Novo takes strategic stake in Bendigo explorer

Canadian listed conglomerate gold expert, Novo Resources, has taken up 10 million shares in ASX listed base metals and gold developer, Kalamazoo Resources at $0.40 cents a share.

Novo Director, Eric Sprott, has also personally taken up 10 million shares in the placement that has raised a total of $8 million for Kalamazoo.

Novo is now holding a strategic 8.17% stake in the Victorian explorer.

Novo and Kalamazoos’ deal is subject to Kalamazoo shareholder approval and each subscribed share comes with one unlisted Kalamazoo option with an $0.80 cent strike over 18 months from the issue date.

Kalamazoo’s flagship asset base is in Victoria’s goldfields - Mr Sprott and Novo’s backing will enable the explorer to develop, drill and explore its Castlemaine, South Muckleford and Tarnagulla projects.

The company recently tabled an exceptional grade result from Castlemaine of 1.42 metres going a whopping 261.3 grams per tonne gold from 100.32 metres downhole. 

Importantly, the quartz lode, which has smatterings of visible gold, has only been partially drilled according to Kalamazoo, representing an exciting prospect for expansion of the lode at similar gold tenors.

Kalamazoo Chairman and CEO Luke Reinehr said:

“…Kalamazoo’s asset base in Victoria and the Pilbara region of Western Australia is complementary to Novo’s and Eric Sprott’s existing investment strategy in Australia. It is very pleasing that both Quinton and Eric recognise and support our exploration and commercial strategy…”

Novo’s President and Chairman Dr. Quinton Hennigh said:

…”Many companies are exploring the Victoria goldfields since the success of Fosterville. Here at Novo, we quickly recognized the potential of Kalamazoo’s new discovery to be of the same ilk…epizonal orogenic high-grade vein mineralization…as the recent high-grade veins found at Fosterville.”

“High-grade epizonal mineralization forms at shallow depths and is usually eroded away during the mountain-building processes associated with the formation of such deposits. It is extremely rare to find these systems preserved. Kalamazoo’s recent results display many of the right geologic indicators of this special type of high-grade deposit, remarkable given these recent results are at such an early stage”.

Dr Hennigh is one of Novo’s founding directors and one of the leading conglomerate gold experts in the industry. 

He has joined Kalamazoo’s technical advisory committee and will no doubt lend some considerable geological weight to Kalamzoo’s mineral hunt.

The emergence of re-nown mining professional, Eric Sprott, on the Kalamazoo register is also noteworthy with the well known Sprott partly responsible for raising Kirkland Lake Gold’s Fosterville gold mine in Victoria to one of the worlds profitable high grade mines as former Chairman.

Mr Sprott said:

“The Victorian goldfields appear ripe for more high-grade discoveries. We [Novo] are excited to have found an opportunity with Kalamazoo to pursue what may be yet another significant new discovery.”

The Castlemaine project shows close geological similarities to the Fostervillle underground mine, which is located only 45km north east. 

The Castlemaine goldfields in the Bendigo region have produced an amazing 5.6 million ounces of gold and Kalamazoo holds 100% of this historical giant.

Kalamazoo is also sitting on the southern part of the Maldon/South Muckleford goldfield, which has produced 2.1 million ounces and the central part of the Tarnagulla goldfield that has churned out about 0.7 million ounces historically. 

The Bendigo region in Victoria has historically produced more than 60 million ounces making it a goldfield that is around 100 times richer than the global average.

Novo’s exceptional geological team has kept a close eye on the gold-rich Victorian goldfields and seems to have found something worth pouncing on in Kalamazoo.

This could get interesting.

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