Freegold Completes $1,968,269 Private Placement and Welcomes Eric Sprott as a Major New Shareholder
VANCOUVER, Sept. 5, 2019 /CNW/ - Freegold Ventures Limited (Freegold) (FVL: TSX) is pleased to announce it has completed a non-brokered private placement of units ("Units"), priced at $0.0625 per Unit for total proceeds of $1,968,269. Each Unit consists of one common share (a "Share") and one half a common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire an additional Share at a price of $0.081 per Share for a period of 36 months from the date of closing.
Mr. Eric Sprott, through 2176423 Ontario Ltd., a corporation that is beneficially owned by him, acquired 31,044,304 Units under the offering for a total consideration of $1,940,269. Following the completion of the private placement, Mr. Sprott's holdings represent 14% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company, on a non-diluted basis, and 19.7% on a partially diluted basis, assuming the exercise of the Warrants acquired by him. Mr. Sprott did not beneficially own any securities in the Company prior to this investment. The Company understands that Mr. Sprott acquired the Units for investment purposes and with a long-term view of the investment.
The use of proceeds will be primarily directed toward Freegold's Golden Summit Project near Fairbanks, Alaska and general working capital. A Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") was completed on Golden Summit in January 2016, which provided a first look at a potential development scenario. The PEA envisioned a 24-year two-phase oxide and sulphide operation. The PEA requires both the oxide and the sulphide material to be developed in order to return an after tax IRR (internal rate of return) of 19.6% IRR and a NPV (net present value) of US$188 Million (5% discount rate) over a 24 year life of mine using a US $1,300 gold price.
Additional desktop work by Freegold during 2019 has demonstrated the potential for higher-grade mineralization extending west from the old Cleary Hill Mine workings in a previously undrilled area. As the district's highest grade historical underground mine Cleary Hill produced 281,000 ounces at an average grade of 1.3 oz. per/t before production ceased in 1942. The potential for higher grade could potentially increase the overall resource grade. The 2019 drill program will test this revised interpretation.
Since the PEA was completed a further 27 holes were drilled in an area to the north of the current resource area. The results of the 2017 program demonstrated the potential for expansion of the current oxide resource at Golden Summit to the north with majority of the holes returning average grades above the internal cut-off used in the PEA.
Shorty Creek
Drilling is currently underway on the Shorty Creek Property. The US $2.3 million 2019 program is fully funded under the agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of South32 Limited (South32) whereby South32 has the option to earn a 70% interest in the Shorty Creek property. To maintain the option in good standing South32 must contribute minimum exploration funding of US$10 million over a 4-year option period with minimum exploration expenditures of US$2million in Years 1 and 2 and US$3 million in Years 3 and 4 for an aggregate of US$10 million. South32 may exercise its option to subscribe for 70% of the shares of a newly formed project company by committing US$30 million to the newly formed company, less the amount of exploration expenditure contributed by South32 during the option period following the completion of each annual program. Freegold shall act at as the Operator during the option period.
Paradigm Capital acted as the sole financial advisor to the Company in relation to the aforementioned financing.
Mr. Sprott acquired the Common Shares for investment purposes. A copy of 2176423 Ontario Ltd.'s early warning report will appear on the Company's profile on SEDAR and may also be obtained by calling (416) 362-7172 (200 Bay Street, Suite 2600, Royal Bank Plaza, South Tower, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2J1).
The Qualified Person for this release is Alvin Jackson, P.Geo – Vice President Exploration and Development for the Company who has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this press release.
The information contained in this press release with respect to the PEA is derived from a technical report entitled "NI-43-101 Technical Report, Golden Summit Project, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, USA" dated effective January 20, 2016 and amended and restated May 11, 2016 prepared by Tetra Tech, Inc. and Mark J. Abrams, C.P.G. and Gary Giroux, P.Eng., M.A.Sc. of Giroux Consultants Ltd., which has been filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR. The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.
About Freegold Ventures Limited
Freegold is a TSX listed company focused on exploration in Alaska and holds through leases the Golden Summit Gold Project, near Fairbanks as well the Shorty Creek Copper –Gold Project near Livengood.
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information, including without limitation statements as to planned expenditures and exploration programs. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include without limitation the completion of planned expenditures, the ability to complete exploration programs on schedule and the success of exploration program.
SOURCE Freegold Ventures Limited
Kristina Walcott, President and CEO, Telephone: 1.604.662.7307, [email protected]
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