TSXV: CCY
VANCOUVER
,
Feb. 2
/CNW/ - Catalyst Copper Corp. (formerly Svit Gold Corp.) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of the transactions announced in its
December 8, 2009
news release.
The Company has changed its name to Catalyst Copper Corp., and effective at the market open today will commence trading under the symbol CCY. The Company's new CUSIP number is 14888C 10 1.
All of the Company's previous directors and officers resigned effective at the closing of the placement, with the exception of continuing directors
Gordon Keep
and
John Reynolds
. John Greenslade has joined the Company's board of directors and has been appointed as the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, and
Terry Hodson
has joined the board and has been appointed as the Company's VP Exploration. Gerald Prosalendis has also joined the Company's board, and Denby Greenslade has been appointed as interim CFO and Corporate Secretary of the Company.
Terry Hodson
has been granted a further 300,000 options, each exercisable for a period of ten years for one common share of the Company at a price of
$0.19
per share.
The Company has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement of 100,000,000 common shares at a price of Can.
$0.105
per share to raise aggregate proceeds of Can.
$10.5 million
. The shares issued pursuant to the private placement are subject to a hold period expiring on
June 3, 2010
. As disclosed in its
December 8, 2009
news release, Can.
$4 million
of the proceeds of this placement will be used for first year exploration costs at the La Verde porphyry copper project located in Michoacan State in west-central
Mexico
, US$4 million will be applied to the repayment of US$6 million borrowed from Endeavour Financial Corporation under the US$6 million non-revolving term facility described in the Company's
December 8, 2009
release, and the balance will be used for general working capital purposes.
As described in its news releases of
December 8, 2009
and
January 28, 2010
, the Company has entered into an option agreement with Teck Resources Limited's Mexican subsidiary Minera Torre de Oro, S.A. de C.V. ("Teck") whereby the Company's Mexican subsidiary Minera Hill 29, S.A. de C.V. can acquire a majority interest in the La Verde project (the "Option Agreement"). The Company can earn a 60% indirect interest in La Verde by advancing to Teck US$6 million and incurring aggregate exploration expenditures of US$10 million on or before
December 31, 2012
. Upon completion of the Company earning its 60% interest, Teck has the option to increase its interest to 60% by incurring aggregate expenditures within three years equal to two times the amount spent by the Company. Should Teck fail to exercise its option to earn a 60% interest, the Company can acquire a 100% indirect interest in La Verde by paying to Teck US$20 million. The property is subject to an underlying 0.5% NSR to the original claim holder.
Terry Hodson
was issued a finder's fee of 3,038,564 common shares in connection with this transaction.
The Company announced on
January 28, 2010
that it filed on SEDAR a NI 43-101 technical report for the La Verde project prepared by Micon International Ltd. ("Micon") in support of the Option Agreement. As disclosed in that news release, several historic mineral resource estimates have been generated at La Verde but are not compliant with current CIMM and NI 43-101 guidelines. However, these estimates have demonstrated the potential for possible economic mineralization and have led, in each case, to the advancement of the property. The last publicly released historic mineral resource of 72.6 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.7% copper was included in the 1972 feasibility study completed on behalf of Lytton Minerals Ltd. and was calculated prior to the enactment of NI 43-101. Micon considers the historical estimates at La Verde to be relevant today, as defined in NI 43-101, Item 2.4. Micon believes that it is reasonable for the Company to rely on these historic mineral resources and the potential to discover more mineralization as justification for its proposed acquisition and exploration program of the La Verde property. However, a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources, and the historical estimate should not be relied upon.
David Makepeace
, M.Eng., P.Eng. is a senior geologist at Micon. He is the author of the NI 43-101 Technical Report titled "Technical Report on the La Verde Property, Michoacan,
Mexico
, Property of Merit", dated
January 19, 2010
, and as a Qualified Person, has reviewed the technical material in this news release.
Pursuant to the transactions and the related private placement, Endeavour Financial ("Endeavour") acquired 10,000,000 common shares which, together with the 2,000,000 common shares previously owned, represent 6.39% of the currently issued and outstanding shares of the Company. Endeavour previously held 3,500,000 options and 2,000,000 warrants and was issued 10,000,000 warrants in connection with the loan advanced to Catalyst. Assuming exercise of all of the options and warrants held, Endeavour would own an aggregate of 27,500,000 common shares, representing 13.53% of the then outstanding shares of the Company. The Company is advised that the securities were acquired by Endeavour for investment purposes. While Endeavour does not currently have any intention to acquire further securities of the Company, it may in the future acquire or dispose of securities of the Company, through the market or otherwise, as circumstances or market conditions warrant.
ON BEHALF OF CATALYST COPPER CORP.
"John Greenslade"
John Greenslade - President, CEO and Director.
Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, risks associated with mineral exploration and mining activities, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions, dependence upon regulatory approvals, and the uncertainty of obtaining additional financing. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.
Neither 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.
For further information: For further information: please contact Denby Greenslade, Corporate Secretary, at (604) 638-5900
Share this article