Pebble Creek plans $10-million financing in India

Vancouver – India-focused explorer Pebble Creek (PEB-V, PBLEF-O) plans a $10-million financing to advance its Askot copper-zinc project.

The company looks to sell a minority piece of its wholly-owned Indian-subsidiary Adi Gold Mining, which owns the mineral rights covering the Askot project, to institutional investors based in India. It hopes to price the interest at a premium to Pebble Creek’s current market capitalization of just $9.7 million.

Funds will be earmarked for further drilling and a feasibility study at Askot.

The placement will be subject to an agreement entitling Adi Gold Mining shareholders, effectively Pebble Creek shareholders, subscription rights to maintain their relative interests. Adi Gold Mining will transfer its other mineral assets into a new wholly-owned subsidiary of Pebble Creek.

Askot is a copper-zinc volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit that also contains significant gold, silver and lead values. A historic resource estimate of 770,000 tonnes grading 2.3% copper, 3.9% zinc and 2.6% lead was tabled by the Geological Survey of India in 1975.

Subsequent estimates in the late-1980s (all non-National Instrument 43-101 compliant) projected about 1.2-1.35 million tonnes averaging about 2.1% copper, 5.1-5.3% zinc and 3.5-5.1% lead.

Besides the Geological Survey of India, the United Nations Development Program and four other government agencies intermittently explored Askot between 1965 and 1988. Work undertaken included about 9,000 metres of drilling in 51 holes, roughly 1,000 metres of underground exploration workings on three levels and metallurgical tests.

Askot is located in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand and is near the border with Nepal.

The Indian Government’s Ministry of Mines recently granted Pebble Creek’s subsidiary a mining lease for Askot.

Shares of Pebble Creek recently trade in the 40 range and have a 52-week range of 29-60.