Orefinders Resources has closed its acquisition of the McGarry Mine and Larder-Lake project from Kerr Mines.
The transaction was first announced last April.
The 681-hectare McGarry Mine and Larder-Lake project is in Virginiatown, east of Kirkland Lake, in the prolific Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The McGarry Mine was last in production in 2013.
Kerr Mines and Armstice had spent considerably to upgrade the surface infrastructure and was conducting underground exploration, which had shown very encouraging grades.
The site contains a headframe, shaft, hoists, offices and a core shack, all refurbished over the last decade. A highway runs through the property.
"We were able to acquire the McGarry Mine and Larder-Lake projects that were previously tied up in litigation and environmental issues and we have since come to an agreement with the province which effectively eliminates the issues impeding development of the region,” explained Orefinders CEO Stephen Stewart in an Aug. 20 news release.
A preliminary economic assessment from 2011 outlined a mineral resource of 447,000 tonnes, grading 7.89 grams per tonne (g/t) for a total of 112,000 gold ounces in the indicated category. There’s an additional 157,000 tonnes grading 5.83 g/t gold for a total of 29,000 ounces in the inferred category.
Orefinders said the McGarry Property is host to numerous gold mineralized zones and many have only been drilled to relatively shallow depth. Development work by the previous owners prepared the 325N Zone for production.
McGarry property also hosts the Barber-Larder open pit which produced 6,700 ounces of gold for an average grade 4.1 g/t. To the west, the company said there are numerous targets worth following up.
“With this acquisition, Orefinders has acquired a very high-grade resource which has substantial exploration upside,” said Stewart.
“We've also acquired the data from over 100,000 metres of drilling along with substantial geophysics. In the near term, we will be releasing our new interpretations, geological model and exploration plan for this asset and others. This is the type of acquisition that falls directly in line with our philosophy of finding new deposits on old mines.”
The deal is for Kerr to receive 8,000,000 common shares, approximately 9.0 per cent of Orefinders outstanding share capital, plus an additional 440,248 common shares of Power Ore, Orefinders spinoff company that’s focused battery-grade metals.
“The sale of the McGarry assets for common shares in Orefinders, is an excellent value creating opportunity for Kerr Mines shareholders,” said Kerr CEO Claudio Ciavarella in a statement.
“The McGarry assets in Northern Ontario fit with Orefinders plans of developing assets in the Abitibi and will unlock value for Kerr Mines shareholders.
Kerr Mines now turns its attention to Arizona where it’s top prospect is a high-grade gold property, the former Copperstone Mine, that the company intends to bring into production.
