TRU Precious Metals signs option agreement for Rolling Pond property bordering New Found Gold’s Queensway Project
Fredericton, New Brunswick – November 19, 2020 – TRU Precious Metals Corp. (TSXV: TRU) (“TRU” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary has entered into an option agreement dated November 18, 2020 (the “Option Agreement”) with an arm’s length individual (the “Optionor”), in respect of 11 mineral licenses covering 224 contiguous claims located in central Newfoundland (the “Rolling Pond Property”) and bordering New Found Gold Corp.’s Queensway Project.
TRU Co-Founder and CEO Joel Freudman commented: “As TRU continues to build out its mineral property portfolio, we are very excited to start investing in the Rolling Pond Property and become next-door neighbours to New Found Gold. The Option Agreement is a cost-effective, incremental approach to gain access to the prospective regional geology in the area, which is consistent with our goal to add properties of merit at justifiable prices. We are further encouraged by early findings that the nature and style of mineralization at the Rolling Pond Property appears similar to that at New Found Gold’s Queensway Project.”
New Found Gold recently reported drill results at the Queensway Project that included 44.5 grams per tonne (g/t) of gold (Au) over 6.85 metres (m), within an interval of 11.8 g/t Au over 29.15 m (source: New Found Gold press release dated November 16, 2020).
Mr. Freudman further commented “In connection with the Option Agreement, TRU will be partnering with our Technical Advisor Dean Fraser for the majority of the exploration work at the Rolling Pond Property. Dean has a wealth of experience and TRU will be drawing on his extensive geological expertise and knowledge of the property to run exploration efforts there. We believe that Rolling Pond is a top-tier exploration property in this district, and TRU being the financial partner stands to benefit from any exploration upside and discovery.”
Geological Description
The Rolling Pond Property is located in a highly prospective area along the western edge of the Mt. Peyton Intrusive Suite in Central Newfoundland, and shares its southeast border with New Found Gold’s Queensway Project. (See Figure 1 below.)
The Rolling Pond Property is host to a large well-preserved and highly underexplored hydrothermal quartz vein system measuring up to 50 to 75 m wide (true width) and containing anomalous gold grades. The system has been intersected by drilling in six historical drill holes to a depth of 160 m over a 270 m strike length. The inventory of historical drill holes have been maintained in good condition. The main zone is known to be over 1.7 kilometres (km) long and remains open along its strike length as defined by field mapping and ground geophysics. (See Figure 2 below.) The system is thought to be analogous to the Fosterville Gold District based on similar host rocks, abundant vugs in the quartz veins and the presence of local boulangerite. New targets discovered in 2018 along strike to the southeast of this structure have been identified and delineated by soil geochemistry and geophysics during 2018, but have yet to be trenched or drill-tested. Most of the Rolling Pond Property remains largely unexplored.
Figure 1: Rolling Pond Property Claims Map
Figure 2: IP Chargeability Imagery for Main Zone of Rolling Pond Property
Terms of the Option Agreement
| Share Issuance | Cash Payments | Exploration Funding Commitment | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400,000 TRU Shares | $25,000 | Total of $500,000 on or before November 18, 2024, with a minimum of $100,000 on or before November 18, 2021. The Company has granted a right of first refusal in favour of the Optionor and associated companies in respect of services to be provided in connection with these exploration work commitments subject to certain conditions |
Upon signing the Option Agreement (completed) |
| 500,000 TRU Shares | $50,000 | On or before November 18, 2021 | |
| 600,000 TRU Shares | $50,000 | On or before November 18, 2022 | |
| 1,000,000 TRU Shares (maximum; subject to adjustment in certain circumstances) |
$100,000 | On or before November 18, 2023 | |
| 2,500,000 TRU Shares | $225,000 | $500,000 |
In order to acquire a 100% interest in the Rolling Pond Property, the Company must make the following cash payments, issue the following common shares in the capital of the Company (“TRU Shares”), and fund a total of $500,000 in exploration expenditures:
Upon exercise of the option, TRU will grant the Optionor a 2.0% net smelter returns royalty from any future mineral production at the Rolling Pond Property, of which 1.0% can be repurchased by the Company for $1,000,000 at any time.
TRU has optioned the Rolling Pond Property as a passive investment, and rather than operate the Rolling Pond Property directly, TRU intends to engage third party technical and exploration consultants to advance it and TRU’s other mineral property holdings so as to increase their monetization potential.
The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
Qualified Person and National Instrument 43-101 Disclosures
Dean Fraser, P.Geo. is a qualified person as defined by the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the contents and technical disclosures in this press release. Mr. Fraser is a technical advisor to the Company and owns securities of the Company, and is the Optionor of the Rolling Pond Property.
About TRU Precious Metals Corp.
TRU seeks unique value-creation opportunities, and is currently assembling a portfolio of gold exploration properties in the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt. The Company’s common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “TRU”.
TRU is a portfolio company of Resurgent Capital Corp. (“Resurgent”), a merchant bank providing venture capital markets advisory services and proprietary financing. Resurgent works with promising public and pre-public micro-capitalization Canadian companies.
For further information, please contact:
Joel Freudman
Co-Founder, President & CEO
TRU Precious Metals Corp.
Phone: (647) 880-6414
Website: www.trupreciousmetals.com
Julie Hajduk
President and CEO
Purple Crown Communications Corp.
Phone: (604) 609-6169
Email: julie@purplecrown.ca
Website: https://purplecrown.ca/
Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Information in this press release relating to New Found Gold, the Queensway Project and Fosterville Gold District are from sources believed to be reliable, but that have not been independently verified by TRU. The technical information herein relating to the Rolling Pond Property has been supplied by the Optionor and has not been independently verified by TRU.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including those relating to acquiring, exploring, and monetizing the Rolling Pond Property and the Company’s other mineral exploration investments. These statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Rolling Pond Property and the Option Agreement that are believed by management to be reasonable in the circumstances, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including without limitation: mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Rolling Pond Property; the exploration or monetization potential of the Rolling Pond Property and the nature and style of mineralization at the Rolling Pond Property; challenges in identifying, structuring, and executing additional investments and acquisitions, on favourable terms or at all; risks inherent in mineral exploration activities and investments in the mineral exploration sector; volatility in financial markets, economic conditions, and precious metals prices; challenges in attracting and retaining qualified personnel; and those other risks described in the Company’s continuous disclosure documents. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements herein. Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements herein except as required by applicable securities laws.