ExGen Signs Option With Phoenix on High Grade AU Project Gordon Lake, Riley to Join Phoenix Board
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ExGen Resources Inc. (TSX.V:EXG) (OTC:BXXRF) (“ExGen”) is pleased to announce today that, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, it has entered into an option agreement (the “Option”) with Phoenix Global Mining Ltd., a London AIM listed mining company focused on base and precious metals development in North America (“Phoenix”) to earn an 80% interest in our high grade gold Gordon Lake project located in the Northwest Territories (“Gordon Lake”).
Project Participation
- ExGen to retain a 20% carried interest until commencement of mine construction
- ExGen to be granted a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty for all metals on Gordon Lake (the “2.5% NSR”)
- 30 mile area of interest, which applies to both ExGen’s 20% carried interest and the 2.5% NSR
Cash and Shares
- ExGen to be paid a cash payment of US $25,000 on signing the Option
- ExGen to be issued 2,000,000 common shares of Phoenix within 30 days of signing the Option
- ExGen to be paid US $25,000 on the first 2 anniversary dates of the signing of the Option and then US $50,000 on the anniversary date of the signing of the Option until the completion of a bankable feasibility study
Project Spend by Phoenix
- Phoenix to spend US $250,000 on Gordon Lake within 12 months of signing the Option
- Phoenix to fund all Gordon Lake Project property maintenance and sustaining costs
Deal Protection and Corporate Structure
- After earning in, should Phoenix sell its 80% interest in Gordon Lake prior to the commencement of commercial production, ExGen shall have the right but not the obligation to sell its 20% interest in Gordon Lake on the same terms as Phoenix
- Alternatively, ExGen can elect to convert its 20% interest to a fully carried interest in Gordon Lake
- Jason Riley to join the board of directors of Phoenix, effective February 28, 2018
The Option is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.
Mr. Jason Riley, CEO of ExGen commented: “Our experience with the Phoenix team on Empire has been truly exceptional and we are delighted to expand our relationship to another partnership on Gordon Lake. We look forward to the next steps for Gordon Lake and delineating the initial 12 month work program. This is shaping up to be an exciting year for ExGen as we will now have 2 active work programs and news flow on Gordon Lake and Empire over the next 12 months. We also anticipate the release our 43-101 Resource Calculation on Empire this quarter.”
Mr. Dennis Thomas, CEO of Phoenix said: “I am pleased to report Phoenix’s further collaboration with ExGen and we look forward to creating value at the Gordon Lake property in Canada, which we have considered to have significant exploration merit for some time. We have a strong team of geologists and consultants in the Company who can add value at Gordon Lake.”
ABOUT THE PHOENIX TEAM
The Phoenix team has previously built two companies from development through to production, Nelson Gold in Tajikistan, an 80,000 oz/annum gold producer (source: Nelson Gold financial statements and Northern Miner 8/31/98) and Oxus Gold’s Amantaytau Goldfields in Uzbekistan, which produced more than half a million ounces of gold and almost 2.5 million ounces of silver in its first 6 years of production (source: Oxus Gold plc June 30, 2007 financial statements). Its principals have practical hands-on experience in precious and base metals exploration and mining, as well as being successful in project generative work, globally sourcing new projects for exploration and development for mid tier and major copper, gold, and iron ore producers.
ABOUT THE GORDON LAKE PROJECT
The Gordon Lake gold property which consists of two mining leases covering an area of 609 hectares on the northern edge of Gordon Lake, some 110 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is accessed by the Lupin winter road which traverses the west side of the property.
The Project contains 17 zones of high grade shear hosted gold mineralisation, over a 1 kilometre strike length, have been identified by geophysical surveys and 59 mineralised diamond core holes drilled into four of these 17 zones which include the following intersections:
| Drill Intersections in Metres | Au Grade | |||
| Hole No. | From | To | Intersection | Grams / Tonne |
| South Zone No 9 Vein Drill Intersections over 6 g/t | ||||
| 88-41 | 12.30 | 17.10 | 4.80 | 34.1 |
| 88-42 | 27.40 | 31.20 | 3.80 | 10.4 |
| 88-62 | 46.10 | 53.50 | 7.40 | 19.4 |
| 88-64 | 80.70 | 83.80 | 3.10 | 14.1 |
| 88-69 | 109.50 | 116.70 | 7.20 | 21.0 |
| 88-70 | 124.20 | 126.90 | 2.70 | 8.6 |
| 88-73 | 167.50 | 170.00 | 2.50 | 9.7 |
| 88-74 | 161.10 | 164.40 | 3.30 | 11.3 |
| 88-77 | 159.35 | 159.50 | 0.15 | 47.6 |
| 88-79 | 201.80 | 203.80 | 2.00 | 7.5 |
| 88-80 | 240.00 | 246.45 | 6.45 | 11.3 |
| VL9-05-06 | 46.75 | 47.40 | 0.65 | 7.9 |
| 49.30 | 49.36 | 0.06 | 38.8 | |
| VL9-05-07 | 44.72 | 45.44 | 0.72 | 6.5 |
| VL9-05-08 | 60.48 | 61.02 | 0.54 | 86.0 |
| South Zone S3 Vein Drill Intersections over 6 g/t | ||||
| 88-61 | 41.62 | 43.62 | 2.00 | 6.6 |
| 83-31 | 20.00 | 22.00 | 2.00 | 8.2 |
| Union Zone Drill Intersections over 6 g/t | ||||
| 88-52 | 34.95 | 37.95 | 3.00 | 7.0 |
| 88-56 | 45.70 | 46.70 | 1.00 | 7.0 |
| VLU-05-02 | 26.09 | 27.02 | 0.93 | 13.1 |
| VLU-05-03 | 34.56 | 35.66 | 1.10 | 10.1 |
| VLU-05-04 | 33.81 | 34.31 | 0.50 | 8.3 |
| 37.00 | 37.59 | 0.59 | 8.8 | |
| Main Zone Drill Intersections over 6 g/t | ||||
| 88-46 | 9.68 | 10.70 | 1.02 | 8.7 |
| 88-47 | 62.75 | 64.30 | 1.55 | 6.5 |
| NB Hole 88-69 intersection includes 75.2 gms/tonne over 2 metres | ||||
| Source: NI 43-101 Report Gordon-Venn Lake Property Technical Report – Aurora Geosciences Ltd. June 29, 2011. | ||||
This series of closely spaced gold zones occur along a broad shear zone in a geological setting similar to that of the Giant, Con and Discovery mines to the south.
Gold had been discovered near the Great Slave Lake in the 1890s but significant gold exploration in the area only started in 1935. In 1938 the Con Mine started production and Giant Mine in 1948. In 1950 The Discovery Mine located 84 kilometres north of Yellowknife came on stream.
The production profiles of these mines were as follows:
| Mine | Oz Gold | Average Recovered | Years in Operation | |
| Produced | Grade g/tonne | From | To | |
| Con Mine | 5.30 million | 14.85 | 1938 | 2003 |
| Giant Mine | 7.12 million | 13.42 | 1948 | 2004 |
| Discovery Mine | 1.03 million | 33.72 | 1950 | 1969 |
| Source: The Operational History of Mines in Northwest Territories, Canada – An Historical Research Project by Ryan Silke 2009 | ||||
The 4 zones explored to date at Gordon Lake are approximately 140 metres long, 1 to 11 metres wide and open at depth. The deepest hole to date is 246 metres in the No 9 Vein of the South Zone and open at depth. The other 13 identified zones have yet to be assessed.
INITIAL WORK PLAN
Phoenix will carry out a preliminary detailed assessment of Gordon Lake to determine the recommended work program over the next 12 months. Phoenix plans to spend a minimum of US $250,000 over this initial 12 month period.
Qualified Person
Roger Turner A.C.S.M., M.Sc., M.I.M.M.M., C.Eng., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and Chief Technical Officer and Director of Phoenix Global Mining, has reviewed and verified the technical mining information provided in this release. Mr Turner is a graduate mining engineer from the Camborne School of Mines with an MSc in Economic Geology from Leicester University with more than 40 years’ experience in mine development, construction and operation.
About ExGen Resources Inc.
ExGen, formerly Boxxer Gold Corp, is a project incubator with a strategy to aggregate projects during the current market downturn and then fund exploration through joint ventures and partnership agreements. This approach significantly reduces the technical and financial risks for ExGen, while maintaining the upside exposure to new discoveries and potential cash flow. The company intends to build a diverse portfolio of projects across exploration stages and various commodity groups. ExGen currently has 6 projects in Canada and the US.
For more information on ExGen please contact ExGen Resources Inc.
| Jason Tong Chief Financial Officer Email: jason@catapultgroup.ca | |
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Information: This news release may contain certain forward-looking information. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information in relation to ExGen’s Option on the Gordon Lake project. There can be no assurances that the Option will result in the conclusion of a joint venture agreement or any other transaction on the Gordon Lake project, or any of the Company’s other properties. In the forward looking information contained in this news release, ExGen has made numerous assumptions, based upon practices and methodologies which are consistent with the mineral industry. In addition, ExGen has assumed the continued market acceptance of its joint venture partnership model. While, ExGen considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause ExGen's observations, actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein. Known risk factors include, among others: there is no certainty that the Option will lead to the formation of a joint venture with Phoenix; uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology; continuity and grade of mineralization; and uncertainty as to the availability and terms of future financing; uncertainty as to timely availability of permits and other governmental approvals; ExGen may not be able to comply with its ongoing obligations regarding its properties. A description of additional assumptions and risk factors used to develop such forward-looking information that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in ExGen’s disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although ExGen has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. ExGen does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.