Company decides not to exercise option to acquire 100% of San Agustin.
Shares of Geologix Explorations (TSX: T.GIX, Stock Forum) plummeted more than 39% to 14.5 cents Wednesday, as the company announced after Tuesday’s market close that it has elected not to exercise an option to acquire a 100% interest in the San Agustin property in Mexico from Silver Standard Resources (TSX: T.SSO, Stock Forum).
In December, Geologix said it fulfilled the obligations relating to the option agreement and noted that the amount payable to Silver Standard to complete the agreement was US$34.3 million. The company had up to 60 days to deliver the payment to Silver Standard.
However, Geologix notes that following an extensive review of data relating to the San Agustin property and “strategic alternatives” with respect to financing the payment, it elected not to exercise its option to acquire the property.
“The Company, together with its financial advisors, CIBC World Markets Inc., examined various means of financing the option payment in a manner that best served the shareholders of the Company, including a transaction with strategic investors and financing in the capital markets. Although a number of strategic investors conducted extensive due diligence on San Agustin, no proposals were received in the time required by the Option Agreement,” says Geologix.
Results from continued metallurgical test work received in 2009 indicate that “further work is required to ascertain the expected metal recoveries from San Agustin with a high degree of confidence,” says the company. Geologix says that it sought to amend the terms of the agreement with Silver Standard to allow for revised and extended payment terms, but Silver Standard did not accept or counter any of its proposals.
"Considering the Company's commitment to San Agustin over the past two years and the ongoing nature of the work at San Agustin, we are disappointed that a revised payment schedule with Silver Standard was not achieved. However, the Company does retain mineral rights on the adjacent Consejo and El Carmen claims where, from our mapping, sampling and geophysics, we consider significant exploration upside exists," said the company’s president and CEO, Dunham Craig.
On the Geologix Bullboard Wednesday, matt996 provided some thoughts on the news, saying:
Well, took a loss and a lesson here. Great project, good management, bad timing. I wonder what will rise from the ashes of this play ... in John Kaiser bottom-fish style. I have to say I am a bit surprised and dissapointed that there wasn't even a severely dilutive deal made. A deal where we kept even a fraction of the project would have been better than 100% of nothing. Instead Silver Standard gets to say "so long and thanks for all the drill-cores"[sic]…
dergrumpee1 added:
…It's easier now to look back and see how things could have been different if we only could have seen what was coming our way in the fall of 2006. We don't have a mine anymore, Quartermain has it back. It's not making SSR any money just sitting there. I still think that SSR share holders would love to see this mine come to fruition. It would give them one heck of a lot of money to pursue their pure silver plays. SSR could still change their mind and offer a revised deal to Gix to prove up the resources of St. Augustin. for SSR. I have no reason to believe that this would or could happen. We still have an awesome management team who can spot a good deal at a fair price. I for one hope that we as investors will allow them to pursue opportunities that will benefit us all down the road[sic].
