Calibre announces $100 million bought deal financing
Calibre Mining Corp. [CXB-TSXV, CXBMF-OTC] is raising $100 million from a bought deal financing after reaching an agreement with an underwriting syndicate which has pledged to buy 59.6 million Calibre common shares for $1.68 per share.
The underwriters have been granted an option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the offering to cover potential overallotments. That option remains open for 30 days after closing, which is expected to occur on April 16, 2024.
Calibre shares were active on the news, easing 8.0% or 14.5 cents to $1.66 on volume of 3.58 million. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $1.89 and $1.15.
Calibre said net proceeds of the $100 million bought deal financing will be used for the following purposes:
They include continued development of the Valentine gold project in Newfoundland, and for the El Limon, and La Libertad mines in Nicaragua, as well as the Pan mine in Nevada. Proceeds will also be used to advance exploration programs; and for general corporate and working capital purposes.
Calibre said 2023 was the fourth consecutive year of production growth for the company, which reported gold sales of 283,525 ounces. The production target for this year is 275,000 to 300,000 ounces.
Back in November, 2023, Calibre and Marathon Gold Corp. announced a business combination designed to create a high-growth, cash-flow-focused, mid-tier gold producer in the Americas with expected annual production of 500,000 ounces by 2026. Calibre already had a pipeline of development and exploration projects in Nevada, Washington in the U.S. and Nicaragua.
Calibre acquired Marathon Gold and its flagship Valentine Gold Project for an implied value of $0.84 per Marathon share or $345 million on a fully diluted basis.
In connection with the transaction, Calibre purchased 66.7 million Marathon common shares of 60 cents each via a private placement, generating gross proceeds of $40 million that were earmarked for development at Marathon’s Valentine Gold Project. The asset consists of a series of five mineralized deposits located along a 32-kilometre system
A December 2022, updated feasibility study for the project outlined an open pit conventional mining operation, producing 195,000 ounces of gold annually for 12 years within a 14.3-year mine-life.
Valentine was released from federal and provincial environmental assessments in 2022 and construction commenced in October, 2022. The project has an estimated proven mineral reserve of 1.43 million ounces (23.36 million tonnes at 1.89 g/t) and a probable reserve of 1.27 million ounces (28.22 million tonnes at 1.40 g/t). Total measured resources (including mineral reserves) stand at 2.06 million ounces.