(TheNewswire)
Vancouver, British Columbia / TheNewswire / February 16 2017 - AFRICAN QUEEN MINES LTD. (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has now concluded new placer mining agreements (the "Agreements") with two separate third parties, Mr. Lenard Diduck of Atlin, B.C. and his affiliates (collectively, "Diduck") and Mr. Matt Norris of Delta, B.C. and his affiliates (collectively, "Norris"). The Agreements cover placer mining operations by such parties on the Company's Placer Lease 361733, Placer Claim 350665 and Placer Claim 379882 (collectively, the "Company's Placer Interest"). The Company's Placer Interest covers an aggregate area of approximately 466.15 hectares in the historic Pine Creek Valley at the Company's Yellowjacket Gold Project (the Project"), which now encompasses approximately 291.54 sq.km. of strategic ground 9 km East of Atlin, B.C. The Pine Creek Valley has been the site of continuing mining operations for over a century.
Placer operations under the Agreements are anticipated to commence on site in or about May, 2017, commencing with exploration and test mining. Operations are planned to expand on a result contingent basis. The Company is retaining all rights to explore, develop and exploit the hard-rock gold deposits at the Project, which have also been the subject of prior mining operations and yielded bonanza-grade drill results in the past. The aggregate investment in the Project to date by predecessors is in the range of $20 Million.
The Agreement with Norris is a two-year deal with an Initial Term of one year for 2017 and an option for a second year for 2018. It covers an area designated as the "Eastern Placer Zone," which basically represents that portion of the Company's Placer Interest to the East of the Yellowjacket Mine access road. The Company is to be paid a 10 Percent Gross Royalty on all gold produced by Norris on a monthly basis and Norris is responsible for paying all costs of his mining operations, including permitting, environmental compliance and remediation, operations, etc. Norris' operations are confined to the placer deposits on the Eastern Placer Zone and may not intrude further than one metre into the bedrock.
Norris operated in 2016 on the Company's Placer Interest under an Agreement dated November 1, 2015. The new agreement with Norris supersedes and replaces said Agreement. He undertook exploration and limited test mining activities on site during the 2016 season.
Norris is a highly experienced professional contractor in the mining exploration industry, who has conducted successful placer mining operations in the past and has considerable familiarity with the Atlin, B.C. area. He has owned and managed three successful drilling companies providing contract drilling services across Canada as well as being the first western driller to set up operations in Mongolia. He recently set up and managed a successful placer gold mining operation in the Amaar region of Tov Province, approximately 210 km. from Ulan Bator, Mongolia.
The Agreement with Diduck is a five-year deal with an Initial Term of one year for 2017 and four successive one-year options. Exercise of each subsequent option is contingent on meeting certain production and/or payment thresholds during the prior production year. It covers an area designated as the "Western Placer Zone" which basically represents that portion of the Company's Placer Interest which is to the West of the Yellowjacket Mine access road. The Company is to be paid a 10 Percent Gross Royalty on gold produced by Diduck (7.5% for gold produced solely from tailings) on a monthly basis and Diduck is responsible for paying all costs of his mining operations, including permitting, environmental compliance and remediation, operations, etc. Diduck's operations are confined to the placer deposits on the Western Placer Zone and may not intrude further than one metre into the bedrock.
Diduck is a highly experienced miner with extensive placer mining experience in the Atlin, B.C. area covering nearly four decades. He is a full time resident of Atlin, where he has resided for the past 25 years. He has been placer mining since he was 12 years old and also has worked on hard-rock properties, including serving as a hard-rock consultant to companies in Honduras and Nicaragua. From 1991 to 2005, Diduck owned and developed the Yellowjacket Gold Project. As such, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Company concerning our flagship property.
According to Irwin Olian, CEO of the Company, "We are very gratified to be working with Lenard Diduck and Matt Norris on the placer mining deposits at Yellowjacket. Their knowledge and experience will be invaluable in advancing the Project, both from the standpoint of generating cash flow to the Company from placer mining as well as assisting in our hard-rock exploration efforts through a continual dialogue and sharing of information from their placer findings. We are looking forward to working with both of them this season."
About African Queen
The Company is an exploratory resource company engaged in exploration and development of mineral properties in Canada and Africa. It is presently focusing on development of its Yellowjacket Gold Project in Atlin, British Columbia, which covers an aggregate of approximately 291.54 sq. km. The Company has its executive offices in Vancouver, Canada. The Company was incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada on April 30, 2008, and received certain southern African assets in a spin off transaction related to the acquisition of Pan African Mining Corp. by Asia Thai Mining Co., Ltd.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF
AFRICAN QUEEN MINES,
LTD.
"Irwin Olian"
Irwin Olian
Chairman & CEO
For more information, contact:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Irwin Olian, President and CEO|Carrie Howes, Corporate Communications| |E-mail: tigertail@africanqueenmines.com|Email: carrie@africanqueenmines.com| |Phone: (604) 788-0300|Phone : | | |U.K.- +44 (0) 870 490 5443 | ||Canada - +1 416 900 3634| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of the information contained herein. The statements made in this press release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ from the Company's expectations.
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