TORONTO, Aug. 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Liberty Silver Corp. (CSE:LSL) ( “Liberty” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive agreement (the “Agreement”) for the lease and option to purchase of the Bunker Hill Mine (the “Mine”) in Idaho. The “Bunker Hill Lease with Option to Purchase” is between Liberty and Placer Mining Corporation (“Placer Mining”), the current owner of the Mine.
Highlights of the Lease are as follows:
- Effective date: November 1, 2017
- Initial term: 24 months
- The lease can be extended for another 12 months at any time by Liberty
- US $1 million bonus payment to Placer Mining no later than October 31, 2017
- US $100,000 monthly mining lease payments, paid quarterly
- The option to purchase is exercisable at Liberty’s discretion
- Purchase by Liberty can be made at any time during lease period and any extension
President and CEO Bruce Reid stated: “We are extremely pleased to have achieved this milestone. This will provide the Company time to both produce a mine plan and raise the money needed to move forward. This is a strong signal to the market that the Bunker Hill Mine is back. We are now able to push forward and advance our time line to realizing shareholder value with this significant Bunker Hill Mine asset.”
Liberty has signed a 24 month lease commencing November 1, 2017 and continuing until October 31, 2019, which contains an option to purchase the Mine on defined payment terms. The option can be exercised by Liberty at any time during the initial 24 month lease period and any extension. The Lease period can be extended by a further 12 months at Liberty’s discretion.
Under the terms of the agreement, Liberty will have the right to purchase the Mine at any time before the end of the lease and any extension for a purchase price of US $45 million with purchase payments to be made over a ten-year period to Placer Mining. Under terms of the agreement, there is a 3% NSR on production during the Lease and a 1.5% NSR on the production after the purchase option is exercised, which post-acquisition NSR is capped at US $60 million.
The Bunker Hill Mine was the largest producing mine in the Coeur D'Alene zinc, lead and silver mining district in northern Idaho. Historically, the mine produced over 35M tonnes of ore grading on average 8.76% lead, 3.67% zinc, and 155 g/t silver (Bunker Hill Mines Annual Report 1980).
The Company believes that there are numerous targets of opportunity left in the mine from top to bottom, and particularly on strike to the west where more recent past drilling has resulted in major discoveries such as the Quill ore body.
About Liberty Silver Corp.
Liberty has reached definitive documentation to acquire the Bunker Hill Mine Complex. Information about Liberty is available on its website, www.libertysilvercorp.com, or in the SEDAR and EDGAR databases.
