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Hudbay agrees to invest up to C$40M in Hat

North of 60 Mining News – June 22, 2018

Doubleview Capital Corp. June 19 reported that Hudbay Minerals Inc. has agreed to invest as much as C$40 million to earn up to 65 percent interest in Doubleview's Hat copper-gold property in northwestern British Columbia.

Hudbay, which produces precious and base metals from operations in Canada and Peru, can earn an initial 51 percent interest in Hat by investing C$25 million on exploration and delivering a mineral resource estimate by 2022. By spending an additional C$15 million on exploration and completing a pre-feasibility study by 2025, the Toronto-based miner can increase its interest to 55 percent. The final 10 percent, for a total of 65 percent ownership of Hat would come with the completion of a feasibility study for the porphyry copper-gold project by 2028.

"Our ultimate goal with the Hat Property has been to joint venture with a successful and well-respected major mining company," said Doubleview President and CEO Farshad Shirvani. "In this milestone agreement, we have achieved this goal. With Hudbay, we have found a partner with the technical expertise and resources to move this project forward for the benefit of our shareholders."

Since drilling the discovery hole at Hat in 2014, Doubleview has completed 10,281 meters of drilling in 30 holes. This work has identified a deposit that is at least 500 meters thick and is within a sulfide footprint that covers 11 square kilometers (4.2 square miles).

Highlighted holes cutting the thick mineralization at Hat include 418.28 meters of 0.25 percent copper, 0.25 grams per metric ton gold and 0.40 g/t silver in H022; and 456.28 meters of 0.2 percent copper, 0.24 g/t gold and 0.5 g/t silver in H023.

"With a 2.5 kilometer by 1 kilometer identified zone, Hudbay will have ample targets for its drill campaigns," Shirvani said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Hudbay is required to invest C$2 million on exploration by this time next year, with increasing larger programs to be carried out in the three following years.

Hudbay may, on a one-time basis, elect to defer one year of exploration expenditures to a later date without extending the length of the agreement or the timeline for earning an interest in the Hat property.

–SHANE LASLEY

 

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