Aris Mining has entered a definitive asset purchase agreement to sell its Juby gold project in Ontario, Canada, to McFarlane Lake Mining for a total consideration of $22m.
The project comprises an exploration-stage gold venture and is situated in the Shining Tree area within Ontario's prolific Abitibi greenstone belt.
The agreement includes Aris Mining's complete interest in the Juby gold project and a 25% joint venture (JV) interest in the adjacent Knight property.
The sale is structured with Aris Mining receiving $10m in cash upon closing, along with common shares of McFarlane Lake Mining, which could represent up to 19.9% of its post-financing share capital.
To reach the full purchase price, an additional payment may be made within 12 months of closing, in either cash or more shares, at McFarlane's discretion. However, Aris Mining's aggregate shareholding in McFarlane will not exceed 19.9%.
Aris Mining CEO Neil Woodyer said: “The sale of Juby reflects our strategic focus on building a leading gold mining company in Latin America. Juby is a promising exploration property but is non-core to our operations in Colombia and Guyana.”
The completion of this deal is contingent on McFarlane securing at least $10m from a concurrent financing round and other standard closing conditions, including regulatory and third-party approvals. The transaction is expected to close within 90 days.
Aris Mining will maintain a first-ranking security interest over the Juby gold project until the full payment of the purchase price is received.
McFarlane CEO and chairman Mark Trevisiol said: “Our team is very excited to be working with Aris Mining on the acquisition of the Juby gold asset. The addition of this project to McFarlane's portfolio will be accretive to our business and ultimately shareholder value.
“This acquisition transforms our junior gold exploration company into a gold exploration and development company. The team at Aris has been excellent to work with and we look forward to having them as a significant shareholder of McFarlane."
In May 2024, Aris Mining entered a binding agreement with MDC Industry Holding to acquire an additional 31% JV interest in the Soto Norte gold-copper project in Colombia, which is touted as one of the largest undeveloped underground projects in South America.
