RUA GOLD Acquires Siren Gold’s Reefton Assets, Becoming Leading Reefton Goldfield Explorer

VANCOUVER, BC, July 15, 2024 /CNW/ – Rua Gold Inc. (CSE: RUA) (OTC: NZAUF) (WKN: A4010V) (“RUA GOLD” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce it has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement (the “Agreement“), pursuant to which the Company will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Reefton Resources Pty Limited (“Reefton“), a 100% owned subsidiary of Siren Gold Ltd. (ASX:SNG) (“Siren“) with tenements located adjacent to the Company’s suite of properties in New Zealand’s prolific Reefton Goldfield (the “Transaction“).

The Transaction will establish the Company as the dominant landholder in the Reefton Goldfield on New Zealand’s South Island, with approximately 120,000 hectares (“ha“) of tenements. The district produced over two million ounces at gold grades ranging from 9 to 50g/t. The Reefton Goldfield is seeing a resurgence in interest, led by the construction of Federation Mining’s Blackwater mine, which is expected to produce 70koz per annum at US$738/oz AISC¹.

Unlocking Potential & Strategic Benefits

The Agreement marks a significant milestone for RUA GOLD, highlighting the strategic benefits and potential for future growth. By combining projects and exploration teams, the Company can unlock the untapped potential of the Reefton Goldfield.

Actively Advancing a District-Scale Discovery in a Tier 1 Jurisdiction:

• Represents the next chapter in RUA GOLD’s development towards our goal to be a major gold producer in New Zealand.
• Newly consolidated project represents one of the least explored, high-grade gold districts in the world.
• Permits, access, and consents in place for aggressive drilling following a district-wide reassessment of targets and potential on the combined land package.
• The Transaction will increase regional tenement holdings from ~34k ha to ~120k ha and cover all known past production camps outside of Blackwater and the Globe Progress mine.
• Potential for lower overall project capital expenditures through the development of a potential central processing hub.
• The Transaction creates a bigger player in New Zealand, allowing greater opportunity to work alongside a pro-mining Government in helping them draft their Minerals Strategy for New Zealand.
• Backed by team of mining professionals with +200 years of combined experience.

More information can be found at the Company’s website: www.ruagold.com

Following the completion of the Transaction, the Company will be well positioned as the preeminent gold explorer in New Zealand with a pro forma market capitalization of ~C$60 million.

Combining properties and exploration activities in the Reefton Goldfield provides many strategic benefits, including:

• Increased profile with a very supportive local community that has a long history and skilled work force in mining.
• Opportunity to realize significant synergies and cost savings.
• Combined data sets, local work force and historic knowledge, leading to higher quality target generation with a greater scale of opportunities.
• Ability to expand exploration programs and generate more consistent news flow.
• Consolidation of permitting activities with an expedited project development timeline.

Transaction Highlights 

• Under the terms of the Agreement, Siren shall receive:
  • A$2 million (C$1.8 million) in cash, of which A$1 million has been paid and the remaining A$1 million will be paid at the close of the Transaction; and
  • 83,927,383 fully paid shares of RUA GOLD representing A$18 million (C$16.6 million²), to be issued at the close of the Transaction with agreed contractual resale restrictions.
• The total consideration represents:
  • an implied value of A$20 million (C$18.5 million); and
  • an acquisition price of ~US$25/oz AuEq based on Reefton’s 0.5 Moz AuEq Resource³.
• Upon completion of the Transaction, Siren will own ~30% of RUA GOLD, and Siren Chairman, Mr. Brian Rodan, will join the RUA GOLD Board. Mr. Rodan is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM) with 48 years’ experience. Previously, Mr. Rodan was the owner and managing director of Australian Contract Mining Pty Ltd. (ACM), a contract mining company completing $1.5 billion worth of work over a 20-year period. Mr. Rodan held various roles with Eltin Limited over 15 years as General Manager between 1993 and 1996 and Executive…