ONGold acquiring Manitoba projects from Agnico, Capella
ONGold Resources Ltd. [ONAU-TSXV] has struck a deal to purchase a 100% interest in the Monument Bay and Domain gold projects in Manitoba from a unit of Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM-TSX, AEM-NYSE) and Agnico Eagle and Capella Minerals Ltd. [CMIL-TSXV] in the case of Domain.
Upon closing, Agnico-Eagle will own a 15% stake in ONGold, a company that began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in May, 2024 after completing the acquisition of Northern Superior Resources Inc.’s [SUP-TSXV, NSUPF-OTCQX] mining projects in Ontario.
As a result of the transaction, Northern Superior holds 35.7 million common shares of ONGold, or 72.35% of the issued and outstanding shares.
On Monday ONGold said it has entered into two separate agreements for Monument Bay and Domain. Under those agreements ONGold will acquire the Monument Bay and Domain projects for $250,000, of which $100,000 is payable under the Monument agreement and $150,000 under the Domain agreement. ONGold has also agreed to pay 8.7 million common shares, worth $4.2 million or $0.485 per share, a move that will leave Agnico-Eagle with a 15% stake in the company.
In addition, Agnico-Eagle will be entitled to up to $21.5 million in contingent milestone-based payments under the Monument Bay agreement, while Agnico and Capella will together be entitled to $500,000 in contingent milestone payments under the Domain Agreement.
Closing of the transactions is expected to occur in December, 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.
ONGold shares advanced on the news, rising 7.21% or $0.035 to 52 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $1.05 and 45 cents. Northern Superior was unchanged at 50 cents and trades in a 52-week range of 75 cents and 29 cents.
The transactions are an important step in advancing ONGold’s strategy of becoming a leading junior explorer in the prolific Stull Lake Greenstone belt of Northern Canada, ONGold said in a press release.
Monument Bay is located in northeastern Manitoba, near the Ontario-Manitoba border and represents a district-scale exploration opportunity with significant gold and tungsten mineralization over a 40-kilometre strike length. Monument Bay is also an advanced stage exploration asset with over 232,000 metres drilled in more than 800 diamond core holes, while still having substantial exploration upside both within the known deposits and along under explored satellite zones.
Monument Bay has been the subject of several historic resource estimate completed by various operators which are no longer considered current under NI 43-101 standards of disclosure. The most recent technical report (2017) identified 2.3 million gold ounces at an average grade of 1.24 g/t in the measured and indicated category and 720,000 gold ounces at an average grade of 0.92 g/t in the inferred category.
Monument Bay is contiguous to ONGold’s Rapson Bay project in Ontario, which covers 286 square kilometres, including 23 kilometres of the Wolf Bay Shear Zone. Rapson Bay is located approximately 30 kilometres from the camp at Monument Bay, allowing ONGold to utilize existing camp infrastructure to conduct and expand exploration activities at Rapson Bay.