Kootenay Silver Gets Vote of Confidence from Pan American

2016 is only a month and a half in, but Kootenay Silver (TSXV:KTN) has already gotten a lot done.
Midway through January, the Mexico-focused company announced plans to acquire Northair Silver (TSXV:INM), and in doing so become “a leading Mexican silver exploration and development company and consolidator.” This Tuesday, it built on that base by entering into two agreements with major silver miner Pan American Silver (TSX:PAA,NASDAQ:PAAS).
Under the first agreement, Kootenay subsidiary Minera JM will give Pan American subsidiary Compania Minera Dolores the option to earn a 75-percent stake in the Promontorio and La Negra deposits, which are collectively known as the Promontorio Mineral Belt properties. To gain that interest, Dolores will:

• Pay Minera JM US$8,050,000 in cash over a four-year earn-in period.
• Spend US$8,000,000 on exploration and development on the Promontorio Mineral Belt properties, also during that four-year period.

The second agreement will see Pan American invest C$2,000,000 in Kootenay by subscribing for 9,090,909 Kootenay shares priced at C$0.22 each. All in all, Pan American will invest about C$24 million in Kootenay; furthermore, once the agreements close, Minera JM will gain the option to acquire up to two of Dolores’ Mexican properties in exchange for a 2.5-percent net smelter return royalty.

Kootenay President and CEO James McDonald is pleased with the deal and sees it as a major vote of confidence from Pan American. “[T]he PAS Transactions underscore Pan American’s confidence in the potential viability of La Negra and the Promontorio Mineral Belt,” he said Tuesday in a press release, adding, “[w]e are very excited to join forces to aggressively develop our Promontorio Mineral Belt assets with Pan American.”
Explaining further to the Investing News Network, McDonald said that all of the money Kootenay gains will be directed toward the Promontorio Mineral Belt properties, with La Negra being the initial focus. However, he said, “$2 million [is] earmarked for exploration of other targets on Promontorio.”
The La Cigarra project, which Kootenay will add to its portfolio when its acquisition of Northair closes, also hasn’t been forgotten — McDonald said that Kootenay is planning a small exploration program there in the near term.
However, perhaps most significantly, McDonald also emphasized that Kootenay won’t be content to simply continue developing its existing projects. Like many in the resource space, he believes that today’s low price environment is the perfect time to pick up assets at a low cost. “The best strategy is to focus on buying ounces because you can buy them now for one-fifth to one-10th of the finding cost,” he explained.

It will certainly be interesting to see what Kootenay does next. At close of day Tuesday, its share price was sitting at $0.245, up 4.26 percent.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Kootenay Silver is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
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Kootenay Silver to Buy Northair, Kickstart Consolidation in Mexico