Aldebaran Resources (TSXV: ALDE; US-OTC: ADBRF) has officially spun out its exploration-stage assets in northern Argentina while it continues to work on the more advanced Altar project in San Juan province.
The Vancouver-based copper-gold developer first announced its intention to spin out the assets in September, a move that it said would “unlock additional value” for its shareholders by creating a new company focused on advancing a portfolio of exploration projects that have been on hold for the past several years.
The new company — called Centauri Minerals — will hold six greenfield projects spanning over 430 sq. km across Salta, Jujuy and Catamarca provinces. The most advanced of the groupb is Rio Grande, located 9 km from Fortuna Mining’s (NYSE: FSM, TSX: FVI) Lindero gold-copper mine. Based on drilling last completed in 2012, the project has a resource of 71 million tonnes grading 0.30% copper and 0.36 grams gold per tonne in the indicated category and 41 million tonnes at 0.23% copper and 0.28 grams gold in the inferred category.
Another notable project is Aguas Calientes, which has a well-mineralized surface but has not seen drilling since 2019.
New subsidiary
Leading the new subsidiary will be Sam Leung, an Aldebaran director who previously worked at Adventus Mining – which was sold to Silvercorp Metals (TSX, NYSE-AM: SVM) last year – and Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN), both of which have projects in South America.
As part of the spin-off, Aldebaran will transfer the exploration assets to Centauri in exchange for 40 million shares of the subsidiary, representing 78.1% of its outstanding stock. The remaining shares will be sold at C$0.50 each to investors as part of a private seed financing for around C$5.7 million.
The funds would allow Centauri to execute its exploration initiatives, including the completion of a technical report on Rio Grande and field programs at Rio Grande and Aguas Calientes in preparation for drilling. It also plans to use the proceeds for administrative purposes ahead of a proposed initial public offering or go-public transaction in 2026.
Meanwhile, Aldebaran will continue to develop the 80%-owned Altar project as its lone asset. A resource update last year outlined 2.4 billion tonnes in measured and indicated resources grading 0.42% copper and 0.07 grams gold, for 22 billion lb. of contained copper and 5.1 million oz. of gold. The company’s goal for next year is to advance the project towards a prefeasibility study.
Aldebaran Resources rose 0.3% to C$3.34 Friday afternoon in Toronto, giving the company a market capitalization of about C$583 million.
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