Upon completion of the transaction, existing Palladium One shareholders would hold approximately 88% of the company’s capital stock, while former MetalCorp Shareholders would hold approximately 12%.
MetalCorp’s main assets are the North Rock copper-nickel project, which has a historical resource ranging from approximately 920,000 tonnes grading 1.17% copper to 240,000 tonnes grading 2.08% copper, and the Big Lake copper-zinc-gold-silver project. It also holds a royalty portfolio of five exploration-stage projects, the principal royalty being the Hemlo Annex property owned by Barrick Gold.
These will be added to Palladium One’s existing portfolio that includes three district-scale projects: the Tyko nickel-copper-cobalt project in Ontario, the CanAlask nickel-copper project in Yukon, and the KS nickel-copper-PGE (platinum group elements) project in Finland.
“This transaction advances our strategy of creating value by responsibly, establishing a partnership with a senior producer and growing a portfolio of critical mineral assets in Canada in support of North American critical mineral supply chains, and it also increases liquidity,” Derrick Weyrauch, CEO of Palladium One, commented in a media release.
“Like MetalCorp, Palladium One has an excellent suite of properties including gold, PGEs, copper-nickel and a strong cash position. Based on the TSXV closing prices of each company on the day the agreement was signed, this transaction reflects a 28% premium for MetalCorp shareholders,” MetalCorp’s CEO Donald Sheldon added.
Following the announcement, MetalCorp’s stock jumped 50% to trade at C$0.025 on the TSX Venture Exchange by 1:15 p.m. Monday, placing its market value at just over C$3 million. Shares of Palladium One stayed flat with a market capitalization of C$22.8 million.
