Shore Gold Inc. recently announced the acquisition from Newmont Canada FN Holdings ULC, of all of Newmont's participating interest in the Fort à la Corne joint venture (the FalC JV). As a result, Shore Gold now owns 100% of the Star-Orion South Diamond Project (the Project).

The Corporation also announced that it has – concurrently – entered into “an Option to Joint Venture Agreement (the Option Agreement) with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc. (RTEC)”.  Following this and under the terms of the Option Agreement, Shore Gold  said it   has granted RTEC an option to earn up to a 60% interest in the Project on the terms and conditions contained in the Option Agreement. 

“In connection with the Option Agreement, RTEC has also agreed to subscribe for units of the Corporation for an aggregate subscription price of C$ 1,000,000 at a price of C$ 0.18 per unit, with each unit consisting of one common share in the capital of the Corporation and one common share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling RTEC to acquire one additional common share at a price of C$ 0.205 per share for a period of 24 months following the issuance of the units,” said Shore Gold in its announcement.

"We are extremely pleased to partner with Rio Tinto to further develop the potential of the project" said Ken MacNeill, Chief Executive Officer of Shore. "Rio Tinto is one of the few companies in the world with the resources and expertise to move forward with a project of the magnitude of the Star-Orion South Diamond Project. We are also very pleased to acquire the remaining portion of the project from Newmont and look forward to working with Newmont as a significant shareholder.”

 The Star-Orion South Diamond Project is located in central Saskatchewan approximately 60 kilometres east of the city of Prince Albert.   “The Technical Report on the Revised Resource Estimate for the Star-Orion South Diamond Project dated November 9, 2015 provided an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Star and Orion South kimberlite deposits: Indicated Mineral Resource of 393 million tonnes containing 55.4 million carats of diamonds at a weighted average price of US$210 per carat. In addition to the Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate, the Star and Orion South Kimberlites include Inferred Resources containing 11.5 million carats,” Shore Gold noted.

Pic Cap: An aerial view of the Star-Orion South Diamond Project

Pic Courtesy: Shore Gold Inc.