Roxgold has mobilised its underground mining contractor, a subsidiary of African Underground Mining Services (AUMSG), to its Yaramoko gold project in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The previously announced mining services contract entered into with AUMS has an initial term of four years and includes the provision of a mining fleet and skilled labour force.
AUMSG will make an initial investment in Roxgold of $5 million by means of a non-brokered private placement. The private placement will consist of 8,979,286 Roxgold common shares at a price of C$0.70 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately C$6,286,000. Upon closing of the private placement, AUMS will hold approximately 3% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company on an undiluted basis.
As previously announced, Roxgold will have the option to settle up to US$10 million in payments under the Mining Contract in the form of Roxgold common shares. The subscription price for each Payment Share will be based on a 5% discount to the volume weighted average price of Roxgold shares on the TSX Venture Exchange for the five trading days following the date of the particular invoice. The proceeds of the sale of the Subscription Shares and the value of services to be provided in exchange for the Payment Shares together represent approximately 50% of the anticipated pre-production underground development capital expenditures.
“We are very pleased to welcome AUMSG as a shareholder of Roxgold”, commented Paul Criddle, Roxgold’s Chief Operating Officer. “The alignment of interests between Roxgold and a key contractor bodes well for the smooth operation of the Yaramoko gold project, development of which has been progressing very well.”
AUMS is a joint venture between Ausdrill, a leading international mining services business, and Barminco, a specialist underground mining contractor. With industry leading safety and training systems along with extensive experience operating underground mines in West Africa, AUMS is uniquely qualified to assist in the development of the Yaramoko project.
Roxgold is a gold exploration and development company with its key asset, the high grade Yaramoko project, located in the Houndé greenstone region of Burkina Faso. The company is currently advancing Yaramoko’s 55 Zone through construction and expects to commence production in the second quarter of 2016.