Solitario and Ely Gold Enter Into Agreement To Sell Interests in the Mt. Hamilton Gold

 

DENVER - Solitario Exploration & Royalty Corp. and Ely Gold & Minerals Inc. reported that they have entered into a definitive agreement to sell their combined interests in the Mt. Hamilton gold project to Waterton Nevada Splitter, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Waterton Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, LP, for total cash proceeds of US$30 million.

Solitario will sell its 80% interest in Mt. Hamilton LLC (MH-LLC), a limited liability company which holds 100% of the Mt. Hamilton project assets, and DHI Minerals (U.S.) Ltd., Ely Gold's wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, will sell its 20% interest in MH-LLC. As a result, on closing Solitario will receive cash proceeds of US$24 million and Ely Gold will receive cash proceeds of US$6 million.

Chris Herald, President and CEO of Solitario, stated: We are pleased to have successfully progressed Mt. Hamilton through feasibility and permitting, and believe that Waterton is well positioned to see the project through the next phase of its development. It is extremely exciting for Solitario to be able to monetize its Mt. Hamilton asset during exceedingly difficult market conditions. Upon closing the Transaction, Solitario will have a very strong balance sheet to focus towards new potential opportunities. Perhaps more importantly we will now be able to highlight our fully carried to production interest in the high-grade Bongarç zinc project being advanced by CompaÆa Minera Milpo S.A.A. (Milpo), our Peruvian partner. In total, approximately US$60 million has been invested in exploration and development on the Bongarç project to date and we look forward to ongoing success as Milpo progresses the asset through pre-feasibility during 2015.