TORONTO, Feb. 28, 2017 /CNW/ - IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") today reports that the Company has completed its previously announced acquisition (the "Transaction") of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Merrex Gold Inc. ("Merrex") not already owned by IAMGOLD and all of the outstanding common share purchase warrants of Merrex by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). As a result of the Transaction, Merrex is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of IAMGOLD.
"With the acquisition of Merrex, we now own 100% of the Siribaya-Diakha project in Mali and its gold resource, which is estimated to be in excess of one million ounces as reported in our annual reserve and resource news release of February 22, 2017," said President and CEO of IAMGOLD Steve Letwin. "This transaction consummates eight years of excellent work and partnership with the Merrex team that led to the discovery of the Diakha deposit. This project, along with the ongoing exploration and evaluation of our nearby Boto Gold project in Senegal, gives us a significant footprint from which to advance our 2017 goal to expand our current resources in this prolific region of West Africa."
About IAMGOLD
IAMGOLD (www.iamgold.com) is a mid-tier mining company with four operating gold mines on three continents. A solid base of strategic assets in North and South America and West Africa is complemented by development and exploration projects and continued assessment of accretive acquisition opportunities. IAMGOLD is in a strong financial position with extensive management and operational expertise. IAMGOLD is incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act and its head office is located at 401 Bay Street, Suite 3200, PO Box 153, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2Y4.
About Merrex
Merrex's primary assets are its gold properties in West Mali, principally its 50% interest in the Siribaya Gold Project, its 100% held Karita exploration authorization in Guinea and its 100% held zinc-lead property in Nova Scotia (the Jubilee Project). Merrex holds permits totaling approximately 700 square kilometers within an approximately 4,100 square kilometers area of interest in the southern portion of the West Mali Gold Belt. The head office of Merrex is currently located at 802 - 1550 Bedford Highway. Halifax, NS, B4A 1E6 and is expected to be moved to 401 Bay Street, Suite 3200, PO Box 153, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 2Y4.
Additional Information
In connection with the Transaction, IAMGOLD issued an aggregate of approximately 6.9 million common shares, amounting to 1.5% of its issued and outstanding shares immediately prior to completion of the Transaction. The IAMGOLD shares were issued on the basis of 0.0433 of an IAMGOLD common share for each Merrex common share not already owned by IAMGOLD and 0.0043 of an IAMGOLD common share for each Merrex warrant. Immediately prior to the completion of the Transaction, IAMGOLD owned approximately 45.8 million common shares of Merrex, which represented approximately 23% of Merrex's issued and outstanding common shares. It is expected that the Merrex shares will be de-listed from the TSX Venture Exchange and that Merrex will make an application to cease to be a reporting issuer in the applicable jurisdictions. In connection with the Transaction, IAMGOLD will file a report on its profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 – The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues containing additional information respecting the foregoing matters. A copy of such report may be obtained by contacting Bob Tait, VP Investor Relations at IAMGOLD at (416) 360-4743.
