Midtier gold miner IAMGOLD (IAG -2.96%) now owns a near-15% stake in junior miner Eagle Mountain Gold Corp. (NASDAQOTH: SDMTD).
IAMGOLD announced Tuesday that it had indirectly acquired some 3.24 million additional shares of Eagle Mountain via its 95%-owned subsidiary Omai Gold Mines Ltd. Eagle Mountain said it exercised an option to acquire from Omai Gold Mines the remaining 50% interest in the Eagle Mountain gold property in Guyana. The transaction gives Eagle Mountain 100% ownership of the project which it says hosts a near-surface gold deposit of 188,000 indicated and 792,000 inferred gold ounces with "considerable potential for expansion."
Eagle Mountain President and CEO Yannis Tsitos said in a statement the transaction will be "accretive to the Company as we have acquired 50% of the gold mineral resource for 10% of the Company. IAMGOLD has been positioned as a strategic partner."
In its press release, IAMGOLD said it acquired the Eagle Mountain Gold Corp. shares for "investment purposes. IAMGOLD does not have any present intention to acquire, indirectly or directly, ownership of, or control or direction over additional securities of EMGC."
Omai, of which the Guyanese government owns 5%, received 3.24 million shares in the deal and now owns a total of 5.5 million shares, or 14.93% of the total 37.1 million shares outstanding.
