Edgewater Exploration Announces Letter of Intent With Pinecrest
Resources on the Enchi Gold Project, Ghana
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 22, 2014) - Mr.
George Salamis, President and CEO of Edgewater Exploration Ltd.
("Edgewater" or the "Company") (TSX-VENTURE:EDW)(OTCQX:EDWZF) is
pleased to announce an executed Letter of Intent with Pinecrest
Resources Ltd. ("Pinecrest")(TSX-VENTURE:PCR) regarding the Enchi
Gold Project ("the Project"). The transaction will have Edgewater
sell its 100% interest in Cape Coast Resource Ltd. (the Company's
Ghanaian subsidiary) that holds a 51% interest in the Enchi Gold
Project through a joint venture agreement with Red Back Mining
Ghana Limited (wholly owned by Kinross Gold Corporation) in
exchange for shares of Pinecrest Resources Ltd. Edgewater will
distribute the Pinecrest shares pro-rata to the shareholders of
Edgewater in accordance with their share ownership of Edgewater as
a return of capital.
Transaction Terms with Edgewater
Pinecrest has entered into a Letter of Intent ("Edgewater LOI")
to acquire Edgewater's 51% interest* in the Enchi Gold Project
through the purchase of Cape Coast Resources Ltd. Details of the
terms include;
- Upon closing of the Transaction, Edgewater will receive one
Pinecrest post-consolidated common share (the "Acquisition Shares")
for every five common shares of Edgewater issued and outstanding on
the Closing, which will represent approximately 40% of the issued
common shares of Pinecrest post-closing of the Transaction. All
shares issued to Edgewater will be subject to resale restrictions
as follows; 25% to be free trading six months and nine months from
closing and the remaining 50% twelve months from closing;
- Edgewater will agree to distribute the Acquisition Shares
pro-rata to its shareholders as soon as reasonably practicable
after the closing of the Transaction;
- Pinecrest will pay to Edgewater a cash payment of
Cdn$150,000
- The completion of the transactions contemplated by the
Edgewater LOI are subject to the execution of a definitive
agreement with Pinecrest and the concurrent completion of the
transactions contemplated by the Red Back LOI
Additionally, Pinecrest will be acquiring the remaining 49%
interest from Red Back Mining Ghana Limited ("Red Back") a wholly
owned subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corporation ("Kinross"). Pursuant
to the completion of the transaction with Edgewater and Kinross,
Pinecrest will own 100% of the Enchi Gold Project and be a West
African precious metals focused exploration and development
company.
Transaction Terms with Red Back
Pinecrest has entered into a Letter of Intent ("Red Back LOI")
to acquire Red Back's 49% interest* in the Enchi Gold Project.
Details of the terms include;
- Red Back will receive 19.9% of the issued and outstanding
common shares of Pinecrest post-closing of the transaction;
- Red Back will receive a 2% NSR on the Project with an option
for Pinecrest to acquire 1% of the NSR at any time for US$3.5
Million;
- Red Back will receive $10/oz on any new NI 43-101 Measured and
Indicated Resource Estimate or any ounce of gold mined whichever
occurs first. Such amount shall be payable in cash or, if agreeable
to Pinecrest, common shares of Pinecrest, at Pinecrest's sole
discretion, provided that, Pinecrest shall not be entitled to elect
to pay in common shares if such issuance would result in Red Back
holding more than 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of
Pinecrest;
- Red Back will have first right to process ore from the Project
at its Chirano Mill if toll processing is considered.
- Red Back will receive 5,000,000 share purchase warrants priced
at $0.40/warrant exercisable for a five year term from closing of
the Transaction.
* The Government of Ghana can exercise the right to own a 10%
direct carried interest in the Project, If this right were
exercised it would result in Pinecrest owning a 90% direct interest
in the Project.
The agreements are subject to Pinecrest shareholder approval and
TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.
President and CEO, George Salamis, stated; "We believe this
transaction with Pinecrest is a catalyst to unlocking the value of
the Enchi gold project for Edgewater shareholders. We aim to
achieve this through the creation of a separately listed public
company, the majority of which will be owned by Edgewater
shareholders and Red Back, with Pinecrest owning an effective 100%
interest in the Project. The goal of this Transaction is to create
a singularly focused and separately funded West African
advanced-stage gold company, leveraging off of the previous
exploration successes of the Edgewater team in one of the most
prolific gold districts in the world. This transaction will allow
Edgewater to focus on our 100% owned Corcoesto gold project in
Spain as well as have the Enchi project funded and advanced without
further equity dilution to our shareholders. Edgewater recently
announced an updated NI 43-101 Inferred Resource demonstrating over
one million ounces of shallow gold resources (at a cut-off of 0.5
g/t gold). Our team is of the view that some of the gold resources
defined within the near-surface oxidized portions are potentially
amenable to heap-leaching and lower cost open pit mining. As such,
with 100% ownership, Pinecrest's near-term value proposition is
linked to completing a Preliminary Economic Assessment focused on
the potential economics of heap-leaching at Enchi, while also
testing the upside potential of the currently open-ended gold
resources."
Summary of the Enchi Gold Project
The Enchi Gold Project located in south-west Ghana, West Africa
covers a 50 kilometre strike length of the Bibiani Shear Zone a
regional scale structure that hosts a number of major gold mines
and deposits including Kinross' Chirano Gold Mine located 70 km
north-east of the Project and the Bibiani Gold Deposit located 90
km north-east of the Project. The Enchi Gold Project is comprised
of ten licenses totalling 696 km2 located 290 km west of the
capital city of Accra. Access to the Project is on sealed roads via
the regional port city of Takoradi or the mining centre of Tarkwa
and then on gravel roads to Enchi (population 9,270). Good road
access exists throughout the project licenses.
May 12, 2014 Edgewater Exploration announced an updated NI
43-101 Inferred Resource Estimate at a cut-off grade of 0.7 g/t
Gold as follows:
Enchi
Gold Project, Ghana |
2014
Inferred Mineral Resource Summary |
Cut-off |
Zone |
Tonnes |
Grade |
Contained Gold |
Au (g/t) |
|
|
Au (g/t) |
(ounces) |
0.7 |
Boin |
9,551,000 |
1.20 |
368,500 |
0.7 |
Nyam |
3,716,000 |
1.13 |
135,000 |
0.7 |
Sewum |
7,549,000 |
1.09 |
264,500 |
|
TOTAL |
20,816,000 |
1.15 |
768,000 |
- CIM definition standards were followed for the resource
estimate.
- The 2014 resource models used ordinary kriging (OK) grade
estimation within a three-dimensional block model with mineralized
zones defined by wireframed solids.
- A base cut-off grade of 0.7 g/t Au was used for reporting
resources with a capping of gold grades at 18 g/t.
- A US$1,300/ounce gold price, open pit with heap leach operation
was used to determine the cut-off grade.
- A density of 2.45 g/cm3 was applied.
- Numbers may not add exactly due to rounding.
- Mineral Resources that are not mineral reserves do not have
economic viability
A technical report is being prepared by independent qualified
person Todd McCracken, P. Geo. of WSP Canada Inc. ("WSP") and will
be filed within 45 days of the announcement in the Edgewater
Exploration Ltd. news release dated May 12, 2014.
The resource estimate also evaluated the Enchi Project at a
range of cut off grades between 0.3 and 2.0 g/t Au. Results are as
follows;
Cut-off |
Tonnes |
Au g/t |
Ounces |
0.3 |
72,611,000 |
0.65 |
1,526,065 |
0.4 |
53,366,000 |
0.76 |
1,304,918 |
0.5 |
37,357,000 |
0.90 |
1,078,702 |
0.7 |
20,816,000 |
1.15 |
767,988 |
0.9 |
12,993,000 |
1.36 |
569,879 |
1.0 |
10,127,000 |
1.49 |
484,388 |
1.2 |
6,446,000 |
1.70 |
352,779 |
1.5 |
3,011,000 |
2.11 |
204,549 |
1.7 |
2,041,000 |
2.36 |
154,976 |
1.9 |
1,554,000 |
2.54 |
126,727 |
2.0 |
1,174,000 |
2.73 |
102,909 |
The 2014 Mineral Resource estimate was based on 52,385 metres of
diamond and RC drilling in 646 holes as well as data from 13,799
metres in 102 surface trenches. The drilling is generally spaced at
25 to 50 metre intervals.
A two phase success contingent work program has been recommended
by WSP. The first phase consists of metallurgical testing, and the
completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"). The second
phase, contingent on the success of phase one, consists of
additional drilling, detailed metallurgical testing, further
technical studies and a pre-feasibility study.
The three gold zones in the inferred resource estimate, Boin,
Nyam and Sewum have been drilled to an approximate vertical depth
of 75-100m and approximately 60-70% of the inferred resource
consists of oxide mineralization. Pinecrest Resources sees
opportunities to expand resources at all zones both laterally and
to depth.
Edgewater, Red Back and previous operators have discovered and
identified numerous gold mineralized zones on the Enchi Project
characterised as structurally-controlled, mesothermal quartz vein
style gold deposits. This style of gold mineralization is the most
common type of gold occurrence in West Africa.
Further potential on the Enchi Project is evidenced by results
of a regional airborne study consisting of a heliborne VTEM,
magnetics and radiometric survey which was flown over the Enchi
Project. A total of 2,084 line km at 200m spacing were flown
covering an area of 568 square kilometres. The airborne geophysical
survey at Enchi indicated that; 1) Several structures correlate to
known mineralization, while many other similar structures remain
untested and 2) Interpretation work pin pointed several additional
drill targets and combined with soil geochemistry this data is a
strong tool for identification of new discoveries
Additional zones exists within the Enchi Project including
several with successful first pass drilling but not part of the
current resource including; Eradi; 27m grading 0.60 g/t Au
including 10m grading 1.3 g/t Au, Kojina Hill; 68 m grading 1.14
g/t Au, 59m grading 0.77 g/t Au including 28m grading 1.22 g/t Au,
and Boin NW; 7.0m grading 0.95 g/t Au and 3.0m grading 0.67 g/t
Au.
Further high priority targets which warrant additional detailed
exploration have been defined by trenching and auger drilling in
2012 and 2013 including; Boin Northwest; 10m grading 1.64 g/t and
2m grading 2.74 g/t Au, Sewum-Tokosea Trend; 31m grading 0.31 g/t
Au and 5m grading 0.68 g/t Au, and Achimfo; 24m grading 0.84 g/t Au
and 22m grading 0.62 g/t Au.
Sample analyses have been conducted at independent commercial
facilities SGS and Intertek Labs in Tarkwa Ghana. All sample
analyses was completed using industry standard geochemical and fire
assay practices and included a rigorous Quality Assurance / Quality
Control (QA/QC) program consisting of the insertion of standards,
blanks and duplicate samples randomly into the sample stream. A
review of the QA/QC results shows no significant bias and all
results are considered highly reliable.
Mr. Gregory Smith, P.Geo, the Vice-President of Exploration of
the Company, is the Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and
has prepared and approved the technical data and information in
this news release.
Financing
Pinecrest will complete a non-brokered private placement (the
"Private Placement") financing, issuing 15 million subscription
receipts (each a "Subscription Receipt") at a purchase price of
CDN$0.20 per Subscription Receipt to raise aggregate gross proceeds
of CDN$3,000,000. Each Subscription Receipt will entitle the holder
to acquire one post-consolidated unit (each a "Unit") of Pinecrest
for no additional consideration upon the closing of the
Transaction. Each Unit will consist of one post-consolidated common
share ("Common Share") in the capital of Pinecrest and one
post-consolidated common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant
a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one
post-consolidated common share of Pinecrest at a post-consolidated
exercise price of CDN$0.30 for a period of 24 months from the
completion of the Private Placement.
None of the securities sold in connection with the Private
Placement will be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1993,
as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States
absent registration or an applicable exemption from the
registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute
an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall
there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which
such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
A Finder's Fee of 6.0% of the gross proceeds raised under the
Private Placement will be paid in cash or at the election of the
Finder in post-consolidated common shares of Pinecrest on the
closing of the Transaction.
All securities issued in connection with the Private Placement
will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus one
day from the closing date of the Private Placement. The Private
Placement is subject to Exchange acceptance.
The offer and sale of the securities offered in the Private
Placement has not been and will not be registered under the U.S.
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws,
and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States
absent registration or an applicable exemption from such
registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute
an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the
securities in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which
such offer, sale or solicitation would be unlawful.
Post-Transaction Capital Structure
On completion of the Consolidation, the Private Placement and
the closing of the Transaction, Pinecrest will have approximately
51,163,887 common shares issued and outstanding and 74,906,387
shares common on a fully diluted basis. The proposed equity
ownership of Pinecrest is anticipated to be as outlined below:
Holder |
Percentage Ownership |
|
|
Red Back |
19.9% |
Edgewater |
39.6%* |
Original Pinecrest shareholders |
11.2% |
New Capital (Private Placement) |
29.3% |
|
100.0% |
* The Acquisition Shares are to be distributed by Edgewater to
its shareholders on a pro rata basis as soon as reasonably
practicable after the closing of the Transaction.
Resale Restrictions for Pinecrest Shares Issued to Edgewater
Shareholders
The Pinecrest common shares issued to Edgewater shareholders
will be subject to resale restrictions and will be released
according to the following schedule from the closing date of the
Transaction:
6
months |
25%
release |
9
months |
25%
release |
12
months |
50%
release |
Further updates on the status of the Transaction will be
provided by future press releases as matters progress.
The closing of the transactions contemplated by the Red Back LOI
and the Edgewater LOI are subject to a number of conditions,
including but not limited to the execution of separate definitive
agreements; normal conditions precedent for transactions such as
these, including the delivery of title and corporate opinions and
the completion of satisfactory due diligence, approval of the
shareholders of Pinecrest to the proposed change of control of
Pinecrest, the acceptance of the Exchange, the completion of a
consolidation of the common shares of Pinecrest, as described
below, and the completion by Pinecrest of a financing to raise not
less than CDN$3,000,000. There can be no assurance that the
Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.
About Edgewater Exploration Ltd.
Edgewater is a mineral development and exploration company
focused on the development of precious metal properties. Edgewater
has an experienced mine building and operating team with a track
record of success. The Company is currently developing the
Corcoesto Gold Project in northwest Spain.
On behalf of the board of
EDGEWATER EXPLORATION LTD.
George Salamis, President and CEO
This news release contains certain forward-looking
statements, including statements regarding the proposed
transactions with Pinecrest, the proposed Private Placement and
Consolidation of the Pinecrest share capital and the closing of the
transactions contemplated thereby, the use of net proceeds of the
Private Placement, future plans and objectives of the Company and
the business of the Company.
Any statements that express or involve discussions with
respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections,
objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but
not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not
expect", "is expected", anticipates" or "does not anticipate"
"plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions,
events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be
taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact
and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements
are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual events or results to materially differ from those
reflected in the forward-looking statements.
Safe Harbor Statement under the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for the statements
of historical fact contained herein, the information presented
constitutes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such
forward-looking statements including but not limited to those with
respect to the price of gold, potential mineralization, reserve and
resource determination, exploration results, and future plans and
objectives of the Company involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievement of Atlas to be materially different from
any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. There can be no
assurance that such statements 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 statements.
"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."
Edgewater Exploration Ltd.Ryan KingVice President(604)
628-1012rking@edgewaterx.com
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