TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – A famous name in Canada’s recent gold mining history lives again after project consolidator Oban Mining formally announced Tuesday that it would change its name to Osisko Mining.

The company said the rebranding exercise would better reflect the corporation's current management, board and technical teams, who were responsible for much of the success of the original Osisko Mining Corporation.

The original Osisko had earned international recognition with the successes of its exploration and development team – a team that included several current members of the current company’s board and senior management, such as current co-chairperson Sean Roosen and president, CEO and director John Burzynski, who was one of the original three founding members of the old Osisko Mining.

Osisko Mining was best known for its discovery, development and operation of the Canadian Malartic mine, in the Abitibi region of north-western Quebec. The old Osisko was jointly acquired in June 2014 by Agnico Eagle Mines and Yamana Gold. Yamana's C$3.9-billion white-knight bid for Osisko, in concert with partner Agnico-Eagle, beat a bid for Osisko from major Canadian gold producer Goldcorp.

Shareholders of Oban, which currently held a prospective mineral project portfolio in Quebec and Ontario, approved the name change during the company’s annual general meeting last week and the company advised that it would formalise its rebranding initiatives in the near future to reflect its evolution since the start of 2015, as a result of its consolidation activities in Ontario and Quebec. Since August 2015, the company had concluded no fewer than 14 consolidation transactions.

Subject to TSX approval, the company’s stock would start trading under the new stock symbol ‘OSK’ at the opening of business on June 21. It also expected that, subject to TSX approval, the common share purchase warrants of the corporation, which traded on the TSX under the symbol ‘OBM.WT’, would start trading on the TSX under the new symbol ‘OSK.WT’ at the opening of business on the same day.

Oban currently held a 100% interest in the high-grade Windfall Lake gold deposit, located between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau, in Quebec; as well as a 100% undivided interest in a large area of claims in the surrounding Urban Barry area (82 400 ha); a 100% interest in the Marban project, located in the heart of Quebec's prolific Abitibi gold mining district; and properties in the Larder Lake Mining Division, in north-east Ontario, including the Jonpol and Garrcon deposits on the Garrison property, the Buffonta past-producing mine and the Gold Pike mine property.

Oban currently held consolidated resources in Quebec and Ontario, across all resource categories, of more than 5.5-million ounces.

The company also held interests and options in a number of other properties in northern Ontario. Oban is well financed with about C$74-million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

RESOURCE UPDATE
Meanwhile, Oban on Monday announced a 16% improvement in the compliant measured and indicated (M&I) resource estimate at its 100%-held, high-grade Marban gold project, located near the town of Malartic, Quebec.

The company reported that, after completing 92 900 m of infill drilling and historical core resampling, the resource now comprised Whittle-constrained in-pit M&I resources for the Marban and Norlartic deposits of 1.48-million ounces gold, calculated at a gold price of $1 250/oz and a calculated external lower cutoff of 0.4 g/t gold, with a further 134 000 oz in the inferred category.

Critically, when applying a higher cutoff grade of 1 g/t gold, the deposits still contained a total of 1.04-million ounces in the M&I categories at a grade of 1.97 g/t gold, representing 70% of the overall M&I resources. The new Whittle shells had lowered the overall strip ratio to 6.3 and the company said it was confident that this ratio could be further reduced with the upcoming detailed engineered pit shells.

“We are particularly pleased that the global mineral inventory remains at a strong combined number, allowing for additional potential upside in a rising gold price environment,” Burzynski stated.

The new global M&I mineral inventory currently stood at 1.83-million ounces of gold contained in 47.6-million tonnes with an average grade of 1.2 g/t gold and the global inferred mineral inventory stood at 410 000 oz of gold in 12.2-million tonnes, at an average grade of 1.03 g/t gold (based on a lower cutoff of 0.4 g/t gold).

Both Marban and Norlartic were reported to remain open at depth and further drilling was planned to establish the potential for more resources that might be mined by underground methods.