Dolly Varden Silver consolidates Big Bulk porphyry project, British Columbia
Dolly Varden Silver Corp. [TSXV-DV; OTCQX-DOLLF; FSDEW-DVQ1] has entered into an assignment and assumption agreement with Libero Copper & Gold Corp. [TSXV-LBC], whereby Dolly Varden has acquired from Libero an option agreement entitling Dolly Varden, subject to certain conditions, to earn a 100% undivided interest in the southern portion of the Big Bulk project from Libero, thus consolidating the entire copper-gold porphyry system. The Libero property, also known as the Big Bulk property, is composed of seven mineral claims making up 3,025 hectares in the Golden Triangle, northwestern British Columbia. Pursuant to the assignment agreement, as consideration, the company has agreed to issue Libero 275,000 common shares of the company.
Agreement highlights: Consolidation of the Big Bulk copper-gold mineralized calc-alkali porphyry system of the Texas Creek plutonic suite. Historic data sets will be incorporated into a complete geologic model. Existing land use agreement and exploration permit in place.
“We have been continuing to seek accretive consolidation opportunities in the area and the amalgamation of the southern portion of the Big Bulk copper gold porphyry with Dolly Varden’s portion is our latest step,” said Shawn Khunkhun, president and CEO of Dolly Varden. “In the Golden Triangle, porphyry systems can represent metallogenic feeders to high-grade vein systems, such as the KSM deposit that occurs adjacent to the Brucejack mine. Big Bulk may represent a causative mineralized porphyry to the high-grade silver and gold deposits 10 km to the west at the Kitsault Valley trend.”
Big Bulk is located 20 km north of the town of Kitsault, B.C., and is surrounded by Hecla Mining’s Kinskuch project. The Big Bulk porphyry copper-gold system hosts multiple phases of intrusive rocks, hosted in Lower Jurassic-age Hazelton- and Triassic-age Stuhini volcanic and sedimentary rocks analogues. Recent work by the British Columbia Geological Survey (BCGS) and University of British Columbia (UBC) mineral deposits research unit (MDRU) indicate that Big Bulk is the northernmost porphyry of a string of several porphyry mineralized systems of multiple geologic ages that extend 30 km south to the New Moly LLC’s Eocene-age Kitsault molybdenum deposit.
Libero’s 2021 drill program at Big Bulk tested the new geological model focusing on a quartz-chalcopyrite-veined hornblende diorite intrusive phase of the Texas Creek plutonic suite that was intersected in multiple holes.
The acquisition is being completed pursuant to the assignment agreement. Dolly Varden has agreed to issue the consideration shares to Libero at a deemed value of 78 cents per consideration share (being the closing price of the common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on December 15, 2023) for an aggregate consideration of $214,500.
Issuance of the common shares remains subject to TSX-V approval and other customary conditions.
In connection with the acquisition, Dolly Varden also entered into an amending agreement with LCT Holdings Inc., the owner of the Big Bulk property and optionor under the option agreement. The amended option agreement provides that Dolly Varden may earn a 100-per-cent undivided interest in the Big Bulk property by completing the following payments: $50,000 in cash by December 31, 2023; $150,000 in cash by December 31, 2024; $250,000 in cash or common shares by December 31, 2025; $500,000 in cash or common shares by December 31, 2026; and $500,000 in cash or common shares by December 31, 2027.
Any common shares issued by Dolly Varden under the option agreement, as amended, will be issued at a deemed price equal to the 10-day volume-weighted average price of the Dolly Varden common shares on the TSX-V, subject to minimum pricing rules on the TSX-V. The option agreement gives Dolly Varden the option to accelerate the payments described above.
Dolly Varden Silver is a mineral exploration company focused on advancing its 100%-held Kitsault Valley project (which combines the Dolly Varden project and the Homestake Ridge project) located in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, Canada, 25 kilometres by road to tide water. The 163 km2 project hosts the high-grade silver and gold resources of Dolly Varden and Homestake Ridge along with the past-producing Dolly Varden and Torbrit silver mines.
It is considered to be prospective for hosting further precious metal deposits, being on the same structural and stratigraphic belts that host numerous other high-grade deposits, such as Eskay Creek and Brucejack. The Kitsault Valley project also contains the Big Bulk property which is prospective for porphyry- and skarn-style copper and gold mineralization, similar to other such deposits in the region (Red Mountain, KSM, Red Chris).