The most western Canadian province of BC continues to attract capital from some the largest and most sophisticated metals and mining shops on the globe. This time it’s Itochu Corp. (TOKYO:8001), one of Japan’s leading trading houses and suppliers of metals, who announced this morning that it has agreed to fund $4.25 million worth of exploration on Kaizen Discovery’s (KZD:TSXV) newly acquired BC projects.
Kaizen gained control of the Aspen Grove and Tanzilla copper-gold porphyry projects through their successful, all-share, acquisition of West Cirque Resources.
After the transaction, former West Cirque shareholders hold approximately 14.7 million shares, or 9.9%, of the approximately 148.6 million outstanding common shares of Kaizen.
Matthew Hornor, President and CEO, said: “Kaizen is implementing its strategy of sourcing highly prospective projects, leveraging its financial and technical advantages and delivering on the opportunities available in this challenging market. By demonstrating its capacity to identify, acquire and finance highly attractive opportunities, Kaizen is distinguishing itself in the field and is building a case for continued growth and expansion.”
ITOCHU will acquire a 40% interest in the Aspen Grove project in exchange for a cash payment of $4-million and will acquire a 15% interest in Tanzilla for $250,000 cash (subject to Freeport’s acceptance) with an option to acquire another 10%. The Japanese conglomerate is looking for offtake to feed their metals business and so ITOCHU will be entitled to any pro-rata offtake from the two projects, should they eventually become a mine.
Tokyo-based ITOCHU originally invested ~$5 million in Kaizen in February equating to a 5.7% stake in the company (post-acquisition of West Cirque). Kaizen and ITOCHU have entered into a global collaborative agreement to evaluate mineral opportunities together.
Mr. Hornor is said to have been instrumental in securing a $280 million investment into Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef project by, non-other than, ITOCHU.
Since 2011, West Cirque was focused on exploring several large copper-gold porphyry targets in BC, specifically in the Early Mesozoic arcs of the Stikine and Quesnel terranes.
In the southern Quesnel terrane, Kaizen now holds a large land position in the Aspen Grove copper belt, located midway between the Highland Valley and Copper Mountain mines. In 2013, West Cirque discovered the Par prospect which indicates the potential for a large copper-gold porphyry target.
West Cirque entered into an agreement with Freeport-McMoRan whereby they can earn an initial 51% interest in the Tanzilla project, in the northern Stikine terrane. No interest has been earned yet, however.
Speaking to the addition of these Canadian projects, Mr. Hornor said: “The combination of Kaizen’s existing portfolio of exploration projects in Australia and Africa, and West Cirque’s portfolio in Canada, establishes a stronger company with an impressive and diverse pipeline of projects. Now that the transaction has closed, we can begin immediately working at Aspen Grove and work towards unlocking the potential of this exciting property.”
Another notable junior that have been able to attract large mining company dollars to BC is Dr. John-Mark Staude’s Riverside Resources (TO:RRI) who has brought in Antofagasta for funding generative exploration in BC’s copper belts over a 3-year period.
Here’s Kaizen’s YTD chart:
