Halcones Precious Metals has entered into an option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Polaris gold project from Chilean exploration company Austral Exploraciones.
As part of the agreement, Halcones will issue 50 million shares to the vendors at a deemed price of $0.05 per share. Additionally, a cash payment of $100,000 is due to Austral upon approval and closing of the transaction by the TSX Venture Exchange. A milestone payment of $2 million will also be payable to Austral on the 48-month anniversary of the transaction’s closing. Furthermore, Austral will retain a 2% net smelter return royalty on the project.
The deal is subject to standard closing conditions, including approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.
Located in Chile’s Antofagasta Region, the Polaris gold project is touted as highly prospective, having identified 17 former high-grade artisanal mining operations. Historical mining activities in the area date back over a century.
The project has shown promising gold mineralization along a 2.7 km strike length, with additional potential extensions yet to be sampled. Halcones has conducted various sampling campaigns and due diligence, claiming to have achieved high-grade results.
Ian Parkinson, Halcones’ director and CEO, commented, “Our technical team has evaluated numerous early-stage projects in South America. The Polaris gold project presents an exceptional exploration opportunity. The high-grade surface samples and widespread artisanal mines indicate significant high-grade occurrences that have not been explored using modern techniques.”
He added that historical operations focused on narrow, high-grade veins to shallow depths due to ventilation limitations, leaving the surrounding mineralized stockwork unassessed.
Halcones is focused on exploring and developing gold-silver projects in the Maricunga Belt, Chile. Earlier this year, the company withdrew from an option to acquire the Carachapampa project under the terms of its agreement.
