The Northern Miner May 10 2021 Issue 10

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Funding for exploration and mine rescue boosted in provincial budget | Government earmarks almost $8 million in new funding

ONTARIO

BY KELSEY ROLFE

T Roxgold’s Yaramoko mine in Burkina Faso. ROXGOLD

Fortuna Silver to buy Roxgold in billion-dollar deal M&A

| Commodity prices spur more consolidation in the gold sector

BY CECILIA JAMASMIE AND TRISH SAYWELL

F

ortuna Silver Mines (TSX: FVI; NYSE: FSM) is buying Roxgold (TSX: ROXG; US-OTC: ROGFF) in an all-share deal valued at about $1 billion (US$884.32 million), as strong gold prices spur a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the sector. Vancouver-based Fortuna, which has operations in Peru, Mexico and Argentina, said the combined company would produce about 450,000 gold-equivalent ounces a year at allin sustaining costs of about US$950 per oz. gold equivalent. West Africa focused Roxgold’s shareholders will receive 0.283 common shares of Fortuna and $0.001 for each Roxgold common share held. The exchange ratio implies a consideration of about $2.73 per Roxgold share, a 42.1% premium to its last closing price. After the merger, existing Fortuna and Roxgold shareholders will own about 64.3% and 35.7%, respectively, of the combined miner. Fortuna CEO and co-founder Jorge A. Ganoza said the acquisition will provide his company access to a complete business platform that brings low-cost gold production and a permitted feasibility-stage project in West Africa, along with a robust exploration pipeline and seasoned executive team. “We have followed the success of the Roxgold team for a number of years, from their early start at Yaramoko back in 2015,” Ganoza said on

a conference call. “Since then, John [Dorward, Roxgold’s president and CEO] and his team have successfully continued to expand their business in West Africa, and today, by combining our companies, Fortuna is gaining

access to a platform for continued growth in one of the most prolific gold regions in the world.” Gaining access to the Roxgold See M & A / 8

Special to The Northern Miner

he Ontario government is launching a new program to fund junior exploration in the province and upping financial support for the Ontario Mine Rescue program. The province’s 2021 budget, which laid out the initiatives, was tabled on March 24 and was passed on April 26. The document sets out $23 billion in spending targeted at bolstering the provincial economy, and $16.3 billion for health-related measures. Ontario projected a $38.5 billion deficit in 2020-21, which it expects to slowly reduce to eventually reach $20.2 billion in 2023-24. As part of the government’s plan to increase jobs and economic activity in northern Ontario, the budget set out $5 million over the next two years for the new Ontario Junior Exploration Program (OJEP). Under the program, junior mining companies can apply for funding to cover eligible costs up to a maximum of $200,000 per exploration or development project. “The impact of Covid-19 on the mining sector has resulted in a decrease in the availability of capital for mineral exploration, [which] junior mining companies rely on,” the budget document said. “The success of junior exploration is critical to the discovery of existing and new mineral deposits that support larger mining companies, equipment manufacturers and investors across the province.” In an email to The Northern Miner, Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines spokesperson Drew Campbell said the ministry expects the program to be launched in the summer of 2021. “Ontario is well positioned to become a global supplier, producer and manufacturer of choice of critical minerals, such as nickel, copper and cobalt,” he said. “OJEP will help generate investment in early exploration, expand the pipeline of mineral development projects, and eventually lead to more mine construction and jobs in the province.” Garry Clark, president of the Ontario Prospectors Association, said the new program was something his association had requested for a long time. “Most of the provinces already have these types of programs. … It makes it harder to attract

RANKING THE BIGGEST GOLD MINES IN THE WORLD / 6

companies to come to Ontario to explore [without such a program] even though we’ve got great rocks.” Clark said the OPA is currently in negotiations with the province on whether his association will help to disburse the funds. Campbell said the ministry hasn’t yet finalized the program delivery details. The province previously administered two similar programs called the Ontario Mineral Incentive Program and the Ontario Prospectors Assistance Program, which were wrapped up in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “They were very successful and assisted in finding a whole bunch of different projects,” Clark said. The OPA had also run a similar support program for juniors more recently called the Junior Exploration Assistance Program, with a $5 million budget supplied by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund. The program helped finance exploration costs that led to Great Bear Resources’ discovery of highgrade gold zones at its Dixie project in Red Lake, which received the See ONTARIO / 7 PM40069240


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