Goldplay Signs LOI to Acquire the Plomosas Silver Project from First Majestic Silver Corp.
Goldplay Signs LOI to Acquire the Plomosas
Silver Project from First Majestic Silver Corp.
VANCOUVER
,
Jan. 7, 2020
/CNW/ -
Goldplay Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: GPLY,
FRANKFURT
:
GPE, OTCQB: GLYXF) ("Goldplay" or the "Company")
, is pleased to announce that it has
entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") with First Majestic Silver Corp. (NYSE: AG, TSX:
FR, FRANKFURT: FMV) ("
First Majestic
"), pursuant to which it proposes, through a wholly owned
Mexican subsidiary, to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of First Majestic's wholly
owned Mexican subsidiary, Minera La Rastra S.A. de C.V. ("
Minera La Rastra
"). Minera La Rastra
owns the past producing Plomosas Silver Project, including 8,514 ha of concessions with significant
exploration potential in
Sinaloa, Mexico
("
Plomosas Project
"), (Figure 1).
Figure 1 – Location Map Plomosas Silver Project – Rosario Mining District (CNW Group/Goldplay
Exploration Ltd)
The definitive terms of the transaction are subject to negotiation and are expected to include: (i) a
$100,000
cash payment to First Majestic; (ii) the grant of a 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty to
First Majestic on the Plomosas Project with half of the NSR (i.e., 1% NSR) being subject to a buy-
back option for
US$1,000,000
; and (iii) the issuance to First Majestic of that number of common
shares of Goldplay as is equal to 19.9% of the total issued common shares of Goldplay (calculated
after giving effect to the issuance of such shares)(the
"Purchase Shares"
). It is anticipated that the
Purchase Shares will be subject to a voluntary hold period such that 1/8th of the total number of
Purchase Shares will be released from such voluntary hold period every 3 months after the date of
closing. It is also expected that First Majestic will enter into a voting trust agreement with Goldplay
pursuant to which it will agree to vote the Purchase Shares in favour of management's
recommendations on routine matters at any annual general or special meeting of shareholders for a
period of two years after the closing. It is also a binding term of the LOI that, for a period of two
years from the date of signing of the LOI, First Majestic will not, without the prior written consent of
Goldplay, acquire such number of common shares of Goldplay that would result in it owning 20% or
more of the issued shares of Goldplay at any time during such period.
Under the LOI, the parties have agreed to a binding exclusivity and non-solicitation period which will
terminate on the earlier of 60 days from the date of signing of the LOI, the date of execution of a
definitive agreement or the termination of the LOI. The parties are now moving forward with their
respective due diligence reviews of each other during the 60 day period. The entering into of a
definitive agreement will be subject to certain conditions such as each party being satisfied with its
due diligence of the other, board approvals, any required governmental, regulatory and third party
approvals and no material adverse event or change in respect of Minera La Rastra or Goldplay.
Goldplay's CEO,
Marcio Fonseca
stated, "
We are delighted to continue toward our corporate
mission of becoming the first company ever to consolidate key assets in the Rosario Mining
District. Goldplay is poised to secure an attractive resource stage expansion portfolio with excellent
infrastructure for future project development.
The extensive exploration data base combined with
historical operational data, provide a wealth of technical information (geology, geochemistry,
geophysics, drilling, Landsat/structural studies, historical metallurgical and operational data) on the
Plomosas Project. The value of the extensive exploration database and potential upside of this
asset cannot be understated, as it provides an opportunity for Goldplay to achieve new discoveries
and delineate new resources in the Plomosas Project. Goldplay is focused on acquiring, at low
cost, assets with good infrastructure and potential resources requiring a minimum of time and
money to expand and advance to development.
Our recent success expanding the resource at the
San Marcial Silver-Gold Project has brought fundamental knowledge of the silver and gold
mineralization in the Rosario Mining District. This knowledge will allow Goldplay to implement a
cost-effective exploration program at the Plomosas Project in 2020 with the objective of future
discoveries and resource delineation."
The 8,514-ha land position of the Plomosas Project is strategically located within 5 km of Goldplay's
San Marcial Silver-Gold Project. It is located approximately 94 kilometres southeast of
Mazatlan
in
southeast Sinaloa State,
Mexico
and is adjacent to the town of
Rosario
(Figure 1). The Plomosas
Project includes infrastructure such as: a 60 km - 33 KV power line (connected to Mexican Regional
Power grid), offices, shops, 120-man camp, infirmary, warehouses, foundations for processing
plant, and other key infrastructure which can be fundamental for future project development (click
here
to view photos). The Plomosas Project also is entitled to a surface rights agreement, water use
and surface exploration permits.
The Plomosas Project includes five shallow past producing underground mines - the Plomosas-La
Cruz mine,
San Juan
mine,
La Colorada
mine, El Huarache mine, El Saltito mine - and 11 exploration
targets (Figure 2). Grupo Mexico operated a 600 tpd crusher/mill/flotation processing circuit from
1986 until 2001. The processing plant feed was mainly sourced from the Plomosas-La Cruz
historical underground mine, producing zinc and lead concentrates with silver-gold credits. Historic
production reports by Grupo Mexico indicate that a total of 2.5 million tonnes of ore were extracted
which averaged 190.5 grams per tonne (g/t) silver, 0.92 g/t gold, 2.02% zinc and 2.38% lead.
Figure 2 –Plomosas Silver Project – Historical Ag Mines & Exploration Targets (CNW
Group/Goldplay Exploration Ltd)
The Plomosas Project is historically known as a highly prospective area for silver, gold, lead and zinc
mineralization. Key areas within the property boundaries of the Plomosas Project display many
geological similarities with the San Marcial Silver-Gold Project. The geological settings at both
projects demonstrate occurrences of low sulphidation epithermal quartz-galena-sphalerite
veins/hydrothermal breccias and stockworks hosting high grade silver and gold mineralization. The
(already discovered) mineralized trends indicate a geological setting related to at least seven major
regional structures hosting not only mineralization at the San Marcial Silver-Gold Project but also at
the Plomosas Project (Figure 3).
Figure 3 –Plomosas Silver Project – La Trinidad Concessions – San Marcial Ag-au Project (CNW
Group/Goldplay Exploration Ltd)
This announcement marks the second strategic LOI signed by the Company in the past three weeks.
The
news release dated
December 17, 2019
announced the signing of an LOI with Mako Mining
Corp. ("
Mako
") which granted the Company the exclusive right to acquire 100% of the issued shares
of Mako's wholly owned subsidiary, Marlin Gold Mining Ltd. ("
Marlin
"), until
December 20, 2020
.
Marlin owns, amongst other assets, Oro Gold de
Mexico
, S.A. de C.V., a Mexican company that
owns the
La Trinidad
gold mine facilities, currently being decommissioned.
Goldplay will provide shareholders with updates on the status of these transactions when material
information becomes available.
Goldplay has applied to the TSX Venture Exchange to change its name to reflect its focus on silver
in the Rosario Mining District. The Company believes its proposed new name will reflect its evolution,
the consolidation of advanced-stage assets in the Rosario Mining District, Sinaloa. More details on
the name change will be provided as soon as confirmation of its acceptability is received from the
TSX Venture Exchange.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical data contained in this news release was reviewed and/or prepared under
the supervision of
Marcio Fonseca
, P.Geo., a non-independent qualified person to Goldplay
Exploration Ltd. who is responsible to ensure that the geological information contained in this news
release is accurate and who acts as "qualified person" under the National Instrument 43-101
Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects.
About Goldplay Exploration Ltd
.
Goldplay has successfully consolidated a district-sized portfolio, owning >250 sq. km of mineral
concessions in the historic
Rosario
gold-silver Mining District in the state of
Sinaloa, Mexico
. Its
flagship project, San Marcial, consists of a 1,250-ha land package located south of the
La Rastra
and Plomosas historic mines. San Marcial is a near-surface, high-grade silver, lead, and zinc open
pit amenable project for which a NI 43-101 resource estimate was completed by Goldplay in early
2019. Additionally, high-grade gold was drilled in
July 2019
at San Marcial, opening up the potential
for further gold success. Goldplay's 100% owned
El Habal
precious metals project is located 20 km
west of the San Marcial Project. It comprises 3,700 hectares and is located 75 km southeast of the
modern coastal port of Mazatlán, and 10 km on a paved road from the historic mining town of
Rosario, Sinaloa, Mexico
.
Goldplay's current focus includes expanding its NI 43-101 resource estimate at the San Marcial
project, which contains 36Moz Ag Eq (indicated) + 11Moz Ag Eq (Inferred), by defining new high-
grade gold and silver targets along the project's 6 km mineralized trend. Goldplay is the first
company to perform exploration work at San Marcial in over 10 years. It is a low-risk development
stage project, fully exploration permitted and supported by the local communities to carry out all
proposed exploration activities. Only
500 m
of the 6 km trend has been drilled to date, highlighting
the significant potential for further discoveries. The Company has identified 8 high-priority targets
along the 6 km trend and is currently drilling two high-priority targets at Faisanes and
Nava
. Some of
these exploration targets consist of old shallow pits, caved shafts and historic shallow underground
workings in areas with extensive hydrothermal alteration, hosted by major regional structures in a
felsic volcanic environment. Mapping and sampling by Goldplay have revealed evidence of dacite-
rhyolite dome structures in a highly prospective geological environment for additional high-grade gold
and silver discoveries.
The El Habal Project is a drill-stage project. Its oxidized gold mineralized zone outcrops along a
series of rolling hills with evidence of historic shallow underground mining along a 6 km-long
prospective corridor. The El Habal Project is located near the historic gold-silver Rosario Mine which
operated for over 250 years.
Goldplay's team has over 30 years of experience with senior roles in exploration, financing, and
development in the mining industry, including over ten years of extensive exploration experience in
the Rosario Mining District, leading to previous successful discoveries.
The NI 43-101 reports for each of the San Marcial and El Habal Projects are available on SEDAR.
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements and information that are based on the
beliefs of management and reflect the Company's current expectations. When used in this press
release, the words "estimate", "project", "belief", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict",
"may" or "should" and the negative of these words or such variations thereon or comparable
terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements and information. Such statements
and information reflect the current view of the Company. Risks and uncertainties may cause actual
results to differ materially from those contemplated in those forward-looking statements and
information. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements,
or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
READERS SHOULD
NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD
NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY
MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY
PARTICULAR TIME EXCEPT AS REQUIRED IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS.
Mr.
Marcio Fonseca
P. Geo, President & CEO
Goldplay Exploration Ltd.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this press release.
SOURCE
Goldplay Exploration Ltd
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For further information:
+1 (604) 202 3155, Email: [email protected]
CO: Goldplay Exploration Ltd
CNW 07:30e 07-JAN-20