Newrange Gold terminates Coricancha mine acquisition
Newrange Gold Corp. [NRG-TSXV] said Friday it has signed a mutual termination agreement with Great Panther Mining Ltd. [GPLDK-OTCPK] related to a share purchase deal involving the acquisition of the Coricancha gold-silver-copper-lead-zinc mine in Central Peru.
Coricancha is located in the central Andes of Peru, approximately 90 kilometres east of Lima. It is a past producing mine that was acquired by Great Panther in June 2017, and has remained on care and maintenance since then.
“We are deeply disappointed to have arrived at this outcome,’’ said Robert Archer, President and CEO of Newrange. “We have been working on this acquisition since March and believe strongly in the potential of the Coricancha Mine,’’ he said.
“However, the current market for mining stocks, one of the worst in decades, has created a serious impediment to financing, especially for new acquisitions. While we attempted to gain an extension to the closing date, the intransigence of Great Panther’s creditors has, regrettably, made the impossible.
As a result, of the termination of the agreement, Newrange will not be proceeding with the proposed financing, share consolidation and name change at this time and it is anticipated that trading in the company’s shares will soon resume. The shares last traded at $0.03 in a 52-week range of $0.085 and $0.025.
On November 7, 2022, Newrange said it was arranging a non-brokered private placement designed to raise just over US$10 million, with proceeds earmarked for the acquisition of the Coricancha mine. The placement was expected to follow a one new for six old share consolidation and was to be priced at 18 cents per share.
Newrange is currently focused on exploration in the Red Lake, Ontario mining camp.
Two years ago, Newrange signed an option deal to earn a 100% interest in a gold property in the Red Lake mining district from Aurcrest Gold Inc. [AGO-TSXV].
The Western Fold property consists of approximately 2,300 hectares in the Birch-Uchi greenstone belt and is located approximately 12 kilometres north west of First Mining Gold Corp.’s [FF-TSX, FFMGF-OTCQX, FMG-Frankfurt] Springpole gold deposit (4.67 million ounces of indicated material).
The Western Fold property contains a magnetic signature that is indicative of a strongly folded iron formation similar to the one that hosts Newmont Goldcorp Corp’s, [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE] Musselwhite gold mine in northwestern Ontario. Although the Western Fold iron formation has never been drill-tested, this geological setting is considered to be highly prospective for gold mineralization, the company said.
Newrange had previously been focused on its Pamlico gold project, which is located about 20 kilometres southeast of Hawthorne Nevada, along U.S. Highway 95. The project covers the historic Pamlico group of mines as well as the nearby Good Hope, Gold Bar and Sunset mines.