Hemlo Explorers is optioning up to 80 per cent ownership of its Pic Project near the north shore of Lake Superior to Barrick Gold.
The Toronto-based junior miner, formerly known as Canadian Orebodies, announced last week it had signed a term sheet with Barrick for an earn-in agreement for 16,800 hectares of Hemlo’s Pic Project, located 25 kilometres west of Barrick's Williams Mine.
Both companies are carrying out their due diligence toward reaching an agreement by April 30.
The deal commits Barrick to spend a minimum of $800,000 on the project within the first 12 months followed by annual spending of a minimum of $1 million, under the terms of the deal. The partnership then evolves into a Barrick-run 80-20 joint venture with Hemlo Explorers.
Through exploration drilling, Hemlo identified a number of gold systems and occurrences on the property.
“Hemlo Explorers has moved its Pic Project to a point where it was ready to option to a major,” said company CEO Brian Howlett in a statement. “We believe that we have the best possible partner to complete this program. We are excited to work with Barrick in bringing this project forward.”
Over the years, Hemlo Explorers has staked and acquired about 380 square kilometres of exploration property in the Hemlo and Schreiber area.
The company said the focus of this year’s field exploration season is an area dubbed Project Idaho, located three kilometres to the east of where Generation Mining wants to build an open-pit palladium and copper mine. Hemlo Explorers believes this 1,385-hectare bears the geological similarities to Gen Mining’s Marathon project.
