Canada-based Jaguar Mining has agreed to acquire the Pitangui Project and the remaining stake in the Acurui Project in Brazil from Iamgold subsidiary AGEM via a share purchase agreement.
Under the agreement, Jaguar will acquire the assets by issuing 6,331,713 common shares to AGEM. The shares have an aggregate value of $9m (C$12.04m).
Jaguar will also grant a net smelter returns royalty on the projects to AGEM.
Subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the TSX, the transaction is due to be closed later this month.
Located 110km north-west of Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, Brazil, the Pitangui Project comprises mineral exploration licences.
It also includes licence applications covering the Archean-aged Pitangui greenstone belt, located near the Jaguar Mining Iron Quadrangle area, which comprises “world-class multimillion-ounce gold deposits”, including Cuiabá, Morro Velho and São Bento.
Currently an exploration joint venture between Jaguar and IAMGOLD, the Acurui Project comprises exploration tenements near Jaguar’s Paciência plant in the Iron Quadrangle.
Jaguar Mining president and CEO Vern Baker said: “We are very pleased to announce that we have reached this agreement to purchase IAMGOLD’s Brazilian Assets, which includes the Pitangui Project, which is close to our Turmalina Complex (MTL); and the Acurui Tenements Package contiguous with our Paciencia Complex.
“This transaction furthers our corporate strategy to leverage our extensive existing infrastructure to drive production growth via increased plant throughput. The incorporation of the Pitangui mineral property adds approximately 9,000 kilohectares of prospective mining and exploration tenements to our Iron Quadrangle portfolio.”
