Columbus Gold to Acquire 70 Percent of IAMGOLD’s Maripa Project

Columbus Gold (TSX:CGT) is set to acquire up to 70 percent of IAMGOLD’s (TSX:IMG,NYSE:IAG) stake in the Maripa gold project in French Guiana, the company said on Tuesday (August 14).

According to Columbus, the acquisition will solidify the company’s position as a leader in both exploration and development within French Guiana.

“With mine permitting well underway at the Montagne d’Or gold deposit, the timing was right for this deal on Maripa,” said Robert Giustra, chairman of Columbus Gold.

“This low-cost, high-potential acquisition solidifies Columbus Gold’s position as the leading gold exploration and development company in French Guiana,” he added.

Maripa is located 50 kilometers south of the capital city of Cayenne, and is comprised of up to five contiguous exploration permits that cover an area of approximately 120 square kilometers.

The company says that thick sections of upper detrital unit sediments are present in the Maripa area, which attest to an extensional structural regime favorable to hydrothermal activity and associated gold mineralization.

“Past exploration work conducted at Maripa provides Columbus Gold with an excellent base of geological, geochemical and geophysical data to advance Maripa to the drill definition stage in 2019,” Columbus Gold explains.

The company also revealed that Maripa has the potential to host a significant gold deposit, and unlike many other gold projects in the Guiana Shield, it has the benefit of being located in an area with excellent access, with the national highway running through most of the project.

As for the terms, Columbus Gold has agreed to a two-stage option in order to earn up to a 70-percent stake in the project. The company will earn the initial 50-percent interest by incurring US$5 million in expenditures within five years of the effective date of the agreement, and will act as the operator.

There is also the potential for Columbus Gold to earn an additional 20-percent interest, should IAMGOLD elect not to participate in a 50/50 joint venture after the initial earn-in period.

As of 12:05 p.m. EST on Wednesday (August 15), Columbus Gold was up 2.56 percent, trading at C$0.20.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Nicole Rashotte, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.