Proposed Sale: Blue Mountain Project, Queensland
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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PANTHER METALS PLC
("Panther" or the "Company")
(Incorporated in the Isle of Man with company number 009753V)
5 April 2023
Proposed Sale: Blue Mountain Project, Queensland
Panther Metals PLC (LSE:PALM) the company focused on mineral exploration in Canada, informs shareholders that it has entered into a conditional agreement to sell Panther's 30% interest in the Blue Mountain Project, Queensland, Australia, comprising the Denny Gully Gold property, (the "Proposed Acquisition"), to ECR Minerals PLC (LON:ECR).
If the conditions to completion are satisfied, the total consideration under the agreement is GBP£200,000 of which 30% is due to Panther, to be settled by the issue of 31,913,196 Ordinary Shares in ECR at a price of 0.6267p.
The Proposed Acquisition is conditional, inter alia, upon ECR obtaining Australian Ministerial approval for the transfer of the tenements comprising the Blue Mountain Project.
Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer, Panther Metals plc commented:
"I am delighted to see our residual holding in the Blue Mountain Project go into ECR as they continue to build an exciting portfolio in Queensland. The project had become isolated from the broader Panther Metals PLC portfolio, so commercially a disposal into an experienced team offers the greatest upside for Panther.
Panther continues to strengthen our underlying business in a challenging market, with total disposals and cash into the business now exceeding £2 million thus far in 2023. At the same time, our confidence in our assets continues to grow; with the discovery of a new VMS camp on the Obonga greenstone belt; and the continued exploration success by Palladium One in whom global miner and trader Glencore has just announced a strategic equity investment, in close proximity to our 100% owned Dotted Lake property.
Agreed Transaction Terms:
Panther Metals PLC and Bluekebble Pty Limited (together, the Sellers), who between them hold a 100% interest in the Queensland exploration tenements EPM27175 and EPM27183 (the "Tenements"), have agreed to sell the two tenements to Lux Exploration Pty Limited, a subsidiary of ECR for a total consideration of GBP£200,000, satisfied by the issue of 31,913,196 Ordinary Shares at a price of 0.6267p (being the volume weighted average price for trading in ECR's shares on AIM in the 30 days prior to the date of the agreement).
Under the transaction terms the amount due to Panther is equivalent to £60,000.
The Proposed Acquisition is conditional, inter alia, upon Australian Ministerial approval being granted for the transfer of the tenements. If this condition is not satisfied or waived by 5 June 2023 (being 60 days from the date of execution of the agreement), then either the Sellers or Lux may terminate the agreement by written notice.
A further announcement will be made when and if the condition is satisfied. At this stage there can be no guarantee that the Proposed Transaction will complete.
For further information please contact:
Panther Metals PLC:
Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer: +44(0) 1462 429 743
+44(0) 7971 957 685
Mitchell Smith, Chief Operating Officer: +1(604) 209 6678
Broker:
SI Capital Limited
Nick Emerson +44(0) 1438 416 500
Notes to Editors
Panther Metals PLC is an exploration company listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. Panther is focussed on the discovery of commercially viable mineral deposits. The Company's operational focus is on established mining jurisdictions with the capacity for project scalability. Drill targets are assessed rapidly utilising a combination of advanced technologies and extensive geological data to decipher potential commercial viability and act accordingly. Panther's current geological portfolio comprises of three highly prospective properties in Ontario, Canada while the developing investment wing focuses on the targeting of nickel and gold in Australia.
Obonga Project
Panther Metals acquired the Obonga Greenstone Belt in July 2021 and have already identified four prospective primary targets: Wishbone, Awkward, Survey and Ottertooth. A successful Phase 1 drilling campaign at Wishbone in Autumn 2021 revealed the presence of significant VMS-style mineralised systems on the property - the first such discovery across the entire greenstone belt. Intercepts include 27.3m of massive sulphide in hole one, and 51m of sulphide-dominated mineralisation in hole two. Both drill holes contained multiple lenses. Anomalous high-grade copper in lake sediment close to the target area has also been identified, increasing confidence in the prospectivity of the location.
Awkward is a highly anomalous magnetic target, interpreted to be a layered mafic intrusion and magmatic conduit based on mapped geology and airborne geophysics. Historic sampling in the area returned anomalous platinum and palladium (Pt, Pd) values, while historic drilling on the periphery of the target intersected non-assayed massive sulphide and copper (assumed to be chalcopyrite), non-assayed disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite in coarse gabbro, and non-assayed 'marble cake' gabbro (matching the description of the Lac des Iles Mine varitexture gabbro ore zone).
Two additional named targets, Survey and Ottertooth, both displays further coincident magnetic and electromagnetic anomalies and are adjacent to the contact between intrusive and extrusive mafic rocks. Historic drilling at Survey intersected several meters of massive sulphides in multiple intersections (main parts of the anomaly remain untested) while Ottertooth remains untested in its entirety.
Dotted Lake Project
Panther Metals acquired the Dotted Lake Project in July 2020, it is situated approximately 16km from Barrick Gold's renowned Hemlo Gold Mine. An extensive soil programme conducted in 2021 identified numerous gold and base metal targets, all within the same geological footprint. Following the installation of a new trail providing direct access to the target location, an initial drilling programme in Autumn 2021 confirmed the presence of gold mineralisation within this system with anomalous gold continuing along strike and present within the surrounding area.
Manitou Lakes Project
The Manitou Lakes gold project is located approximately 300km's east of Thunder Bay, Ontario and covers a total area of around 98sq km's.
There are over 200 known gold occurrences on the Manitou Lakes project area with the wider Eagle/Manitou Lakes greenstone belt hosting numerous historic gold producers and is prospective for Archean age orogenic gold and associated base metal deposits.
Exploration work conducted by Shear Gold on the Project to date has identified numerous gold bearing structures and favourable geological host rocks through early-stage mapping and surface sampling. The work has focussed on two target areas, being the West Limb Gold Property and the Glass Reef Gold Property, both of which host historic gold mines which have never been systematically explored using modern techniques or drill tested.
Big Bear Project
The acquisition of various prospects in 2018 and 2019 consolidated previously fragmented areas into the wider Big Bear umbrella project, priming Panther Metals for extensive and comprehensive exploration in the area. A total of 253 geophysical anomalies have been identified, with 39 designated for priority investigation. Gold in soil anomalies in have been identified in five areas, ranging up to 0.71g/t, extending up to 250m wide and open along strike. Gold bearing quartz veins have been outlined within seven separate areas (two with rock and vein samples grading 1 to 5 g/t Au, four with quartz vein sample assays above 5g/t Au, and two quartz samples collected at 50m separation on an E-W trending vein open in both directions returning 105.5g/t Au and 112g/t Au respectively).
The Little Bear Lake and Schreiber prospects are of particular interest to the company: historic work programmes in 2010 and 2011 targeted an intense magnetic response from both. Assays yielded from the 1.6km long gold trend included 6m at 1.5g/t Au, up to 53.7g/t Au and 19.25 g/t Ag in rock chip and 18.2g/t Au and 1.03g/t Ag in soil. Historical bulk sampling reported 150t averaging 17.6g/t Au, while historical drill intersections include 0.55m at 19.2% Zn and 4.6% Cu from 15.2m depth.
Panther Metals Australia
Following the listing of Panther Metals' Australian assets on the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX") in December 2021. The ASX listing has provided the Australian projects with the necessary capital to advance drill-ready targets focused on nickel and gold (within the Tier 1 Mining Districts of Laverton WA and in the NT). Through this spin-out Panther holds an attractive investment prospect, without any disruption to the Company's capital structure and without any financial obligations.
Conclusion
Panther Metals understand that the commercial realities of building an exploration company requires expertise in geology, finance, and the markets within which they operate. The Company's extensive network of industry leaders allows it to meet these objectives. Ultimately however, drilling success is the only route to discovery: the fundamental objective of any exploration company. Once Panther's world-class geological team identify the anomalies, they work hard to get drilling. The drill hole is the only place where substantial and sustained capital growth originates and it's with that operational focus Panther Metals will continue to advance.
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