McEwen to acquire Golden Lake Exploration, consolidating Gold Bar complex

McEwen Inc. (NYSE, TSX: MUX) has agreed to acquire Canadian junior Golden Lake Exploration (CSE: GLM) to consolidate its position within the Gold Bar mine complex of Nevada.

Golden Lake’s principal asset is its 100%-owned Jewel Ridge and Jewel Ridge West projects located next to McEwen’s Windfall and Lookout Mountain discoveries, which are part of the Gold Bar complex in Nevada’s Eureka mining district.

Historical drill highlights from Jewel Ridge project include 2.20 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 28.96 meters, 1.24 g/t gold over 56.39 meters and 2.37 g/t gold over 67.57 meters. These holes are located north of McEwen’s Windfall deposit, where a recent drill hole returned 5.55 g/t gold over 44.2 meters.

Incorporating Golden Lake’s projects into the Gold Bar mine complex will help continue the mine’s transformation into a long-life operation by investing in exploration and leveraging the current infrastructure, McEwen said in a news release.

Under the terms of the deal, each Golden Lake common share would entitle its holder to receive 0.003876 of a McEwen common share, for an implied price of C$0.12 per share, calculated using the 20-day volume-weighted average price of McEwen’s shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

By market close in Toronto, McEwen’s stock was down 5.7%. The Toronto-based miner has a $1.64 billion market capitalization. Meanwhile, Golden Lake’s stock soared 66.7%, bringing its market capitalization to C$11.6 million ($8.6 million).