VANCOUVER, July 19,
2016 /CNW/ - Amarc Resources Ltd. ("Amarc" or the
"Company") (TSX-V: AHR; OTCBB:AXREF) announces that new option
agreements have been negotiated with respect to the Galore Property
with Galore Resources Inc. ("Galore") and Underlying Owners.
Under the new agreements Amarc can acquire a 100% interest in
the Galore Property, clear of any royalties, by completing staged
cash payments of $550,000 to Galore
and $100,000 to the Underlying Owners
by January 2018. The Galore Property consists of extensive
mineral claims surrounding the new IKE porphyry
copper-molybdenum-silver discovery, which host additional
important-scale copper-gold and copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit
targets.
Original Galore Property Agreements
In July 2014, Amarc
entered into an option and joint venture agreement (the "Galore
Option Agreement") with Galore whereby the Company acquired the
right to earn an initial 51% ownership interest in the Galore
Property by incurring $3 million in
exploration expenditures within five years and making staged cash
payments of $450,000. Further
Amarc may acquire an additional 19% ownership interest (for a total
70% ownership interest) by incurring another $2 million in exploration expenditures.
Upon full exercise of the option, Amarc and Galore agreed to form a
70/30 joint venture of the Galore Property.
The extensive mineral tenures that comprise the
Galore Property are divided into five claim groups which are
subject to five underlying option agreements with the Underlying
Owners. Each of these agreements provide for a 1.5% Net
Smelter Returns ("NSR") Royalty which may be purchased for
$250,000 and a 10% Net Profits
Interest ("NPI") Royalty which may be purchased for $400,000.
New Galore Property Agreements
On July 4, 2016,
Amarc entered into a new option agreement with Galore whereby the
Company acquired the right to purchase 100% of Galore's rights in
the Galore Property by paying $550,000 to Galore on a staged basis by
January 16, 2018. Upon exercise
of the new option the original Galore Option Agreement will
terminate.
In addition, on July 4,
2016 Amarc also reached agreements with the Underlying
Owners of the Galore Property whereby the Company obtained the
right to acquire all of the Underlying Owners' residual interest in
and to the Galore Property, including the five NSR Royalties and
the five NPI Royalties, by paying a total consideration of
$100,000 on a staged basis before
January 16, 2018.
During the new option exercise period, all cash
payment and exploration expenditure requirements set out in the
Galore Option Agreement shall cease to apply, including all cash
payments payable to the Underlying Owners.
The Galore Property forms a significant and
important part of the district immediately surrounding the IKE
copper-molybdenum-silver porphyry discovery and hosts a number of
compelling porphyry copper (± molybdenum ± silver ± gold) deposit
targets. Collectively, Amarc's extensive mineral claim
holdings have the potential to possess the grades and resources
necessary to support an important mining camp. In order to
efficiently advance the IKE porphyry copper discovery and
surrounding district, Amarc has partnered with Thompson Creek
Metals Company Inc. ("Thompson Creek") (see release dated
February 29, 2016). Under that
Agreement, Thompson Creek has the option to acquire up to a 50%
interest in IKE and the entire district through a staged investment
process that includes the option to acquire an initial 30% interest
through investments totaling $15
million on or before December 31,
2019 and the option to acquire an additional 20% interest
subject to certain conditions, including the completion of a
Feasibility Study within a certain time period.
Amarc Appoints CFO
In other corporate news, Amarc is pleased to
announce that Mr. Luqman Khan has
been appointed Chief Financial Officer of the Company. A
Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA CGA), Mr. Khan has more than
20 years of professional experience in accountancy and business
management. For the past decade, he has served in various
controllership positions with publicly traded companies associated
with Hunter Dickinson Inc. ("HDI"), including Amarc.
About the IKE Project
The new IKE discovery is located 45 kilometres
northwest of the historical mining communities of Gold Bridge and Bralorne, BC, in south-central
British Columbia ("BC") near the
heartland of the provinces producing porphyry copper mines.
Assay results from all 18 holes (10,437 metres)
drilled by Amarc at IKE since 2014, combined with results from
geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys completed outwards
from the area drilled, indicate the presence of an important
porphyry-style copper-molybdenum-silver deposit (see Amarc news
release December 9, 2015). All
drill holes have intersected varying amounts of chalcopyrite and
molybdenite mineralization over a broad area measuring 1,200 metres
east-west by 1,000 metres north-south and extending to depths of
over 500 metres. Grades returned over long continuous drill
intercepts compare favourably to the range of copper equivalent
grades at operating BC porphyry copper (± molybdenum ± gold ±
silver) mines. The IKE deposit remains open to expansion in
all lateral directions and to depth.
The district surrounding the IKE discovery has
long been explored for its numerous showings of copper, molybdenum,
gold and silver mineralization. Exploration results from
Amarc's surveys and historical programs by previous operators
throughout the district, combined with the common tendency of
porphyry deposits to cluster, led the Company to believe a number
of targets identified proximal to IKE have potential to host
additional bulk-tonnage porphyry copper mineralization.
Amarc is fully committed to working
constructively with governments and stakeholders towards the
responsible development of the IKE project, while contributing to
the sustainable development of local communities. All work
programs are planned to achieve high levels of environmental
performance and local benefit, including providing opportunities
for employment, contracting and training for local people.
Amarc is committed to meaningful and constructive engagement with
First Nations communities and has offered and remains open to
establishing comprehensive and progressive agreements at IKE.
The Company also works proactively to support government's
consultation duties to assist with timely and fair decision
making.
About Amarc Resources Ltd.
Amarc is a British
Columbia-based mineral exploration and development company
with an experienced and successful management team that is focused
on advancing the IKE Project, a major new porphyry
copper-molybdenum discovery near the heartland of BC's copper
mining industry with proximity to mining infrastructure, power,
rail and highways.
Amarc is associated with HDI a diversified,
global mining company with a 25 year history of porphyry discovery
and development success. Previous and current HDI porphyry projects
include some of BC's and the world's most important mineral
resources, such as Pebble, Mount Milligan, Kemess South, Kemess
North, Gibraltar, Prosperity,
Xietongmen, Newtongmen, Florence, Sisson, and Maggie. From
its head office in Vancouver,
Canada, HDI applies its unique strengths and capabilities to
acquire, develop, operate and monetize mineral projects to provide
superior returns to shareholders.
Qualified Person as Defined Under National
Instrument 43-101
Mark
Rebagliati, P. Eng., a Qualified Person as defined under
National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical
content of this release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Ronald W. Thiessen
Chief Executive Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor any other
regulatory authority accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
Forward Looking and other Cautionary
Information
This news release includes certain statements
that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All such
statements, other than statements of historical facts that address
exploration drilling, exploitation activities and other related
events or developments are forward-looking statements. Although the
Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements. Assumptions used by the Company to
develop forward-looking statements include the following: Amarc's
projects will obtain all required environmental and other permits
and all land use and other licenses, studies and exploration of
Amarc's projects will continue to be positive, and no geological or
technical problems will occur. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those in forward-looking
statements include market prices, potential environmental issues or
liabilities associated with exploration, development and mining
activities, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of
mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain
necessary permits, licenses and tenure and delays due to third
party opposition, changes in and the effect of government policies
regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation,
exploration and development of properties located within Aboriginal
groups asserted territories may affect or be perceived to affect
asserted aboriginal rights and title, which may cause permitting
delays or opposition by Aboriginal groups, continued availability
of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business
conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. For more information on Amarc Resources
Ltd., investors should review the Company's annual Form 20-F filing
with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at
www.sec.gov and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at
www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Amarc Resources Ltd.
