IAMGOLD Corp has signed a definitive greement with Merrex Gold Inc to acquire, in an all-share transaction, all of the issued and outstanding shares of Merrex not already owned by IAMGOLD. Merrex is a junior mineral exploration company of which IAMGOLD currently owns 23% of Merrex’s issued and outstanding common shares. IAMGOLD expects to issue 6.9 million shares, amounting to less than 1.5% of its issued and outstanding shares, in connection with the Transaction. The Transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017. This is just one of dozens of projects covered in International Mining Project News (published fortnightly) – ask [email protected] for more information on a subscription.
Steve Letwin, IAMGOLD’s President & CEO: “This agreement consolidates the ownership of a key asset in IAMGOLD’s exploration pipeline. The IAMGOLD exploration team, led by Craig MacDougall, working in concert with Merrex on the Diakha-Siribaya project in Mali has done an outstanding job over recent years to define indicated resources of 2.1 Mt grading 1.90 g/t Au and inferred resources of 19.8 Mt grading 1.71 g/t Au. Mali is a prolific mining friendly jurisdiction and is where IAMGOLD began nearly 25 years ago at the Sadiola project which, along with its neighbouring Yatela mine, has already produced over 7.5 Moz of gold.”
Merrex’s primary assets are its gold properties in West Mali, principally its 50% interest in the Siribaya gold project, its 100% held Karita exploration authorization in Guinea and its 100% held zinc-lead property in Nova Scotia (the Jubilee project). Merrex holds permits totalling some 700 km2 within an approximately 4,100 km2 area of interest in the southern portion of the West Mali Gold Belt.
IAMGOLD is a mid-tier mining company with four operating gold mines on three continents. A solid base of strategic assets in North and South America and West Africa is complemented by development and exploration projects and continued assessment of accretive acquisition opportunities. IAMGOLD is in a strong financial position with extensive management and operational expertise.
