Touchstone Gold and Atlantis Gold Mines to merge

Touchstone Gold (TGL-L) and Atlantis Gold Mines are combining their assets in Colombia to create a new gold exploration and development company that consolidates neighbouring assets in a region with a history of high-grade gold discoveries. 

The combined company’s portfolio will include over 12 km in strike length with a focus on high-grade gold projects in the Frontino/Segovia Gold Belt and South Bolivar regions.

Touchstone brings to the merger its Rio Pescado project in the Segovia Gold Belt  that has seen 15,000 metres of drilling with drill results such as 8.75 grams gold per tonne over 28.25 metres from a depth of 56.45 metres and 8.70 grams gold over 16.8 metres from 6.10 metres. The Rio Pescado project is made up of four mining concessions over an area of 39 sq km  in northern Colombia and is about 20 km north of the town of Segovia and 150 km northeast of Medellin, the capital of the country’s Antioquia region.

Touchstone also owns additional options on the Santa Rosa project — consisting of one mining concession and four proposed mining concessions over 68 sq km — in Colombia’s South Bolivar region.

Atlantis’ portfolio encompasses a similar geological setting to the Rio Pescado project and has shown a number of large gold anomalies with promising initial results, the companies say. Its principal asset is the Segovia project along the Segovia Gold Belt and consists of the San Miguel and Frontino Norte properties. Atlantis owns 80% of San Miguel and 90% of Frontino Norte.

The companies believe the business combination offers operational synergies and significant exploration and administrative cost savings.

Once the merger is completed, Touchstone shareholders will own 64% of the combined company with Atlantis shareholders holding the remaining 36%, on an undiluted basis, and 61% and 39% on a fully diluted basis.

The merger has been approved by the boards of both companies.