Antofagasta signs agreement with Evrim for Axe Project in B.C.
The Axe property is located within the Intermontane Belt in the southern portion of the Quesnellia Terrane in southern British Columbia. — Photo courtesy Evrim Resources
VANCOUVER, B.C., Dec. 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evrim Resources Corp. (TSX.V:EVM) (“Evrim” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has signed an agreement (the “Agreement”) with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Antofagasta plc (“Antofagasta”) on the Axe property in British Columbia. Antofagasta can acquire a 70% interest in the Axe property by incurring US$50 million in exploration expenditures, making cash payments of US$800,000, and completing a National Instrument 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Analysis (“PEA”), over a ten year period.
“Axe is a 50 square kilometre land package in south-central British Columbia, in the gold-copper porphyry belt that hosts Newgold’s New Afton Mine, Teck’s Highland Valley Mine and Copper Mountain’s namesake mine,” commented Evrim’s CEO Paddy Nicol. “Both Evrim and Antofagasta have completed an extensive data review with an approved US$1 million drilling and exploration program in the spring of 2018. This Agreement represents our second such transaction with Antofagasta in British Columbia and our fourth transaction overall in 2017. Evrim now has five active joint ventures and one regional exploration alliance.”
Upon completing the terms of the Agreement Evrim and Antofagasta will participate in a joint venture on a respective 30:70 basis. If either party’s interest is diluted to 10% or less, it will convert to a 2% Net Smelter Return (“NSR”). If Antofagasta terminates the Agreement prior to earning its 70% interest, it will receive a 0.50% NSR for exploration expenditures exceeding US$10 million, an additional 0.25% NSR for expenditures in excess of US$20 million and another 0.25% for expenditures in excess of US$30 million, for a maximum of a 1% NSR. Evrim will be the operator for the first US$10 million in exploration expenditures.
Evrim is committed to developing positive and mutually beneficial relationships based on respect and transparency with local First Nations and communities in the areas in which we operate.
About the Axe Project
The Axe property is located within the Intermontane Belt in the southern portion of the Quesnellia Terrane in southern British Columbia. The southern Quesnel trough is composed of Triassic Nicola Volcanic Belt rocks and associated Jurassic to Cretaceous intrusions. The belt extends from the Canada/USA border to north of Kamloops, and is characterized by several producing mines and advanced stage mineral development projects.
The project contains four known porphyry targets (West, Adit, Mid and South) within a 5.0 kilometre by 3.5 kilometre hydrothermal footprint. Following a review and reinterpretation of historic exploration data, Evrim considers that the central cores of the West and South zones have not been drilled. Drilling by previous operators adjacent to these targets returned intersections such as 124.5 metres grading 0.35% copper and 0.22 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold in drill hole A07-08, including 10.5 metres grading 1.55% copper and 0.94 g/t gold at the West Zone.
Recent work on the 1516 zone defined an unexplored copper, gold, molybdenum, bismuth and tungsten in soil anomaly immediately east of the Adit and Mid zones over a 1,000 metre by 500 metre area, and is associated with a quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP) altered gossan and coincident chargeability and conductivity high. The 1516 zone only has four holes on its eastern edge that were drilled between 1970 and 1982.
Qualified Person Statement
Evrim's disclosure of technical or scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Stewart Harris, P.Geo. Vice President, Technical Services for the Company. Mr. Harris serves as a Qualified Person under the definition of National Instrument 43-101.
About Evrim Resources
Evrim Resources is a mineral exploration company whose goal is to participate in significant exploration discoveries supported by a sustainable business model. The Company is well financed, has a diverse range of quality projects and a database covering substantial areas of Mexico and portions of southwestern United States. The Company’s projects are advanced through option and joint venture agreements with industry partners to create shareholder value. Evrim’s business plan also includes royalty creation utilizing the Company’s exploration expertise and existing projects.
Forward Looking Statements Apply
