Big Ridge Gold rallies on Hope Brook financing news
Big Ridge Gold Corp. [BRAU-TSXV] has raised $5.25 million after closing a non-brokered private placement of 42 million common share units priced a 12.5 cents per share.
Each unit consists of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant is exercisable into one common share at a price of 20 cents per common share, expiring on November 25, 2027.
The company said it intends to use the net proceeds to purchase the remaining 20% of the Hope Brook Gold project in Newfoundland and Labrador it does not currently own and for general working capital purposes.
On Friday, Big Ridge shares jumped 5.9% or $0.01 to 18 cents. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 17.5 cents and $0.05 cents.
Big Ridge Gold is an exploration and development company with a portfolio that includes a 100% interest in the highly prospective Oxford Gold Project in Manitoba, and 100% interest in the Destiny Gold project in Quebec. The company is also engaged in exploration in the Beardmore-Geraldton gold belt in Ontario.
Big Ridge is the operator of the Hope Brook Gold project, the site of a former gold mine that produced 752,163 ounces of gold between 1987 and 1997. The company said previous drilling at the project extended gold and copper mineralization to the southwest of the former producing Hope Brook open pit.
Big Ridge’s shareholder group includes Michael Gentile, owner of 19.9% of the issued and outstanding shares of the company. Gentile is a former money manager and a strategic investor in the junior mining sector.
The advanced stage Hope Brook project consists of 1,056 mineral claims, covering 26,400 hectares. The property hosts the Hope Brook deposit which consists of the Mine Zone and 240 Zone.
According to a NI-43-101-compliant resource estimate, Hope Brook contains an indicated resource of 16.2 million tonnes, grading 2.32 g/t gold or 1.2 million ounces, plus an inferred resource of 2.21 million tonnes of grade 3.25 g/t gold or 231,000 ounces. The property has well maintained infrastructure located on site, including an operational 28-person camp, existing tailings storage capacity, ice-free docking, a 1,100-metre airstrip and connection to the provincial electrical power grid via an on-site substation.
Government reports indicate that gold recoveries from milling ranged between a low of 78.8% in 1987 to a high of 85.9% in 1989. Government and company annual reports indicate that gold recoveries ranged between a lof of 82.1% in 1994 and a high of 89.83% in 1996 following a change of ownership. Copper flotation produced a concentrate at approximately 22% copper and 34.3 g/t gold for shipment in 1992.