Canada Nickel to sell Lucas gold project to Noble

Canada Nickel (TSXV: CNC) has signed a binding letter of intent (LOI) to sell the Lucas gold project in northern Ontario to Noble Mineral Exploration (TSXV: NOB).

Under the letter, Noble will issue 5 million units at $0.06 each, with each unit containing one common share and one‑half warrant, Canada Nickel reported Monday. Each full warrant is exercisable at $0.15 for two years. Noble also grants Canada Nickel a back‑in right to acquire a 25% interest in the property by paying four times Noble’s exploration and maintenance spend. The Lucas project is about 30 km north of Timmins and 570 km north of Toronto. 

“We are pleased to position the company to generate value from a non-core property with Noble Mineral Exploration and wish them well with their exploration activities,” Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby said in a release. 

Streamlining assets

The deal would place the gold-focused Lucas property with an exploration company more likely to advance it, while Canada Nickel concentrates on Crawford and its wider nickel portfolio in the Timmins area.

Lucas is an early-stage project with a small and obsolete historical resource estimate. Noble formerly owned and drilled Lucas, then transferred a package of mining claims known as Project 81 to Canada Nickel last year while it retained temporary non-nickel exploration rights.    

The Lucas transaction remains subject to a definitive agreement and to compliance with legal requirements of the TSX venture exchange. Canada Nickel and Noble will announce further details as work on the transaction proceeds.

The company also said it has acquired 100% interest in a set of Lucas Township claims that fall within its broader Crawford project footprint. This deal includes 60,000 Canada Nickel shares, subject to a four‑month hold and a 1.5% net smelter return (NSR).

Canada Nickel shares fell 4% to $1.30 apiece mid-day Monday in Toronto, for a market capitalization of $316.8 million. The stock has traded in a 12-month range of 77¢ to $2.59. Noble shares were flat at 6¢, valuing the company at $15.8 million. Shares traded between 3¢ and 28¢ over the past year.