Jul 28 2017
Reunion Gold Corporation is pleased to announce that it has entered into a three-year option agreement to acquire from Compagnie Minière de Boulanger, an arm's length private company, a 100% interest in certain mineral properties located in French Guiana.
The CMB properties include the Boulanger, Central Brief, Devez North, and Devez South mineral concessions along with the Carapa (formerly known as Ste Marie) exploration permit.
On closing, Reunion made an initial payment of EUR500,000. An additional payment of EUR500,000 will be payable on the first anniversary of the initial payment. As a condition to exercise the option, Reunion is required to (1) have spent at least US$4,000,000 on exploration and development on the properties and (2) pay EUR1,000,000 to CMB. Reunion will have to pay an additional EUR1,000,000 following approval of the transfer to Reunion of the concessions and exploration permit by the French regulatory authorities. Upon exercise of the option by Reunion, CMB will retain a 2% net smelter returns royalty on the properties. The option can be exercised any time between January 1, 2019 and three years from closing. Reunion can terminate the option agreement at any time upon a 30-day notice to CMB, provided that the first anniversary payment of EUR500,000 has been paid.
The CMB properties consists of a 78.2 km2 of mineral concessions and a 24 km2 exploration permit located in the north-central part of French Guiana, approximately 40 km south of the capital Cayenne. The CMB properties are easily accessible by National Road No. 2 and a network of gravel roads. The CMB land holdings are underlain by a Proterozoic greenstone belt formed by the Armina and Paramaca Formations, composed by volcanic and sedimentary rocks, intruded by granites. This greenstone belt extends westwards and hosts most of the known gold mineralization and operating mines in French Guiana and Surinam. The BRGM (French geological survey) and previous property titleholders conducted extensive geological mapping, soil geochemistry, trenching and diamond drilling, confirming the presence of several gold occurrences related to shear zones and hydrothermal alteration. Numerous geochemical anomalies remain unexplored. Portions of the CMB properties were explored by ASARCO in the 1990's, followed by Cambior and IAMGOLD. The properties host numerous artisanal alluvial and primary gold workings. CMB has been conducting small-scale alluvial gold mining operations on the mining concessions that produced around 200,000 ounces of gold between 1994 and 2016.
The four concessions were originally granted to CMB by the French government in the late 1880s and early 1920s. Due to recent amendments to the French mining code, all concessions will expire on December 31, 2018. CMB has filed applications to renew the concessions for a period of 15 years.
Reunion intends to begin an exploration program on the CMB properties this fall. This program will follow-up previous work and include geological mapping, trenching and systematic surface sampling to confirm the continuity and geometry of the mineralized quartz veining on the property. The program will initially be focused on the Carapa and Doyle prospect areas, where artisanal mining occurred in the past. The program will define the relationship between these two mineralized areas and identify targets for a diamond drill program to commence in 2018.
French Guiana is an overseas department of France located in northern South America. Geologically, it is part of the Guiana Shield of South America, which encompasses Guyana and Suriname, as well as parts of Venezuela and northeastern Brazil. The Guiana Shield hosts a number of substantial gold deposits and has produced gold for more than 300 years.
Reunion is assembling a portfolio of gold prospects in the Guiana Shield. In addition to the option to acquire the CMB properties, Reunion has entered into option agreements to acquire a 75% interest in the Dorlin gold project and an 80% interest in the Haute Mana gold project, both projects in French Guiana. All three projects are located within zones where mining activities are allowed under certain guidelines, conditions and restrictions described in the Schéma Départemental d'Orientation Minière of French Guiana. In addition, Reunion has entered into agreements to acquire options on small scale, early stage projects in Guyana.
Carlos Bertoni, P. Geo., a consultant to Reunion and a qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical data contained in this press release.