Argentum Completes Acquisition of Norsemont II Securing the Cochavara Silver-Lead-Zinc Project in Northern Peru
Argentum Completes Acquisition of Norsemont II Securing the
Cochavara Silver-Lead-Zinc Project in Northern Peru
January 16, 2020 - Toronto, Canada - Argentum Silver Corp. (TSX.V: ASL) (“Argentum” or the
“Company”) is pleased to announce that on January 15, 2020, the Company closed the acquisition of
all of the issued and outstanding shares of Norsemont II Resources Corp. (“Norsemont”), a private
British Columbia company , by way of a three- cornered amalgamation under the Business
Corporations Act (British Columbia) pursuant to which 1208350 B.C. LTD., a wholly -owned
subsidiary of Argentum, has amalgamated with Norsemont (the “Amalgamation”).
Under the terms of the Amalgamation, shareholders of Norsemont received 0.165343 common shares
in the capital of Argentum (each, an “Argentum Share”) for every common share held of Norsemont.
As a result of the Amalgamation, Argentum issued 2,777,778 Argentum Shares . In addition, holders
of convertible securities of Norsemont receive d 400,000 common share purchase warrants of
Argentum (each, an “Argentum Warrant”), each Argentum W arrant entitling the holder thereof to
acquire one additional Argentum Share at an exercise price of $0.25 on or before the date that is three
years following the closing of the Amalgamation.
Norsemont owns a 100% interest in the Cochavara Silver -Lead-Zinc Project (the “Cochavara
Project”) in Northern Peru. The Cochavara Project consists of six concessions totalling 3,479 hectares
located in the Department of La Libertad in Northern Peru, approximately 70 kilometres east of the
city of Trujillo. The historic al Quiruvilca silver/lead/zinc mine (“ Quiruvilca”) is located 3.5
kilometres northeast o f the northern boundary of the Cochavara Project area. Quiruvilca is a large
polymetallic vein deposit with over 130 different mineralized structures . Both Cochavara and
Quiruvilca are located within the Mid -Miocene Calipuy volcanic complex that hosts sev eral world-
class precious metal deposits such as Newmont's Yanacocha and Barrick's Pierina gold mines, which
are located approximately 120 kilometres north and 180 km southeast of Cochavara, respectively.
Mineralization hosted at Quiruvilca, Yanacocha and Pierina is not necessarily reflective of the
mineralization that may be hosted on the Cochavara silver-lead-zinc project.
According to Bartos (1984), mineralization at Quiruvilca is controlled by a series of east -northeast-
striking polymetallic (silver/lead/zinc) vein swarms, which have extensive lateral and vertical
continuity with abundant splits and pinch- and-swell structures. The mineralization at Cochavara is
similarly contro lled and occurs along strike of the Quiruvilca vein swarms. Production from the
Quiruvilca mine was first recorded in 1789 and has been mined on an industrial scale since 1924. More
recently, Pan American Silver acquired the Quiruvilca mine in 1995 and sol d the mine to a private
company in 2012. Cochavara currently has a valid exploitation permit to extract mineral s for
processing at third-party plants. During 2018, Cochavara underground development provided access
to the main mineralized vein structure. Th e development adit was used to drift along the mineralized
structure, to provide mineralized material for processing, and to provide access for future underground
drilling.
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Property Highlights
Several mineralized structures have been identified on the Cochavara P roperty, with t he main
mineralized structure occurring over an estimated strike length of 1,500 metres . The main zone
(Margarita Mine) has recently (2013, 2015, and 2018) been explored by various companies including
Norsemont, by drifting and cross -cutting on three separate mine levels: Margarita Workings (Level
3605), Old Drift (Level 3641), and Level 3663, all accessed by hillside adits. Mostly chip samples
taken from mineralized veins ranging in widths from 0.1 to 1.0 metres, returned the following range
of values: 6.1 g/t to 1,172 g/t Ag, 0.19% -24.88% Pb, and 0.31% -26.81% Zn. Details of the various
exploration and sampling programs are provided in the Cochavara technical report.
The Cochavara Property has not been drill-tested.
NI 43-101 Technical Report
In connection with the completion of the Amalgamation , Argentum has filed on SEDAR and on the
Company’s website (www.argentumsilvercorp.com), a technical report prepared in accordance with
NI 43-101 disclosure standards entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Cochavara Ag- Pb-Zn
Project, Districts of Julcan, Calamarca and Quiruvilca, Provinces of Julcan and Santiago de
Chuco, Department of La Libertad, Peru” prepared by James A. McCrea, P.Geo. The report provides
a comprehensive review of the exploration activities on the property and provides recommendations
for future work.
Proposed Exploration
Argentum’s initial exploration and work programs are currently being planned for the Cochavara
Project with a budget of $US 300,000 and will consist of two contemporaneous phases.
Phase I - $US 90,000
− Detailed structural mapping and sampling to identify additional vein structures on the property.
− Geophysics: drone magnetometer survey with LiDAR to identify intrusive/geologic contacts
and possible vein targets and Alpha Induced P olarization survey to identify possible
polymetallic vein targets.
Phase II - $US 210,000
− 225 metres of underground exploration/development on known structures to search for and
delineate high-grade mineralization.
Multilateral Instrument 61-101
The completion of the Amalgamation constituted a related party transaction within the meaning of
Multilateral Instrument 61 -101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders (“ MI 61-101”), which is
incorporated by reference into the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange under Policy 5.9, as Sprott
Mining Inc., a company controlled by Eric Sprott, is a control person (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Ex change) of both Argentum and Norsemont. Pursuant to the
Amalgamation, Sprott Mining Inc. acquired 2,083,336 Argentum Shares, representing approximately
4.32% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of Argentum. Argentum is relying upon the
exemptions from the valuations and minority approval requirements of MI 61- 101 contained in
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sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(a) as neither the fair market value of the subject matter, nor the fair market
value consideration for the transaction, it so far as it involves the related part y, exceeds 25% of
Argentum’s capitalization. The Company did not file a material change report in respect of the related
party transaction at least 21 days before the closing of the Amalgamation, which the Company deems
reasonable in the circumstances in order to complete the Amalgamation in an expeditious manner.
Sprott Mining Inc. now beneficially owns and controls 32,083,336 Argentum Shares, representing
approximately 66.5% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of Argentum on an undiluted
basis. Sprott Mining Inc. does not own any convertible securities of Argentum. Sprott Mining Inc. has
a long-term view of the investment and may acquire additional Common Shares either on the open
market or through private acquisitions or sell the Common Shares on the open market or through
private dispositions in the future depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other
relevant factors. A copy of Sprott Mining Inc. ’s early warning report will appear on the Company’s
profile on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval at www.sedar.com.
About Argentum Silver Corp.
Argentum Silver is a junior mineral exploration company listed on the TSXV under the stock symbol
ASL. Argentum hold 80% interest in the Vanadium Ridge Property located at the southern end of the
Quesnel Trough 50 km north of Kamloops, British Columbia. The property consists of 20 mining
claims covering 2,151 hectares near the town of Barriere. The project hosts vanadium -rich magnetite
mineralization in seams and pods in altered ultramafic to intermediate intrusive rocks which form a
portion of a large Late Triassic Poison Creek diorite intrusion complex. The near-surface exposure of
vanadiferous magnetite is an attractive exploration target that may not require chemical processing for
the liberation of a magnetite concentrate.
The technical aspects of this press release have been reviewed and approved by Gary Nassif, M.Sc.,
P.Geo., President and CEO of Argentum.
For more information contact:
Gary Nassif, President & CEO
416-855-9304
* Bartos, P.J (1984) Mineralization, Alteration and Zoning of the Cu-Pb -Zn-Ag Lodes at Quiruvilca Peru, Master Thesis Stanford
University.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchang e nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
This news release includes forward -looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than
statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. 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 forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in forward -looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continu ed
availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that s uch
statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not
assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by applicable laws.