Bonterra names CEO, plans $10 million offering
Bonterra Resources Inc. [BTR-TSXV; BONXF-OTC; 9BR1-FSE] said Monday November 23 that  it has arranged a non-brokered private placement that is expected to raise up to $10 million from the sale of common shares priced at $1.15 each. The company said it may elect to increase the size of the offering by issuing additional shares.
In addition, Bonterra said Pascal Hamelin has been promoted to the position of President and CEO, effective immediately. Hamelin has been interim CEO since June, 2020. “He has recently demonstrated his leadership abilities in advancing the company through its exploration program, bulk sample, and day-to-day operation,” Bonterra said in a press release.
Bonterra shares were largely unchanged on Monday, easing 0.9% or $0.01 to $1.12 in light trading volume. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $2.31 and 63 cents.
Proceeds of the offering are earmarked for the assets in Quebec that Bonterra acquired when it snapped up Metanor Resources Inc. two years ago in a $78 million deal. The plan was to create a new gold exploration and development company with a focus on Quebec’s Urban Barry mining camp.
By attaining control of three advanced high-grade gold deposits (Gladiator, Moroy and Barry) and the only permitted gold mill in the region, Bonterra believed it was placing the combined company in an excellent position to rapidly and cost-effectively become a significant Quebec-based gold producer.
After closing the Metanor acquisition, Bonterra said it was planning to accelerate the Gladiator, Moroy and Barry deposits while expanding the capacity of the Urban Barry mill. (The Moroy deposit is located on the property that also contains the Urban Barry mill).
Bonterra plans to increase the capacity of the mill from 800 tonnes per day (tpd) to 2,400 tpd. Construction related to the mill expansion was expected to be completed in 2019, allowing a shortened timeline to production for the three gold deposits. The budget for this project was US$13 million.
In May, 2019, Bpnterra announced results of a NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource estimate for the Gladiator, Barry and Moroy deposits. It said estimates for Gladiator include an indicated resource of 202,000 ounces of gold. Barry is estimated to host an indicated resource of 385,000 ounces of gold. Moroy is estimated to host an indicated resource of 56,000 ounces.