MONTREAL (QUEBEC) – Management of SIRIOS RESOURCES INC. (TSX-V: SOI) is pleased to announce the signing of a property option agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining Canada Ltd, (Sumitomo), pursuant to which has agreed to grant to Sumitomo an option to acquire up to an 80% interest, following an investment totaling $14.8M on the Aquilon gold property, located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay in Quebec.
Dominique Doucet, chief executive officer of Sirios, stated: “We are honoured and very pleased to start working with Sumitomo to kick off a rigorous and systematic exploration program on the Aquilon property. We believe that this property is very prospective and remains underexplored considering the variety of favourable geological contexts in which numerous high-grade gold showings have been discovered. We rank Aquilon as a high-priority project for Sirios and we look forward to advancing the project with our partner having the financial and technical capacities to develop the numerous discoveries into an important mining project.”
Summary of the Option agreement
Pursuant to the agreement, Sumitomo can earn an initial 51% interest in the project by paying a sum of $200,000 at signing to Sirios and incurring an aggregate of $4.6 million in mineral exploration expenditures, on or before the third anniversary of the option agreement. Sirios will be the operator during this earn-in period, entitled to a 10% management fee. A firm commitment of $1.6-million will be spent on the property during this earn-in period.
Sumitomo can earn an additional 29% interest in the project, for an aggregate of 80%, by incurring an additional aggregate of $10 million in mineral exploration expenditures, on or before the sixth anniversary of the option agreement.
Following the earn-in of an 80% interest, Sumitomo and Sirios will form a joint venture in respect of the project. In the event a joint venture participant’s interest is diluted to below 10%, it will convert its joint venture interest to a net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty of 2%.
About the Aquilon project
The Aquilon gold property is 100% owned by Sirios and consists of 140 mineral claims covering an area of 68 km2. It is located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec, 10 km south of the Laforge-1 hydroelectric power station and is easily accessible by all-season roads. To date, 32 gold showings have been discovered on the property. Drill intercepts on the Aquilon project are among the highest gold grades reported in Quebec, which includes 12,906.5 g/t Au over 0.20 m (Lingo showing), 3,527.4 g/t Au over 0.40 m (Moman showing) and 133.67 g/t Au over 0.82 m (Fleur-de-Lys showing) (ref. press releases of 26/06/2008 and 19/01/2011).
The scientific and technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Roger Moar, P.Geo., qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.
About Sirios
Sirios Resources Inc. is a Canadian-based mining exploration company focused on developing its portfolio of high-potential gold properties in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region of Quebec.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws based on expectations, estimates and projections as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, expectations and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: capital and operating costs that differ materially from estimates; the tentative nature of metallurgical test results; delays or failures in obtaining required governmental, environmental or other approvals; uncertainties related to the availability and cost of necessary financing in the future changes in financial markets; inflation; fluctuations in metal prices; delays in project development; other risks relating to the mineral exploration and development industry; and risks disclosed in public filings of the Company on SEDAR at www. sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are reasonable, readers should not place undue reliance on this information, which speaks only as of the date of this news release, and there can be no assurance that such events will occur or occur within the time periods presented. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
