B2Gold (BTO-T) will help to finance Calibre Mining’s (CXB-V) exploration activities in Nicaragua by purchasing 20 million Calibre units for $5 million in cash.
The units are priced at 25¢ and are made up of a common share and half of a warrant with a strike price of 50¢ and the acquisition will give B2 Gold a 10.6% stake in Calibre. That interest can, however, move up to a 15.2% stake should the warrants be exercised.
Calibre says the bulk of the new capital will go into its Borosi concession in the Central American country where both mining companies have been building their names.
B2 has two gold mines in the country: El Limon and La Libertad. Both of those mines lie in the more westerly portion of the country, while Calibre’s Borosi concessions are situated in the northeastern section of the country, roughly 275 km northeast of Managua.
The area is known as the golden triangle and is the traditional gold producing region of Nicaragua. The triangle is made up of three mining towns, Siuna, Rosita and Bonanza.
The Borosi concessions stretch from the historic Bonanza gold mine southwest towards Siuna and is composed of three projects which Calibre has a 100% stake in.
The two most prominent projects within Borosi are Cerro Aeropuerto and La Luna.
Cerro Aeropuerto is a gold silver project with inferred resources of 6 million tonnes grading 3.64 grams gold and 16.16 grams silver for 3.89 million gold equivalent ounces.
La Luna is the next project of importance within Borosi and it has inferred resources of 2.5 million tonnes grading 1.56 grams gold and 14.01 grams silver for 1.78 gold equivalent oz.
As for B2Gold, the company is Nicaragua’s largest gold producer and is already joint ventured with Calibre on the Primavera gold and copper project. Primavera is also situated in the mining triangle as it sits just south of the town of Rosita. B2 can earn a 51% interest in the project and is currently in the midst of a $4 million drill program on the porphyry discovery.
In Toronto on May 3 — the day the purchase was announced — B2 shares fell 6% or 22¢ to $3.44 on 5.7 million shares traded while Calibre shares were up a penny to 21¢ on 573,000 shares traded.
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