Toronto-based gold company Marathon Gold on Wednesday announced a strategic flow-through financing with existing shareholder Pirre Lassonde, which would enable the company to continue its exploration programme at the Valentine gold project, in central Newfoundland.
The nonbrokered private placement offering consists of 3 037 418 flow-through common shares priced at C$2.85 a flow-through common share for total proceeds of C$8.66-million.
Lassonde has indicated that he would subscribe for such number of flow-through common shares of the offering totalling C$7.5-million. Trinity Capital Partners and members of Marathon’s board and management team would subscribe for the balance of the offering.
“As we wind down a very successful year of exploration and look ahead to 2021, we are very pleased to welcome Mr. Lassonde’s strategic investment which specifically supports our continued exploration initiatives at the Valentine gold project. We look forward to building on the momentum we have established in 2020, particularly at the newly discovered Berry zone, centrally located between the Marathon and Leprechaun deposits,” said president and CEO Matt Manson.
The Valentine project comprises a series of four mineralised deposits along a 20-km system. An April 2020 prefeasibility study outlined an openpit mining and conventional milling operation over a 12-year mine life with a 36% after-tax rate of return.
The project has estimated proven mineral reserves of 1.3-million ounces (26.3-million tonnes at 1.52 g/t) and probable mineral reserves of 0.6-million ounces (14.8-million tonnes at 1.23 g/t). Total measured mineral resources comprise 1.9-million ounces (31.7-million tonnes at 1.86 g/t) with indicated mineral resources of 1.19-million ounces (23.2-million tonnes at 1.60 g/t).