Brixton Metals (TSXV: BBB) has entered a joint venture agreement on its wholly owned Hog Heaven project with High Power Exploration (HPX), a privately owned mining company led by billionaire and Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) founder Robert Friedland.
The Hog Heaven project is an advanced stage silver-gold-copper-lead-zinc deposit with historical production located in Flathead County, Montana. Many of the past underground mine workings where high-grade silver-gold-copper were extracted have not been drilled.
"We see high potential for further discovery at Hog Heaven. We believe that the past-producing Flathead mine, where Anaconda Copper historically produced high-grade direct-shipping silver-gold ore, is just one part of a much larger precious metals and copper system," Graham Boyd, HPX's principal geologist, said in a statement.
Under the joint-venture agreement, High Power can earn a 51% interest in the project by making a total of US$4.5 million in cash payments and spending US$15 million on exploration.
It may earn an additional 24% stake (for a total of a 75% interest) by incurring an additional $25 million in exploration expenditures, which would bring the total value of the transaction to US$44.5 million.
Should HPX choose to complete only the first stage of the earn-in, it will transfer a 2% interest in the joint-venture to Brixton, such that the interests are 49% HPX and 51% Brixton, and Brixton shall retain a right of first offer to purchase all of HPX's interest.
Friedland has also agreed to a $2 million private placement financing. Brixton would use the proceeds to eliminate 1.5% of the existing NSR royalty on Hog Heaven held by Pan American Silver (TSX: PAAS; NASDAQ: PAAS).
Over the last year, Brixton Metals has traded in a range of 8 ? and 57 ? a share and at press time in Toronto was trading at 34.5 ?.
The Vancouver-based junior has 173 million common shares outstanding for a $57-million market capitalization.
- This article first appeared in MINING.com, part of Glacier Resource Innovation Group.