Darien Announces Option to Purchase Cristal Copper Project IN Chile Plans NAME Change to New Energy Metals Corp. NR18-05
DARIEN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT CORP.
#2300 – 1177 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6E 2K3
Phone: 604-484-1232 / Fax: 604-408-7499 / Website: www.dariencorp.com
DARIEN ANNOUNCES OPTION TO PURCHASE
CRISTAL COPPER PROJECT IN CHILE
PLANS NAME CHANGE TO NEW ENERGY METALS CORP.
NR18-05
Vancouver, B.C., March 1, 2018 – Darien Resource Development Corp. (TSX.V: DRR)
(“Darien” or the “Company”) announces that it has entered into an agreement (the “Agreement”)
to acquire a 100% interest in the Cristal project (the “ Project”) located in northern Chile. The
Project, situated in a region with excellent access and infrastructure, and in a geologic setting that
is noted for the occurrence of world class copper deposits, is considered prospective for the
potential discovery of a buried porphyry copper deposit.
Darien’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Grant Ewing, sa id “The Cristal project is highly
prospective for the discovery of a buried porphyry copper deposit in a region and geologic setting
well known for hosting some of the world’s most prolific copper mines. The Company is now well
capitalized to initiate explorati on of the Cristal project, and continue to pursue other attractive
opportunities in strategic commodities. Darien intends to further focus on opportunities in Chile.”
The Company is also pleased to announce that it plans to change its name to “New Energy Metals
Corp.”. The Company has reserved the new name with the British Col umbia corporate registry
and anticipates completing the name change prior to the end of March 2018.
Cristal Project Highlights
The West Fissure and related structures that host many signific ant porphyry copper deposits in
Chile trend trough the Project area, and northwest of the Project area, the Incapuquio fault system
in Peru hosts additional signifi cant porphyry copper deposits s imilar to those of northern Chile.
These two important fault system s are projected to intersect ne ar the Project area and provide a
geologic environment favorable for the occurrence of buried porphyry deposits.
Early exploration work in the Project area was conducted by various exploration companies in the
1990’s, with the first significant work on the Project conducte d by BHP Billiton (“ BHP”) under
an option agreement in 2012. BHP conducted airborne magnetics, gravity, and EM studies, and
limited drilling, and terminated the option in 2014. In the BHP summary report, it was stated that
an enhancement of the magnetics data had identified a 2-3km dia meter circular doughnut feature
with a weak magnetic high core surrounded by a magnetic low, ac cepted by geologists and
geophysicists as typical of burie d porphyry copper deposits. T his significant anomaly was not
tested and occurs near where the West Fissure undergoes an abru pt change in direction from N-S
to N45W at the intersection with the NE-SW regional structure. No exploration work has been
conducted on the property since, however, the Project area is n ow surrounded by large land
positions held by several senior copper producers.
The Project comprises 9 square kilometers of concessions on Chi lean public land held by the
ultimate vendor near Arica, Chile.
Next Steps
The Company’s initial exploration focus will be on the area where the large geophysical anomaly
(aeromagnetic low and gravity high) was identified by the previ ous exploration activities. The
anomaly, which measures several kilometers across, shows a weak magnetic high surrounded by
a magnetic low, and could potentially represent a buried porphy ry copper deposit. A coincident
northwest trending gravity high could represent a topographic h igh within a potential porphyry
copper system.
The Company’s proposed exploration program for the Project will involve a drill program of 4-6
holes to test the principal target, for a total budget of US$1,000,000 - $1,500,000. The all-in cost
of approximately US$250 per meter is anticipated to cover permi tting and all ancillary costs for
the program.
Summary of Agreement
The Company entered into the Agreement with Artemis Mining SpA (“Artemis”), a private
Chilean company that had previously entered into an option agreement (the “Underlying Option
Agreement”) with the current owner of the Project, Patrick Burns. Pursu ant to the terms of the
Agreement, the Company agreed to assume the Underlying Option A greement and to reimburse
Artemis for expenses and property payments previously incurred totaling US$150,000. The
Company is in the process of establishing a Chilean subsidiary which would enter into an
agreement to formally assume the Underlying Option Agreement in accordance with Chilean law.
To earn a 100% interest in the Project pursuant to the terms of the Underlying Option Agreement,
the Company will be required to make the following payments:
Date Amount
August 4, 2018 US$70,000
August 4, 2019 US$200,000
August 4, 2020 US$500,000
August 4, 2021 US$700,000
August 4, 2022 US$3,000,000
The vendor under the Underlying Option Agreement retains a 3% N SR royalty, of which two-
thirds can be bought back (leaving a 1% NSR royalty) by paying US$2,000,000 for each
percentage point of the NSR royalty bought back.
The Agreement is subject to the a pproval of the TSX Venture Exc hange. Given the size of the
drill program the Company plans to initiate at the Project, the Company anticipates that the
transactions contemplated by the Agreement will constitute a “F undamental Acquisition” for
purposes of the TSXV’s listing rules.
Qualified Person
Dr. Thomas A. Henricksen, an independent consultant geologist, is a qualified person as defined
by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Henricksen and has reviewed the scientific and technical
information that forms the basis of this news release and has a pproved the disclosure
herein. Mr. Henricksen is independent of the Company.
On behalf of Darien Resource Development Corp.
Grant Ewing, President & CEO
T: 604.484.1232
www.dariencorp.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Pr ovider (as that term is defined
in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy
of this release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information
contained herein. This News Release includes certain “forward- looking statements”. Other than statements of
historical fact, all statements included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding future plans
and objectives of Darien Resource Development Corp., are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and
uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such s tatements. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from Darien’s expectations are the risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings
made by Darien Resource Development Corp. with securities regul ators. Those filings can be found on the Internet
at http://www.sedar.com.