Altair Resources Announces Decision to Spin-Off of Rights to Acquire TWO GOLD Producing Properties IN Kazakhstan with 2.46 Million Ozs. of GOLD
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#1305 – 1090 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 3V7 Canada
ALTAIR RESOURCES ANNOUNCES DECISION TO SPIN-OFF OF RIGHTS TO
ACQUIRE TWO GOLD PRODUCING PROPERTIES IN KAZAKHSTAN
WITH 2.46 MILLION OZS. OF GOLD
Vancouver, British Columbia – December 20th 2021: ALTAIR RESOURCES INC.
(“ALTAIR” or the Company”) (TSX-V: AVX; Germany FRA: 90A; ISIN: CA02137W2004;
WKN: WKN A2ALMP)
Mr. George S. Young, Chairman & CEO is pleased to announce the approval by the Board of
Directors of Altair of the spin-off of its rights to acquire the two producing gold assets in
Kazakhstan which were the subject of its press releases dated July 12, August 4, and August 26,
2021. The spin-off is expected to take the form of a “vend-in” of those rights into a Canadian
publicly-listed corporation (the “new entity”), in exchange for stock of the new entity. Shares of
the new entity received in the vend -in would be allocated in accordance with certain transaction
costs, with the bulk of the shares being distributed on a pro rata basis to shareholders of Altair of
record as of a date to be announced in the near future.
The transaction will leave in Altair its project rights in the Simon property in Nevada and its rights
to acquire the Marbera project in Burkina Faso. Altair’s shareho lders would, as a result, continue
to have shares reflecting ownership of the rights in Nevada and Burkina Faso in addition to shares
of the new entity, representing ownership interests in the rights in Kazakhstan. Altair also expects
that the Altair shareholders’ aggregate share position in the new entity would cons titute a
controlling interest and the vast majority of the shares of the new entity.
Altair is now in the process of identifying the most effective manner to accomplish the spin off and
determine a suitable entity as a counter party. While no assurance can be given as to the success
of Altair’s plans to complete the vend -in, Altair is confident that a beneficial arrangement for its
shareholders can be structured effectively with a suitable entity and closed in the near future.
The two producing gold pr operties in Eastern and Central Kazakhstan contain a total historic
resource of 2,463,700 ozs. of gold , of which 1,923,900 ozs. is JORC -compliant. Current
aggregate gold production at the two properties is approximately 21,000 ounces of gold per
year.
Highlights of the Kazakhstan properties and a summary of the transaction details for the ir
acquisition are included in the Appendix to this press release.
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Mr. George S. Young, Chairman & CEO stated, “We are extremely pleased t hat our Board of
Directors has determined to provide a way for our shareholders to continue to have a commanding
stake in the value being created in Kazakhstan while we focus on developing the Marbera asset in
Burkina Faso and explore the Simon property. A new entity with an exp anded management team
focusing solely on Kazakhstan will have increased opportunities for success. At the same time, our
Altair team along the staffing we are planning to add will allow Altair to focus on the advancement
of Marbera and Simon and look for opportunities to increase our holdings in those areas. We have
advanced in our discussions with providers of strategic acquisition capital and potential partners
for the acquisition and the further development of the resources in all of the properties . Our plan
continues to be the implementation of an aggressive acquisition and development strategy to
transform Altair from a junior exploration company to a mid -tier mining company as rapidly as
possible. We plan to have our shareholders benefit from the value creation we achieve within Altair
as well as within any company to which we may spin off assets from time to time.”
Information of a technical and scientific nature that forms the basis of the disclosure in this press
release has been prepared and approved by D orian L. (Dusty) Nicol , a Qualified Person, under
National Instrument 43-101, and Vice President, Exploration of Altair Resources Inc.
About Altair Resources Inc.
Altair Resources’ (TSX.V: AVX) primary focus is developing the Wadaradoo gold deposit,
Burkina Faso’s newest gold mine development opportunity. Wadaradoo has a historical resource
of 1.388 million ounces of gold at a grade of 0.95 g/t (0.5 gram cut off). An updated 43-101
compliant resource estimate is to be completed in early 2022 and a PEA and Feasability study will
commence immediately after.
Burkina Faso is 2nd in gold production in West Africa with four major mining companies
operating successfully and 15 gold mines that have reached production. In addition, Altair
shareholders own an option to acquire two producing gold mines in Kazakhstan.
For further information:
George S. Young
Chairman, CEO, Altair Resources Inc.
+1 (806) 886- 3317 [email protected],
www.altairresources.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the Company. By their
nature, forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from the results suggested by the forward -looking statements. In addition, the
forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to inherent
risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove
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to be accurate, that the management’s assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may
differ materially from such forward -looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place
undue reliance on the forward-looking statements.
Generally forward -looking statements can be identified by t he use of terminology such as
“anticipate”, “will”, “expect”, “may”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “plan”,
“potential” and similar expressions. Forward -looking statements contained in this press release
may include, but are not limited to, t he completion of the private placement and the Company
receiving regulatory approval to the partial revocation order. These forward-looking statements are
based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect including, but not limited to,
the Company receiving regulatory approval to the private placement and the partial revocation
order application.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or the
dates specifically referenced in this press release, where applicable. Except as required by law, the
Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward -looking
statements that are contained or incorporated in this press release. All forward -looking statements
contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
APPENDIX
The Eastern Kazakhstan property comprises three projects. The following is a summary of the
JORC-compliant historical resource estimate for each:
The international consulting firm SRK has completed a JORC -compliant Mineral Resource
Estimate (MRE) for the deposits of the V-B district, summarized below (SRK 2020 and SRK 2021).
The Vasilyevskoe Mineral Resource Statement as of 31 August 2020 is presented below. The open
pit resources are stated at a cut -off grade (COG) of 0.25 g/t Au, while the underground resources
are stated at a COG of 0 g/t Au within optimized stopes. The optimized stopes incorporate a
minimum mining width of 1 m and cut-off grade of 0.53 g/t Au.
• Open Pit:
o Indicated: 14.2 Mt at an average grade of 1.60 g/t Au for 732 koz of contained gold
o Inferred: 8 Mt at an average grade of 1 g/t Au for 260 koz of contained gold
• Underground:
o Indicated: 0.9 Mt an average grade of 0.92 g/t Au for 27 koz of contained gold
o Inferred: 13.5 Mt at an average grade of 1.26 g/t Au for 547 koz of contained gold
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The Boke Mineral Resource Statement as of 31st December 2020 is presented below. The open pit
Resource is reported at a COG of 0.25 g/t Au.
• Indicated: 1,664 Kt at an average grade of 1.00 g/t Au for 53.3 koz of contained gold
• Inferred: 545 Kt at an average grade of 0.72 g/t Au for 12.6 koz of contained gold
The Tokum Mineral Resource Statement (“MRS”) as of 31December 2020 is presented below.
The open pit Mineral Resource is reported at a cut -off grade (“COG”) of 0.25 g/t Au, while the
underground Mineral Resource is reported within optimized stopes (exceeding 0.59g/t over at least
1m width).
• Open pit:
o Indicated: 3,507kt at an average grade of 1.53 g/t Au for 5.4t (173koz) of contained
gold
o Inferred: 63kt at an average grade of 1.21 g/t Au for 0.1t (2 koz) of contained gold
• Underground:
o Indicated: 642kt an average grade of 1.48g/t Au for 1.0t (31koz) of contained gold
o Inferred: 1,838kt at an average grade of 1.45g/t Au for 2.7t (86koz) of contained
gold
Current oxide mining is being carried out on the Vasilyevskoe deposit to 40m, which is being
processed using conventional heap leach technology.
Current annual production is 12,000 oz Au, which may be increased to 30,000 oz Au pa with mining
of additional oxide deposits in the “A” license.
Exploration potential in all three projects is very high, with potential for adding of additional ounces
at both target areas in strong alteration zones along major controlling structures previously
delineated and ready to be soil sampled and drilled.
Highlights at the Central Kazakhstan property (the “Z” gold property, also known as the “ Z”
deposit), include the following:
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• The “Z” deposit has a historic (GKZ) resource of 539,800 ounces of gold at a grade of 1.08
g/t Au @ 0.3g/t COG.
• “Z” is an operating oxide heap leach Au mine, producing 9,000 oz Au pa.
• The mineralization being processed at “Z” includes significant free gold with excellent
metallurgical properties, currently yielding 70% Au recovery in current test operations in
the oxide zone using a gravity circuit, in addition to the heap leach processing
• Exploration potential at “ Z” is believed to be excellent, as the existing initial test mining
operations may only be a small part of a much larger porphyry stockwork system, w ith Au
& Cu geochemical anomalies defined in 2020, east of both existing open cut pits covering
areas of 1000m x 800m each, ready to be drill tested to increase the oxide Au resource.
• A large target exists for a 3D IP survey to locate a possible deeper C u-Au porphyry
stockwork mineralization at depth, for a potential future open cut sulphide operation.
QA/QC work is incomplete for the sulphide zone at “C” and therefore additional drilling must be
completed to get to a NI 43 -101 compliant resource in th at zone. However, significant
metallurgical testing completed on the sulphide ore suggests to Altair that there is a clear path to
production.
Both the Eastern and Central Kazakhstan properties are currently recovering gold using heap leach
technology, with gravity recovery also occurring on the Central property. The acquisition includes
the infrastructure and capital facilities of the two gold operations that are both currently delivering
gold Doré bars from their respective oxide zones through heap leaching, gravity concentration, and
further processing.
All gold is sold at the LBMA spot price to Samyruk Kazyna, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of
Kazakhstan. Altair’s assessment, through its technical consultant, Core Mining Group Ltd, is that
these projects have the potential to generate robust cash flows with additional equipment upgrades
and Western know-how.
Under the terms of the Agreement, the total consideration consists of:
• USD 75 million on the execution of the proposed transaction, at which time 70% of the
ownership shares shall be transferred to Altair Resources Inc.
• USD 15.5 million one year from the execution of the proposed transaction, at which time a
further 15% of the ownership shares shall be transferred to Altair Resources Inc.
• USD 15.5 million two years from the execution of the proposed transaction, at which time
the remaining ownership shares shall be transferred to Altair Resources Inc.
The in-situ acquisition cost of this gold producing asset is $37 per ounce.
Altair Resources Inc. is in negotiations with a London Private Equity firm for debt financing.
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Altair has identified a legal team in Kazakhstan for the legal due diligence, and a long with its
technical and financial teams, a full due diligence investigation will commence immediately.