Mackay Gold to acquire Comstock’s Nevada assets, shares up 9.3%

Mackay Gold & Silver Corp. [MACK-TSXV, MKGSF-OTCQB] has struck a definitive deal with privately-owned Comstock Inc. for the purchase of 100% of Comstock’s mining assets, known as the Silver Lode Properties (SLP) in Storey County and Lyon County Nevada. The acquisition expands Mackay’s total land holdings by 70% to 4,343 hectares, consolidating the largest property package held by one company in Comstock District history.

Under the agreement Mackay will pay US$20 million in cash and deliver 2.0 million shares on closing, followed by a further US$7 million payable within 18 months in a combination of cash and shares, plus a future consideration as detailed later in the company’s press release. “With a balance sheet of over US$60 million, Mackay is fully funded to make all cash payments while retaining a very strong treasury to fund the company’s exploration activities,’’ Mackay said in a press release.

Mackay said the deal unites the district’s three major vein systems, the Silver City Lode, Occidental-Brunswick Lode and Comstock Lode, under single ownership for the first time.

Mackay Gold & Silver shares advanced on the news, rising 9.35% or 23 cents to $2.69. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $5.00 and $1.96.

Mackay Gold & Silver is a Nevada-focused gold and silver exploration company with 100% control of a large, consolidated land package in one of America’s richest, most productive and oldest mining districts. With an estimated 8.2 million ounces of historical gold production, and 192 million ounces of silver produced between 1859 and 1926 from so called ‘Bonanza Lodes’ that averaged 35 g/t gold and 726 g/t silver, the Comstock district is recognized as one of America’s highest grade epithermal systems and an attractive setting for modern discovery.

The SCL properties are contiguous with the southern boundary of Mackay’s existing land package, covering the entire, multi-kilometre strike length of the Silver City Lode and its southern projection into Spring Valley. The SCL properties include numerous historical past producing gold-silver mines and two established gold-silver deposits with historical resource estimates dating to 2022.  These include the Lucerne Deposit located on the Silver City lode and the Dayton Deposit located approximately 3.0 kilometres south of the Lucerne Deposit.

 The properties also include a permitted mine and processing infrastructure at American Flats.

“Land consolidation has been central to unlocking modern exploration of the Comstock District,’’ said Mackay CEO Darwin Green. “By removing the property boundaries that have long fragmented this camp, we can test targets and structural continuations that previous operators could never pursue,’’ he said. “This is a district that historically produced a large amount of gold and silver at very high grades, and that has seen remarkably little modern exploration, a rare combination that offers an attractive opportunity for significant new discoveries.’’

Comstock is set to retain a net smelter royalty on the acquired properties.