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Junior Exploration Sector

Are private placements the new poison pills? – by Drew Hasselback (Financial Post – July 20, 2016)

http://business.financialpost.com/

The dollar values may be low, but the stakes are huge. Idaho-based Hecla Mining Co. has launched an unsolicited bid to take control of Vancouver-based junior miner Dolly Varden Silver Corp. According to Bloomberg, the bid has a cash value of only $10 million. But Canadian M&A lawyers are following the deal because it’s sparked a legal battle over the country’s hostile takeover rules.

The B.C. and Ontario Securities commissions are holding simultaneous hearings on Wednesday to decide whether companies can thwart unwanted takeover bids by selling a big chunk of their shares in a private placement.

Hecla, a silver producer, already owns just under 20 per cent of Dolly Varden. Hecla announced on June 27 that it would seek 50 per cent of the Dolly Varden shares it doesn’t already own. A formal offer was filed July 8.

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NEWS RELEASE: Goldeye Explorations Agrees to Be Acquired by Treasury Metals

TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – July 11, 2016) – Goldeye Explorations Limited (TSX VENTURE:GGY) (“Goldeye” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has agreed to a proposal with respect to the acquisition of the Company by Treasury Metals Inc.
(TSX:TML) (the “Proposal”).

Given the complementary nature of Treasury’s development stage portfolio, and Goldeye’s exploration assets located in Northwestern Ontario, Goldeye believes that there is a compelling case for the combination of Treasury and Goldeye and that such a combination would be mutually beneficial to both sets of shareholders.

The Proposal contemplates that Treasury and Goldeye will enter into a business combination pursuant to a structure to be mutually agreed (the “Proposed Transaction”).

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Grits stifling mineral exploration: Ambrose – by Mary Katherine Keown (Sudbury Star – July 4, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Rona Ambrose, the interim leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, was in Sudbury Monday to talk flow-through shares.

“I’m here to raise the alarm that the Liberal government is looking to get rid of the mineral exploration tax credit and the flow-through shares for mining and mineral investments,” she told The Star. “This is a huge concern for the mineral and mining sector, because (the flow-through shares) constitute 60 per cent of how they raise their money.

So in 2014, in a $54 billion industry, 90 per cent of the money that was raised by junior mining companies was raised by flow-through shares. … This is a huge revenue-generating investment instrument that is used by junior mining exploration companies.”

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More than 10% of Canadian mining and metals companies delisted in 2014/15 – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – June 28, 2016)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – More than 10% of the mining and metals companies listed on the TSX and TSX-V delisted during 2014 and 2015, according to a new study by professional services firm EY.

The report, titled ‘What is driving delisting in the mining and metals sector in Canada?’, found that 41% of companies delisted owing to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity, 33% delisted voluntarily, 33% failed to meet continuous listing requirements, and 10% delisted owning to formal insolvency proceedings.

According to EY senior VP for British Columbia mining and metals, transaction advisory services leader and report author Michelle Grant, 149 mining and metals companies delisted from the TSX and TSX-V in 2014 and, in 2015, a further 172 companies delisted.

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Octoberfest for Lawyers: Prospecting in Ontario’s Far North – by Bill Gallagher (Sudbury Star – June 17, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Bill Gallagher, lawyer, author and strategist.

The last six months saw Ontario courts issue two major rulings on accessing resources. Junior miners operating in the Far North have not had an easy time, mainly due to not keeping abreast of the rise of native empowerment nationally and how that dynamic impacts (or should impact) their approach to accessing traditional lands. That’s because natives have land rights writ large.

I track this phenomenon right across the country and have maintained a special interest in Ontario ever since I was kicked-off the KI reserve by the entire community; turned out to greet Platinex’s CEO and his archeologist. I personally witnessed the resulting litigation or public gyrations of all the juniors: Platinex, God’s Lake Resources, Solid Gold (and indeed Cliffs); attended many pivotal events like the roll-out of Matawa’s Ring of Fire policy, keynoted at PDAC’s grand opening, lectured at Lakehead, and attended closing arguments in the Northern Superior litigation.

My trump card was my strategic role in helping to bring-in the Voisey’s Bay IBA (although that precedent was never treated as relevant by the juniors) caught as they were in the throes of Queen’s Park and Mining Act turmoil – and the thrall of litigation lawyers.

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Gowest gets go-ahead – by Len Gillis (Timmins Daily Press – June 17, 2016)

http://www.timminspress.com/

TIMMINS – The arrival of this sunny summer weather in Timmins this week brought some sunny news for Gowest Gold Ltd., which reached an important milestone for the new gold property it is promoting in Timmins.

Greg Romain, company president and chief executive officer, said the long permitting process is finally over. “Yeah, we got the last permit signed off yesterday. It has been a long time coming but we’re certainly happy about it,” the Timmins native said in an interview Thursday morning.

Gowest is a junior gold exploration company working to develop the North Timmins Gold Project located roughly 35 kilometres north of the built-up area of Timmins. The project, which is part of the well-known Bradshaw gold venture, has more than 400,000 indicated ounces of gold and more than 750,000 ounces inferred.

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Junior mining in South Africa..? Think again. – by David McKay (MiningMx – June 15, 2016)

http://www.miningmx.com/

SPARE a thought for the junior mining companies. If it’s hard for large mining firms to attract investment and raise capital, then you can bet its doubly worse for the juniors, the intrepid entrepreneurs who are often the lifeblood of tomorrow’s minerals and metals supply.

In South Africa, it’s especially difficult for junior miners to gain traction. This is owing to the evaporation of confidence in the country’s regulatory framework, according to bankers, analysts and junior mining executives. A quick look at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) tells its own story.

There are hardly any exploration plays and very few small junior miners to shake a stick at: Bauba Platinum, Miranda Minerals, Tawana Minerals, Firestone, ZCI … But with all due respect, there’s nothing here to set the world alight; not yet anyway.

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Editorial: Northern Superior loses case in Ontario – by John Cumming (Northern Miner – June , 2016)

http://www.northernminer.com/

A long-simmering legal case revolving around the duty to consult in Ontario’s Mining Act has been resolved, with plaintiff Northern Superior Resources having its action against the province of Ontario in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice dismissed.

If you’ll recall, Northern Superior Resources is a Sudbury-based junior mineral exploration company that has spent the last couple of decades looking for gold in Ontario and Quebec.

The claims at the heart of the court case — named Rapson Bay, Meston Lake and Thorne Lake — were staked by Northern Superior between 2005 and 2007 in the Red Lake Mining Division located 740 km northwest of Thunder Bay, with an eye to their gold potential.

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Federal Liberals have ‘dropped the ball’ on mining: Angus – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Northern Life – June 6, 2016)

https://www.sudbury.com/

The federal Liberals have “dropped the ball” in the north when it comes to the mining sector, said Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus.

“The Liberal Party ran on a platform that said nothing about the mineral exploration community or mining. It’s one of the biggest drivers in our economy,” said Angus, who has long been a prominent MP with the NDP. “They’ve done nothing on the Ring of Fire.”

Angus’ criticism of the Liberals came after he proposed an amendment to extend the government’s mineral exploration tax credit from one year to five years. The Liberal-dominated finance committee voted against the amendment.

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Georeference mineral claims to prep for digital system: ministry – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – June 6, 2016)

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines is encouraging people with mineral claims in Ontario to double-check their claim boundaries as the province inches closer to introducing digital claim staking.

The adoption of online claim system is part of the modernization of the Mining Act, which began in 2006. “We’re streamlining the process, moving Ontario into the 21st century by providing that type of service for our clients,” said project lead Roy Denomme. “This is really taking us to the next level.” Other provinces already using a digital system include British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

Moving to a digital platform simplifies the process for Ontario’s international mining clientele, Denomme said. Many junior mining companies, for example, are headquartered in Vancouver or Australia, and the geographical distance makes registering staked claims at a bricks-and-mortar location more difficult.

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Court dismisses Northern Superior claim on duty of care – by Jennifer Brown (Canadian Lawyer Magazine – June 6, 2016)

http://www.canadianlawyermag.com/

An Ontario Superior Court judge has dismissed a $110-million claim launched by a junior mining exploration company against the province of Ontario for breach of duty of care on the duty to consult, but the inherent question in the case will likely rise again, say experts.

In 2012, Sudbury-based Northern Superior Resources Inc. claimed it lost access to mining claims near Thunder Bay, Ont. Going back to 2002, it had conducted exploration activities in Northwestern Ontario, but in 2012, it abandoned efforts on its gold properties after disputes with the people of the Sachigo Lake First Nation.

NSR claimed the failure of its relationship with Sachigo Lake First Nation was the result of a breach of duty of care by the province and that it should be compensated accordingly. The company alleged the province breached its duty of good faith and implied statutory duty of care to properly discharge Ontario’s constitutional obligations to consult with affected first nations.

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Australian micro miner says finds big zinc lode (Reuters U.S. – June 1, 2016)

http://www.reuters.com/

Australian penny stock Rox Resources, backed by mining major Teck Resources of Canada, said it has discovered one of the world’s largest zinc deposits in northern Australia, although any decision to mine is years away.

The discovery comes seven months after Chinese conglomerate MMG Ltd shut the nearby exhausted Century zinc mine, once the world’s third-biggest, leaving a hole in global supplies of the metal chiefly used to galvanise steel.

The lode, named Teena, holds 14.2 billion pounds of zinc, as well as 2.1 billion pounds of lead, making it around the same size as the Century deposit. Teena is located eight kms (5 miles) from the Glencore -owned McArthur River zinc mine.

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Encouraging results for Sudbury mining company Wallbridge – by Staff (Sudbury Star – June 1, 2016)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Wallbridge Mining Company Limited says new studies of its flagship Parkin Properties in Sudbury show promising results. Lively-based Wallbridge is exploring the Parkin Properties, located north of Capreol, for nickel, copper, and platinum group metal mineralization.

“We continue to have excellent results from our exploration programs at Parkin as demonstrated by the results reported in the last few months. Attractive copper, nickel, and PGM grades continue to be intersected and the mineralization intersected in the most recent holes is expanding the near-surface mineralization yet further north,” Marz Kord, president and CEO of Wallbridge, said in a release.

“With over nine kilometres of strike length with similar under-explored geology, the potential for further discoveries of new zones on the Parkin Offset dyke looks very promising,” Kord said.

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Mining industry backlash over ASIC disclosure rule – by Tess Ingram (Sydney Morning Herald – May 30, 2016)

http://www.smh.com.au/

Financial institutions, legal firms and key mining industry groups are preparing a riposte to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s controversial changes to disclosure rules for resources projects.

The mining industry’s peak lobby group, Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), and other members of the world-renowned Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) are seeking to engage with the corporate watchdog on an information note it released in April, which the industry claims restricts what resources companies can tell the market about the economic potential of their projects.

The guidelines have created uncertainty within the industry’s junior ranks, with executives concerned the changes raise legal risks and could impact a company’s ability to raise money, advance projects and keep retail investors properly informed.

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Strong tailwinds giving juniors, project developers room to run – research note – by Henry Lazenby (Mining Weekly.com – May 26, 2016)

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – About halfway through the first quarter, analysts at Dundee Capital Markets noticed that exploration companies that had weeks earlier appeared to be dead in the water, as investors abandoned all but a handful of names, were steadily starting to leave the laggards behind as a combination of the gold price rally and improved investor sentiment blew wind in their sails.

On the back of a 17% rise in the price of gold during the first three months of 2016, the coverage universe of 47 resource stocks that Dundee tracked on an enterprise value per ounce (EV/oz) metric, based on a total mineral inventory (TMI) had risen steadily, helping analysts to differentiate those companies that had the benefit of wind in their sails from the idlers and providing a good measure of the potential upside that the market was willing to pay for quality gold opportunities.

In a research note published on Thursday, research analysts and co-authors Ron Stewart and Erik Bermel noted that the average EV/oz had so far this year improved from $13/oz to $32/oz, reflecting improved investor sentiment toward exploration-focused companies which, in turn, reflected the 15% year-to-date improvement in the gold price to about $1 220/oz.

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