Lions Gate to go global with AusNiCo merger

Vancouver – Lions Gate Metals (LGM-V) is planning to acquire a private Australian nickel explorer, AusNiCo.

The terms of a letter of intent sees both companies nominating three directors to the board of directors of the combined company.

If realized Lions Gate would issue 10 million shares and 3 million warrants exercisable at $1.10 and valid for five years to AusNiCo which is 79% owned by D’Aguilar Gold (DGR-A). At presstime the shares were worth $11 million.

The proposed deal is contingent on Lions Gate completing a $3 million private placement.

The resulting company, which is to keep the Lions Gate name, will combine Lions Gate’s significant copper and molybdenum assets in B.C. with AusNiCo’s nickel prospects in Australia.

AusNiCo owns 1,760-sq.-km of concessions in southeast Queensland where it has outlined several nickel sulphide targets. The major targets, 200 km northwest of Brisbane, are located on the Black Snake Plateau.

As for Lions Gate its flagship project is the Poplar copper-moly project 35 km northeast of Houston B.C. where a historical resource estimate pegs the main Poplar zone at 236 million tonnes grading 0.37% copper, 0.1 grams gold per tonne and 0.0095% moly.

Investors appeared to support the merger as Lions Gate’s share price surged 21¢ to $1.16 on the news.