Five juniors, one deal, with Canadian heavy-hitters – by Kip Keen (Mineweb.com – June 10, 2015)

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Osisko and Dundee factor large in a deal that will see five Canadian juniors join forces.

In a one-stop-shop style merger comprising five Canadian juniors, a group of leading mine developers in Canada hope to replicate past successes in Central Canada.

Five juniors – two struggling to advance existing projects and three with significant cash piles but little by way of exploration assets – are to join forces combining a trio of mid-stage gold projects in Quebec and Ontario and some $50-odd million in cash.

The deal involves Oban Mining taking over four other juniors, Eagle Hill Exploration, Temex Resources, Ryan Gold and Corona Gold.

John Burzynski, who chairs Oban and who also heads up project development for Osisko Royalties, will become the President and CEO of the combined-company, which is tentatively to be called New Oban. Sean Roosen, who heads up Osisko Royalties (formerly Osisko Mining before it was sold to Agnico Eagle and Yamana) and Ned Goodman, behind Dundee, will co-chair New Oban.

The aim of New Oban is “nothing short of creating the next great Canadian mining house,” Burzynski said during a conference call, who evoked Osisko Mining as the future he saw for New Oban.

Burzynski said the company aimed to become a gold producer, of at least 100,000 ounces, within three years or so, a goal he later defined as aspirational in response to questions.

In all Burzynski said New Oban would, assuming the transaction goes ahead, have $65 million in cash. About $20 million of that would come through a private placement, as part of the multi-part deal, with Osisko Royalties. Osisko will become a substantial owner of New Oban and also get privileges such as a right of first refusal to participate in royalty and streaming deals.

During the call Burzynski, along with Sean Roosen and the management of the target companies, argued shareholders would be better off under one roof than going it alone during a tough market for juniois, which has made it difficult for most of them to raise significant cash without extreme dilution.

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