One of Calibre Mining Corp.‘s (TSX: CXB) (OTCQX: CXBMF) long term shareholders sold 79 million shares of its Calibre position at CAD$1.76 in an arm’s length transaction.
Longtime shareholder B2Gold Corp. (TSX: BTO) owned 110 million common shares of Calibre, representing close to 14.1 per cent of the company after the transaction. Reported on Friday, B2Gold’s new ownership stake is now less than 10 per cent of Calibre’s common shares.
This also reduces B2Gold’s influence and the company no longer qualifies as a “reporting insider” as per insider reporting requirements. This means it won’t have to file insider or early wearning reports when it decides to buy or sell Calibre securities.
Calibre Mining picked up its Nicaragua assets from B2Gold on October 15, 2019. The acquisition included the El Limon and La Libertad gold mines, as well as the Pavon gold project and other mineral concessions in Nicaragua. The pricetag was USD$100 million in cash, shares and a convertible debenture.
B2Gold decided to dispose of the common shares of Calibre due to investment considerations such as price, market conditions, capital allocation priorities, and corporate strategy. B2Gold remains a supportive shareholder of Calibre and currently has no plans to further change its interest.
Calibre’s chairman, Blayne Johnson, thanked Clive Johnson, the president and CEO of B2Gold and his team for their role in getting Calibre to where it is today.
“Their decision to transfer these assets to an emerging exploration company rather than opting for immediate complete monetization, required both vision and courage,” Blayne Johnson said.
“This innovative approach has evolved into a highly beneficial partnership, enhancing value for the shareholders of both our companies.”
Read more: Calibre Mining shareholders approve all matters at annual general meeting
Read more: Calibre appoints seasoned Senior VP & CFO Daniella Dimitrov
Calibre pulls high grade gold from Valentine Gold
Calibre released positive results from their Valentine Gold Mine exploration drills in Newfoundland earlier this month. These drills targeted an area southwest of the Leprechaun pit, one of the mine’s several open pits. The Leprechaun pit holds significant gold reserves, estimated at 15.1 million tonnes grading 1.73 grams per tonne, for a total of 0.84 million ounces of gold.
Highlights from the Leprechaun Southwest drill program include:
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2.25 g/t Au over 15.30 metres Estimated True Width (ETW) including 24.68 g/t Au over 0.85 metres ETW in Hole LS-24-002;
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1.87 g/t Au over 11.57 metres ETW including 9.26 g/t Au over 0.89 metres in Hole LS-14-007;
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36.83 g/t Au over 0.91 metres ETW in Hole LS-24-010;
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13.32 g/t Au over 0.85 metres ETW in Hole LS-24-011.
Shares of Calibre Mining are presently trading at USD$1.80 on Friday, down six cents since Thursday.
Calibre Mining is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
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