Garbaldi Resources up 9% as Sprott increases stake
Financier Eric Sprott is spending $2.5 million to acquire another million shares of Garibaldi Resources Corp. [GGI-TSXV, GGIFF-OTC] at $2.50 a share.
These shares, in addition to shares that were previously acquired through an Ontario numbered company in December 21, 2017 means Sprott beneficially controls 17.3 million shares of Garibaldi and 4.7 million warrants, representing 17.1% of the company on a non-diluted basis and approximately 20.8% on a partially dilute basis.
That’s up from 16.1% (non-diluted) and 19.9% (partially diluted) respectively.
The shares were acquired for investment purposes by Sprott, who has a long-term view of the investment and may acquire more in the future.
Garibaldi shares rallied on the news, rising 9.13% or $0.23 to $2.75 on Friday. The 52-week range is $5.27 and 12 cents.
Garibaldi is focused on discoveries and strategic development of its assets in prolific mining regions of Mexico and British Columbia.
Garibaldi controls more than 200 km2 of exploration ground in the vicinity of northwestern British Columbia’s Eskay Creek mining camp in the Golden Triangle region, an area with an illustrious mining history dating by to gold discovery’s that were funded in the late 1980s by promoter Murray Pezim, and later mined by Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, NYSE].
On February 16, 2018 the company said it had launched helicopter-supported VTEM and magnetic surveys at its Nickel Mountain Project near Eskay Creek.
The company said the surveys will cover up to approximately 1,650 line-km of Garibaldi’s claim group, nearly triple the size of the 2017 program that returned multiple high-priority conductors, including the one that led to the discovery of nickel-copper-rich massive sulphides east of the historic E&L deposit at Nickel Mountain.
On December 8, 2017, the company said Discovery Hole EL-17-14 returned a 40.4-metre mineralized zone, featuring a massive sulphide intersection with rich grades of nickel and copper over 16.75 metres.
The company said Hole EL-17-14, was collared 200 metres east of the historic E&L deposit and drilled towards the west-southwest.
It returned 8.3% nickel, and 4.2% copper over 16.75 metres with a broader 40.4-metre section grading 3.9% nickel and 2.3% copper from 100.4 to 140.8 metres (approximate true width).
The 16.75-metre massive sulphide intercept also included 6.4 g/t combined platinum-palladium, 0.19% cobalt, 1.1 g/t gold and 11.1 g/t silver.
The company said drill data indicates a sequence of widening intercepts and increasing grades toward the Discovery Zone to the east, which remains open for expansion in all directions, including at depth.
The E&L deposit is the Eskay Camp’s only nickel-copper massive sulphide system, and is located just 11 miles southwest of Eskay Creek.
Having launched the latest round of drilling in August, 2017, Garibaldi is targeting known nickel-copper-rich mineralized zones and a VTEM conductor estimated to begin within 20 to 40 metres below the deepest hole (122 metres) drilled in the 1960s by a company called Silver Standard.
All 12 Silver Standard holes drilled in the mid-1960s intersected nickel-copper mineralization highlighted by a 37.8-metre interval in DDH-4-1966 that returned 1.3% nickel and 0.79% copper, including 5.9% nickel and 1.7% copper over 2.74 metres near the bottom of the hole.
“Given the tremendous success with geophysics at Nickel Mountain in 2017, as demonstrated by compelling drilling results and a unique discovery in this Camp, we’re excited by what we may learn from this expanded program covering the entire trend,” said Garibaldi President and CEO Steve Regoci.