Benton Resources (TSXV: BEX) and Regency Gold (NEX:RAU.H) announced that they have signed a definitive agreement whereby Regency has acquired an option to acquire a 100% right, title and interest in the Escape Lake property in Ontario, Canada.
In a press release, the miners said that the deal is subject to a 1.0% net smelter return royalty to be retained by Rio Tinto Exploration Canada from Benton with such option to be conditional on Benton exercising its pre-existing option to acquire the Escape Lake property from RTEC under a pre-existing agreement with RTEC.
Escape Lake and Thunder Bay North lie approximately 60 kilometres south of North American Palladium’s Lac des Illes Mine and 10 kilometres east of NAP/Transition Metals’ Sunday Lake Intrusion
Benton also assigned to Regency its rights under a letter of intent previously entered into with Panoramic Resources pursuant to which Benton acquired the right to acquire 100% of PAN’s subsidiary Panoramic PGM (Canada) which owns the Thunder Bay North project.
The 220-hectare Escape Lake property is located within the Thunder Bay North project claim block and along the interpreted conduit system which contains/controls the Pt-Pd-Base Metal mineralization on TBN.
According to the miners, upon closing, Regency will have the right to exercise the option by issuing to Benton an aggregate of 24,615,384 common shares; by fulfilling the remaining terms of the RTEC agreement that Benton has with RTEC on Escape Lake; by entering into and fulfilling the terms of a formal binding purchase and sale agreement with PAN for the acquisition of the PAN Subsidiary including the payment to PAN of a deposit of $250,000 as a down payment to PAN; and by issuing to Benton a 0.5% net smelter return royalty from production on Escape Lake and a 0.5% net smelter return royalty from production on any mineral claims comprising the TBN project that a net smelter royalty has not previously been granted.