Fura Completes Acquisition of Colombian Emerald Mine, Coscuez

TORONTO, Jan. 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fura Gems Inc. (TSXV:FURA) is pleased to announce that it has completed its acquisition of 76% of the issued and outstanding shares of Esmeracol S.A. (“Esmeracol”), which owns a 100% interest in mining licence no. 122 – 95M (the “Coscuez Licence”).

Dev Shetty, President & CEO of Fura, commented: “Fura has achieved one more important milestone by adding the iconic Colombian emerald mine, Coscuez, to its portfolio. With this acquisition, Fura now has two important silos in its portfolio, Colombian emeralds and Mozambican rubies. Fura will now work towards modernisation of the Coscuez emerald mine and deployment of the best health and safety standards for its employees while keeping the environmental impact minimal. Fura will also closely work with the local community and relevant authorities to promote the social-economic development in the region. We would like to thank our local partner and also the entire team on the ground in the Colombia for the dedication and hard work.”

The Coscuez Emerald Property

The Coscuez Licence covers an area of 46 hectares and includes exclusive rights for the exploration, construction and mining of emerald deposits granted by the Government of the Republic of Colombia within the area historically known as the “Coscuez Mine” in the municipality of San Pablo de Borbur, Department of Boyacá. The population of San Pablo de Borbur municipality is 9,189 people, with 28.69% of the population resident in the village (vereda) of Coscuez. The municipality is predominantly rural with a local economy currently based on the twin activities of mining and farming. Fura will continue mining activities on the Coscuez License with the view to improve and optimize mining operations.

Transaction Terms

As part of the consideration, Fura has paid Emporium HS S.A.S. (“Emporium”) US$2.50 million on closing and issued 363,872 common shares. Fura now owns a 76% interest in Esmeracol and has assumed the complete management control of the Coscuez mine. Emporium will continue to hold a 20.10% free carried interest in Esmeracol, subject to a shareholders’ agreement containing restrictions on transfer of shares, a right of first refusal, drag along rights and other terms standard for an agreement of this nature. The balance of 3.9% will continue to be held by third parties.

Under the terms of the share purchase agreement relating to the transaction, Fura has agreed to the following additional payments:

• US$2.00 million on the 12-month anniversary of the closing;
• US$2.50 million on the 24-month anniversary of the closing; and,
• US$3.00 million on the 36-month anniversary of the closing.

In addition, Fura will assume certain expenses of Esmeracol not exceeding US$5 million. If Esmeracol earns a net profit of US$17 million or more in a fiscal year, then Fura will pay to Emporium an additional one-off bonus of US$3 million.

The common shares issued to Emporium are subject to a four month statutory hold period. The transaction was an arm’s length transaction for the purposes of the TSXV policies and Fura has not paid any finder’s fee relating thereto.

Technical information in respect of the Coscuez property is available in the technical report entitled “Technical report on the 122-95M emerald license in the Boyacá district, Colombia”, dated with an effective date of November 15, 2017 filed under Fura’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

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About Fura Gems Inc.

Fura Gems Inc. is engaged in the exploration and acquisition of gemstone licences. Fura’s headquarters are located in Toronto, Canada and its administrative headquarters are located in the Almas Tower, Dubai. Fura is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol “FURA”.

Fura owns an 80% effective interest in four ruby licences (4392, 3868, 3869 and 6811) in Mozambique. Fura is also engaged in the exploration of resource properties in Colombia and owns a 100% interest in the emerald licence ECH -121.  In addition, Fura owns 76% of the issued and outstanding shares of Esmeracol S.A., which wholly owns the Coscuez emerald mine in Boyacá, Colombia.

Regulatory Statements

This press release may contain “forward looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the prospectivity of the Coscuez Licence, the Company’s ability to raise capital, the Company’s ability to make the deferred payments to Emporium; the Company’s proposed activity at the Coscuez mine; the Company’s exploration activities and the Company’s performance. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: the risk with respect to the ability of Fura to finance the additional payments relating to the acquisition; uncertainties with respect to the successful integration of Esmeracol to Fura’s business; general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of exploration activities; regulatory risks; risks inherent in foreign operations, uncertainties with respect to Coscuez deposit, which has never been subject to modern mining methods; legacy environmental risks, title risks and other risks of the mining industry. Although the Company 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. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

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