VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – TSX-listed Osisko Mining has signed an exploration agreement with Barrick Gold, which allows the gold major to earn a 70% interest on the Kan property, in northern Quebec.
Under the terms of the agreement, Barrick must spend $15-million over a four-year period, subject to certain yearly work expenditure thresholds, including a guaranteed expenditure threshold of $6-million in the first two years.
On completing the earn-in, the property will be transferred to a new joint venture (JV) entity, in which Barrick owns 70% and Osisko 30%.
Barrick can earn a further 5% interest in the JV by choosing to fund a further $5-million of project-level expenditures, such as a preliminary economic assessment or prefeasibility study.
Osisko and Barrick have executed a definite agreement for the exploration earn-in, subject to satisfying certain conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals.
The Kan property is in the Nunavik Territory, in northern Quebec. The property is a large gold and base-metal exploration play covering more than 30 000 ha in the Labrador Trough, 85 km south-west of Kuujjuaq. A silicate-carbonate iron formation of regional extent represents a significant auriferous unit on the property sharing similarities with the world-class Homestake gold deposit, according to Osisko.
Exploration work in 2014 to 2016 by Virginia Mines (subsequently Osisko Exploration James Bay) led to the discovery of further gold mineralisation associated with the silicate-carbonate iron formation on the Kan property. Best results from this work include values of 8.1 g/t of gold over 7 m (Pump Pad Ridge showing); 10.7 g/t of gold over 5 m (Winchester showing); and 8.6 g/t of gold over 3.2 m (KTR showing) obtained from channels; and values of 2.13 g/t of gold over 8 m and 4.62 g/t of gold over 8 m obtained from drilling (Winchester-Pump-Pad Ridge).