term of the Agreement.
Qualified Person
David Dupre, P.Geo, Vice President - Exploration and the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release.
Historic assays cannot be verified by Metallis as they are historical in nature although there is no reason to believe they are inaccurate.
Metallis Resources Inc. is a Vancouver-based company focused on the exploration of gold, copper, nickel, and silver at its 100%-owned flagship Kirkham Property situated in northwest British Columbia's Golden Triangle. Metallis trades under the symbols MTS on the TSX Venture Exchange, MTLFF on the OTCQB Exchange, and 0CVM on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The Company has 60,544,312 common shares outstanding.
The wholly owned, 106 sq. km Kirkham Property is located about 65 km north of Stewart, B.C., in the heart of the Golden Triangle's prolific Eskay (Sulphurets) Camp. The Property is contiguous to Garibaldi Resources Corp.'s E&L Nickel Mountain Project to the north and Eskay Mining Corp. to the east. It is located along a strategic geological boundary – the "Red-line" exposed on the western margin of the Eskay Rift system and is prospective for multiple mineral deposit types. The Kirkham Property is within 20 km of the past producing Eskay Creek mine while the eastern border is within 12 – 20 km of Seabridge Gold's KSM deposits and Newcrest Mining's producing Brucejack mine.
On behalf of the Board of Directors:
/s/ "Fiore Aliperti"
Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director
This Press Release may contain statements which constitute 'forward-looking' statements, including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements because of numerous factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities' regulatory authorities, including quarterly and annual Management's Discussion and Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated, or expected. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX-V Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.
SOURCE Metallis Resources Inc.
Tel: 604-688-5077, Email: [email protected], Web: www.metallisresources.com
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