On October 8, 2020, Maple Gold Mines Ltd. and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited announced concurrent transactions consisting of the following:
- an agreement in respect of a strategic investment of Agnico into Maple Gold by way of private placement of 25,838,821 Maple Gold units at a price of $0.239 per unit for gross proceeds of approximately $6.2 million, with each unit comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant of Maple Gold; and
- a binding term sheet for a 50-50 joint venture between Maple Gold and Agnico, which will combine Maple Gold’s Douay Project and Agnico’s Joutel Project into a consolidated joint property package. The binding term sheet provides, among other things, that (i) Agnico will fund $18 million in exploration expenses over a four-year period; (ii) Agnico and Maple Gold will jointly fund an additional $500,000 in exploration of VMS targets on the western portion of the Douay Project; and (iii) Agnico and Maple Gold will each be granted a 2% NSR on the property that they contribute to the joint venture, each with aggregate buyback provisions of US$40 million.
On October 13, 2020, the parties completed the strategic investment. Meanwhile, the joint venture transaction is subject to a 3 month period by which the parties have agreed to use good faith efforts to settle joint venture documents and due diligence.
Cassels acted for Maple Gold with a deal team that included David Redford and Samantha Prest (Securities and Mining).