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Mariana Enters Agreement to Acquire 100% of Aegean Metals Group with Highly Prospective Gold-Copper-Silver Projects in Turkey and Chile
Mariana Resources Ltd, the AIM listed exploration and development company with projects in Peru, Argentina and Chile, announces that it has entered into a binding letter agreement with Aegean Metals Group Inc. (TSX.V:AGN) (FRA:A91), a Canadian listed exploration company focused in Turkey and Chile, to acquire all of the issued shares of Aegean in exchange for ordinary shares in the Company. Aegean is an exploration company focussed on the discovery of gold and copper deposits in Turkey and Chile. The transaction will be carried out by way of Canadian plan of arrangement.
On completion of the Arrangement , Mariana will add four highly prospective gold-copper-silver projects in Turkey and Chile to its existing South American portfolio.
Overview:
– Agreement entered into to acquire 100% of the outstanding Aegean shares in exchange for 1.902 Mariana shares for every one Aegean share.
– All outstanding Aegean options and warrants will be adjusted and exchanged in accordance with the same exchange ratio.
– Upon completion of the Arrangement , Mariana will acquire four highly prospective gold-copper-silver projects
– Two advanced gold-copper exploration projects, Ergama and Hot Maden, located in the Tethyan Porphyry-Epithermal Belt of Turkey. Ergama and Hot Maden are currently optioned out to strong funding JV partners Teck Resources Ltd and Turkish group Lidya Madencilik, respectively.
Two 100% owned exploration properties in northern Chile’s Region III, Doña Inés and Exploradora East. Doña Ines is located within an underexplored epithermal gold-silver belt that extends north from the Maricunga Gold Belt to the Peruvian border, where Gold Fields Limited has recently announced the discovery of the 3Moz Salares Norte gold-silver deposit. Exploradora East is a porphyry copper target that lies within one of Chile’s most productive porphyry copper belts that includes CODELCO’s nearby El Salvador mining operations.
Mariana believes there is a compelling rationale for combining the two companies on the basis of Aegean’s current market valuation, the high prospectivity of its Turkish assets, Ergama and Hot Maden (both being explored and funded by quality JV partners) and the Chilean portfolio of projects and opportunities complimenting Mariana’s own project pipeline in Peru, Chile, and Argentina
– Mariana has a proven track record of advancing exploration assets in highly prospective terrains, and the proposed merger will strengthen Mariana’s position in some of the most prospective epithermal gold terrains globally being Turkey, Argentina (Santa Cruz) and Chile
– The offer values the Aegean shares at Canadian $0.0625 per share and a Mariana share price of 1.80 UK pence per share based on a 20 day VWAP up to Friday 12 September 2014.
– On the effective date of the Arrangement , Dr Eric Roth, President and CEO of Aegean, will become Chief Operating Officer of Mariana and an Executive Director of Mariana.
Chief Executive Officer, Glen Parsons today commented “Adding Aegean’s four gold-copper-silver projects in Chile and Turkey will further bolster our existing South American portfolio and expose Mariana shareholders to fully funded advanced exploration in the Tethyan Porphyry-Epithermal Belt of Turkey (Fig 1). This being another transformational move for Mariana. Our strategy is to advance exploration assets in underexplored highly prospective target areas and this merger will now position Mariana in some of the most prospective epithermal gold terrain. Following our recent US$6 million funding option with Bergen we are well funded to advance exploration on these new projects.
“In addition, the merger with Aegean will increase our global shareholder base and bring a number of new key shareholders to Mariana including a Chilean-based Junior Investment Fund, major diversified resources company Teck Resources Ltd (TSX. TCK), and Vancouver-based David Elliott (Haywood Securities). We believe our existing and new shareholder base will obtain exposure to greater focussed discovery and development potential and further opportunities for portfolio expansion. I look forward to providing updates on the Arrangement in due course as we work towards building Mariana’s portfolio with strengthened exploration assets in some of the world’s most highly prospective terrains.”
