Kincora Copper Limited: Exclusivity Agreement
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jun 13, 2014) - Kincora Copper Limited (the "Company", "Kincora") (TSX VENTURE:KCC) announces that it has entered into an agreement granting exclusive rights to carry out due diligence with respect to a potential joint venture, earn-in, strategic alliance, equity investment or other transaction in respect to Kincora's wholly owned Bronze Fox project ("Exclusivity Agreement").
The Exclusivity Agreement contemplates various work programs being undertaken by the third party during a staged review period in order to advance toward a Potential Transaction, and maintain certain exclusive rights to such a Potential Transaction and access to the properties/dataroom. The Exclusivity Agreement does not impact or restrict Kincora's ability to undertake ongoing exploration activities or other customary corporate initiatives, such as private placements, securing additional licenses etc. Neither party is obligated to proceed with a Potential Transaction.
Kincora completed one of the most active copper exploration programmes in Mongolia during 2013. The Company recently resumed drilling activities, for the first time since December 2012, at high priority copper porphyry targets, following other initial exploration activities that have already commenced (refer to our May 27th "Exploration Update" press release for further details).
Commenting on today's announcement, Sam Spring, President and CEO of Kincora, said:
"Kincora is the last remaining listed copper junior in Mongolia without a strategic partner. This is despite Bronze Fox being one of the more advanced copper projects, situated in the Oyu Tolgoi mineralisation structural trend, offering large scale potential supported by known widespread lower grade copper mineralization, and localized higher grades, and strategically located in one of the most rapidly developing mining centers anywhere in the globe notwithstanding being in the center one of the last underexplored frontiers.
The Company has attracted interest from various existing large-scale copper producers and welcomes advancing discussions with this particular group as we continue our ongoing drilling and other exploration activities at Bronze Fox. Kincora continues to have considerable support from new and existing shareholders, as illustrated by the recent oversubscribed private placement, and is actively pursuing various avenues to advance the technical progress of Bronze Fox."
The Company is captured under certain Confidentially Agreements that are customary for such an Exclusivity Agreement and will continue to inform the market of its exploration progress and any material corporate developments.
About Kincora Copper Limited:
Kincora Copper Limited (the "Company" or "Kincora") is a junior resource company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties with a focus on copper-gold projects in Mongolia. Our key asset is the wholly owned Bronze Fox copper-gold project that hosts a large and strategically located known mineralised footprint covering over 40km2 of a 223km2 license area, in southeast Mongolia along the Oyu Tolgoi copper belt. Kincora is the last remaining independent foreign listed copper exploration company in Mongolia. Large scale porphyry deposits seldom occur in isolation with the South Gobi's geology and tectonic setting highly prospective for large size discoveries, being part of a well-recognized belt formed from middle to late Palaeozoic volcanic and sedimentary rocks that have been intruded by late Devonian and Carboniferous granitoids. Kincora's ambition is to be the leading copper-gold exploration and development company in this region.
The Bronze Fox license (15000X) is located approximately 250km from the Chinese border and within 140km of two large scale greenfield copper construction projects: Oyu Tolgoi, invested capital to date over US$7 billion, in Stage 1 production, and target production of up to 160,000t/day, owned by Rio Tinto, Turquoise Hill Resources minority shareholders and the Government of Mongolia ("GoM"); and, Tsagaan Suvarga, estimated capex of at least US$1 billion and target production of 40,000t/day, privately owned by MAK with project finance syndicated by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development ("EBRD") and the focus of a proposed US$350m investment from the GoM. Other significant mines, including Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi and other coal mines, with associated infrastructure (including rail, power and water, all within 45kms) are under construction in this immediate region, which is one of the most rapidly developing mining centers anywhere in the globe despite being one of the last underexplored frontiers.
Kincora's objectives at Bronze Fox are to locate shallow and/or deep copper-gold porphyry deposits and ascertain the potential for shallow gold deposits with a view to the future development of open pit or underground mines. The copper porphyries are anticipated to be in the core of an intruded porphyry system, known as the Bronze Fox Intrusive Complex, with such a system confirmed by various independent consultant opinions with the focus being the delineation of economic orebodies, whereas the gold deposit potential are considered to be in the peripheral zones of a porphyry system.
Kincora completed one the most active copper exploration programs in Mongolia at Bronze Fox during 2013, on one of the most advanced and prospective projects with one of the youngest exploration licenses (noting the April 2010 moratorium on the issuance of new exploration licenses). The Company in November 2013 had a further two licenses adjacent to the Bronze Fox project, Tourmaline Hills (15075X) and North Fox (15076X), revoked as part of a total of 106-licenses following a criminal court case involving former Government officials. This resulted in a $6,952,000 write down in Kincora's September 2013 quarterly accounts. Kincora continues to lead the efforts of impacted previous licenses holders (11 foreign and 66 local groups) working with the Government to resolve the 106-license issue in a timely manner, which is in the interests of all stakeholders.
At the beginning of 2014, the Company completed an oversubscribed private placement to fund upcoming field season activities, which have a number of similar characteristics to that undertaken by Ivanhoe Mines (now Turquoise Hill Resources) in 2001 and led to the "discovery hole" at Oyu Tolgoi. All required permits have been obtained with drilling recently resumed, for the first time since December 2012, at high priority copper porphyry targets, following other initial exploration activities that have already commenced (refer to our May 27th "Exploration Update" press release for further details).
Kincora was formed in mid-2011 with its head office located in Vancouver, Canada, and regional office in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Company is a reporting issuer in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol KCC.
Qualified Person
The scientific and technical information in this news release was prepared in accordance with the standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and was reviewed, verified and compiled by Kincora's geological staff under the supervision of John Rickus, Chairman and Director of Kincora Copper, who is the Qualified Person for the purpose of NI 43-101.
