Nov 4 2016
Cariboo Rose Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: CRB) ("Cariboo Rose") and Casino Mining Corp. ("Casino Mining"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Copper and Gold Corp. (TSX: WRN) (NYSE MKT: WRN) ("Western") have entered into an agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") whereby Cariboo Rose will exercise its option to acquire 55 mineral claims known as the Casino "B" Claims, and Casino Mining will purchase nine of the Casino "B" Claims in return for 500,000 common shares of Western.
The Casino "B" Claims are under option to Cariboo Rose by way of an option agreement entered into in May 2000 by previous owners of the Casino Project. Cariboo Rose has now substantially met all obligations contained in the option agreement, but the agreement requires Cariboo Rose to wait until May 2020 to exercise the option.
Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, Cariboo Rose will be deemed to have exercised its right to buy the 55 Casino "B" claims on the closing date, receive 500,000 common shares of Western, and be granted reasonable right to access its Canadian Creek project over Casino Mining's mineral claims. In return, Western will acquire nine (9) of the Casino "B" Claims and will have a right of first refusal on the other 46 Casino "B" Claims.
The nine Casino "B" Claims acquired by Casino Mining as part of the Purchase Agreement increase Casino Mining's land position on the western edge of the Casino deposit. The mineral claims include, or are in close proximity to areas where certain mining facilities are proposed. The new mineral claims underlie the site of the proposed heap leach facility and will provide a buffer zone to the open pit described in the Casino Project feasibility study.
Following the completion of the transaction, the Canadian Creek project, 100% owned by Cariboo Rose, will comprise 311 claims, including 46 Casino "B" Claims. Canadian Creek will share a 6 kilometer long north-south boundary on its eastern side with Western and a 12 kilometer long east-west boundary on its north side with Goldcorp Inc. (TSX: G) (NASDAQ: GG) (Coffee Project). The Canadian Creek property hosts structurally localized gold-bearing zones in the northern half of the property similar in style to Goldcorp's Coffee deposit and porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum mineralization similar to Western's Casino deposit on the southern half. In 2016, a program of trenching and pit sampling was completed on selected targets that expressed anomalous conditions similar to the Coffee occurrences (see Cariboo Rose's news release dated October 5, 2016).
The transaction is subject to approval by the TSX. Any common shares issued pursuant to the Purchase Agreement will be subject to a 4 month hold period.