SolGold and Cornerstone to cooperate in Cascabel copper project

SolGold (TSX: SOLG; LSE: SOLG) and shareholder Cornerstone Capital Resources (TSXV: CGP) have ended a two-year standoff that cost the miner’s chief executive officer his post, agreeing to jointly advance the Cascabel copper-gold project in northern Ecuador.

The move will allow the parties to explore financing options for the mine, which is expected to begin production in 2025.

Canada’s Cornerstone has a 6.9% stake in SolGold, making it the miner’s fourth-biggest shareholder after BHP (NYSE: BHP; LSE: BHP; ASX: BHP), Newcrest Mining (TSX: NCM; ASX: NCM) and DGR Global. The Ontario-based junior also holds a 15% interest in the Cascabel concession’s holding company ENSA.

The joint-venture partners also agreed to support management in ongoing efforts to finalize the delivery of a new technical report.

“For too long our companies have been pulling in different directions,” SolGold’s interim CEO, Keith Marshall, who took over from Nick Mather at the end of March, said in a news release.  “This initiative provides an opportunity for both companies to put away their differences and to work together for the collective good of the Cascabel project,” he said.

The parties locked horns after SolGold made an unsolicited offer for Cornerstone last year, the third since 2017. The junior not only rejected the bid, but called on fellow shareholders to overhaul SolGold’s board.

The Ecuador-focused miner was also at the centre of a dispute with BHP, its biggest shareholder, and Newcrest last year. It happened after securing a financing package of up to US$150 million and a US$15 million bridge loan with Franco Nevada (TSX: FNV; NYSE: FNV). This triggered worries about the efficiency of SolGold’s funding methods for the project.

Mather, who remained in SolGold as director, said he was “100% supportive” of the joint initiative. “I believe it can maximize value for SolGold shareholders, which has been my objective from the very beginning.”

Cornerstone president Brooke Macdonald said the focus should be on lowering the development risk at Cascabel and accessing the high-grade core at Alpala, the largest deposit found at the copper-gold asset, located 180 km north of Ecuador’s capital, Quito.

Alpala currently has measured and indicated resources of 2.7 billion tonnes grading 0.53% copper-equivalent (0.37% copper, 0.25 grams gold per tonne, and 1.08 parts per million silver) for 9.9 million tonnes of contained copper, 21.7 million oz. gold and 92.2 million oz. of silver.  A high-grade core within that resource stands at 442 million tonnes grading 1.40% copper equivalent (0.87% copper, 0.86 grams gold per tonne, and 2.34 parts per million silver).

Ecuador has gained ground as a mining investment destination over the past two years, but opposition to the extraction of the country’s resources could thwart the government’s plan to attract US$3.7 billion in mining investments by 2022.

Last year, mining in Ecuador generated US$810 million in exports, US$430 million in taxes and US$374 million in foreign direct investment.