Blue Thunder grabs more Quebec property

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2020) -  Blue Thunder Mining Inc. (TSXV: BLUE) ("BLUE" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a Definitive Agreement ("the Agreement"), dated April 20, 2020 with O3 Mining Inc. ("O3"; TSX-V:OIII) for the Company to acquire 100% interest in O3's Fancamp and Embry gold properties ("the Properties"), located in the Chibougamau Mining District of Quebec. The terms of a non-binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") to acquire the Properties were announced on February 19, 2020 (refer to press release "Blue Thunder Acquires Strategic Mineral Properties" posted under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com)). 

The Fancamp gold property ("Fancamp") comprises 37 contiguous mining claims covering an area of approximately 1,895 hectares (ha) about 55 kilometres (km) southwest of the town of Chibougamau and is strategically situated between BLUE's Muus and Muus East properties. The Embry Property ("Embry") is an early-stage exploration project, approximately 17 km north of Fancamp and 25 km southwest of Chibougamau, comprising 12 contiguous mining claims covering approximately 668 ha.

Blue Thunder CEO Robert Cinits commented, "We welcome O3, part of the Osisko Group, as a significant new shareholder in Blue Thunder. The signing of the Agreement is an exciting milestone for the Company and enhances Blue Thunder's strategy of consolidating prospective ground along strike from known gold deposits, focused in the Chibougamau gold district. With this acquisition, Blue Thunder now holds approximately 51,000 hectares of exploration ground and this strengthens Blue Thunder's position as the largest exploration landholder in the Chibougamau gold district." 

Jose Vizquerra, President and CEO of O3 Mining Inc., stated, "We are excited to be part of Blue Thunder at this early stage of the Company's journey by vending these properties into Blue Thunder as we gain exposure to a much larger property package in what is a quickly emerging gold district in Quebec. The divestment is part of our on-going strategy to put our non-core assets into the hands of well backed and technically strong operators." 

Details of the exploration potential of the Fancamp and Embry Properties were provided in BLUE's February 19, 2020 press release. It is important to note that at Fancamp, significant historical drill intercepts were returned at each of the five main defined gold zones, but the majority of the drilling completed was very shallow, generally restricted to vertical depths averaging less than 100 metres. The Company believes that Fancamp has excellent potential to host additional zones of gold mineralization at depth, along strike and underlying underexplored parts of the property. The Company will continue to evaluate the potential of both Fancamp and Embry, as well as its existing Muus, Muus East and Nisk properties, to generate priority targets that can be tested by diamond-drilling during the upcoming field season. 

Definitive Agreement Between BLUE and O3

BLUE and O3 signed the Agreement on April 20, 2020 subsequent to entering into a non-binding LOI on February 19, 2020. The terms of the Agreement state that BLUE will acquire a 100% interest in the Properties in consideration for (i) the issuance of 4,514,436 common shares of BLUE to O3 (equivalent to approximately 8.6% of the currently issued and outstanding common shares of BLUE and 7.9% post the closing of the transaction) and (ii) a 2% net smelter return royalty ("NSR") granted to O3 over the Properties, subject to BLUE having the option to buy-down to a 1% NSR for C$750,000 at any time. The shares issued to O3 are subject to a statutory four-month hold period. In addition, the shares will also be subject to the following voluntary hold periods from the date of issuance:

(i) 1,500,000 shares shall have a Voluntary Hold Period of six-month;

(ii) 1,500,000 shares shall have a Voluntary Hold Period of twelve months; and

(iii) 1,514,436 shares shall have a Voluntary Hold Period of eighteen-months.

Completion of the Agreement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. 

Corporate Update in Relation to the Coronavirus Outbreak ("COVID-19")

As previously announced, the Company is adhering to a directive issued by the Québec Government that as of March 25, 2020 all non-essential businesses, including mineral exploration, must temporarily suspend operations as a response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. The initial deadline of April 13, 2020 has been extended by the Québec Government until May 4, 2020 and Blue Thunder had yet to initiate the field portion of our exploration program and therefore the Company's programs are not immediately affected. However, if the directive's end is extended significantly the Company may need to re-evaluate the timing of field programs and other activities and will update our shareholders at that time. 

To offset some of the unintended effects of this directive, the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Côte-Nord Region in Québec announced that effective April 9, 2020 the current expiry date for all active claims in Québec would be extended by 12-months. Although this will defer all of Blue Thunder's claim maintenance obligations for 12-months, Blue Thunder is still able to initiate field activities as soon as the directive is lifted. 

We are continuing to watch developments in Québec closely as they relate to mineral exploration and will report on any further announcements at the appropriate time. The health and safety of our staff, contractors and our community are of utmost importance to the Company and we are continuing to adhere to a work from home policy for our employees, contractors and partners until further notice.

Tags: Quebec / Deals & Financial / Minerals / All Articles