Aura Minerals unveils strategic stake in Altamira Gold
Aura Minerals Inc. [TSX- ORA, OTC-ORAFF] has announced a strategic investment in Altamira Gold Corp. [ALTA-TSXV, EQTRF-OTC Pink, T6UP-FSE] a company that is drilling a new gold discovery on its Cajueiro project in Para state, Brazil.
Aura said it has acquired 24 million Altamira units, priced at 12.5 cents per unit for $3 million via a non-brokered private placement. Each unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant enables the holder to acquire one common share of the issuer for an exercise price of 20 cents per share for two years.
Prior to the announcement, Aura did not hold any securities in Altamira either directly or indirectly. Upon closing, Aura will hold 11.35% of the issued and outstanding shares of Altamira on a non-diluted basis and 17% on a fully diluted basis.
Altamira Gold shares were unchanged at 14 cents in early trading Tuesday. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 30 cents and 11.5 cents. Aura shares are priced at $9.30 and trade in a 52-week range of $12.14 and $7.30.
Aura said it is acquiring the units for investment purposes given the exploration potential of Altamira, which recently released an update on ongoing exploration at the Maria Bonita discovery which forms part of the Cajueiro project.
The Cajueiro project is located approximately 75 kilometres northwest of the town of Alta Foresta in the state of Mato Grosso in central western Brazil and is easily accessible by road and grid power. Cajueiro is one of three key projects that Altamira controls in the region, the other two being Apiacas and Santa Helena.
Previous drilling at Maria Bonita suggested that the company has made a significant new gold discovery at the Cajueiro project, the company has said. “This style of gold mineralization, together with the size of the gold-in-soil anomaly (800 x 800 metres), suggest that Maria Bonita may have significant bulk-tonnage potential.’’
Aura is focused on expanding the mill capacity after achieving commercial production at its Almas Gold Project, an open pit mine located in the state of Tocatins, Brazil.
Aura is a mid-tier gold and copper production company with a focus on development and operation of gold and base metal projects in the Americas. Its producing assets include the San Andres gold mine in Honduras, the EPP gold mine complex in Brazil, the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico, and the Gold Road (pre-operational) gold mine in Arizona.
The company has two additional gold projects in Brazil (Almas and Matupa) and one gold project in Colombia (Tolda Fria).
Average annual gold production at Almas is estimated at 51,000 ounces during the first four years. The mine is expected to have a lifespan of 17 years.
Aura produced 53,265 gold equivalent ounces (GEOs) in the first quarter of 2023, down from 61,041 ounces in the same period last year.