Miata Metals has expanded its gold exploration portfolio with the acquisition of all issued and outstanding shares of 79North, which owns gold assets in Suriname.

The all-share transaction, which was announced in August 2024, positions Miata Metals as a key player in the region with interests in two major projects on the Guiana Shield.

Under the deal terms, Miata Metals has issued approximately nine million Miata shares to 79North shareholders. This exchange ratio equates to around 0.079 Miata shares per 79North share.

The transaction has resulted in Miata Metals holding a 70% interest in both the 21,929 hectare (ha) Sela Creek Gold Project and the 19,916ha Nassau gold project.

The combined entity, post-transaction, sees the former 79North shareholders owning approximately 21.24% of Miata Metals, which now has a total of 42,368,562 Miata shares issued and outstanding.

Furthermore, Miata Metals has signed a definitive agreement with the Sela Creek concession holders to acquire a 100% interest in the project.

Miata CEO Dr Jacob Verbaas said: “This transaction is a unique opportunity to provide Miata’s shareholders exposure to an underexplored but highly-prolific jurisdiction in South America.

“In particular, Sela Creek has extensive surficial mining exposure supporting our belief that the property serves as an excellent analog to other successful discoveries within Suriname.

“Moreover, Nassau has shown exciting intercepts in historic work and is located in close proximity to Newmont’s Merian Mine. Since Miata announced the transaction with 79North, the company has put considerable effort into a holistic understanding of the gold mineralisation and has generated several high-priority targets, defined and refined by past data as well as the recent sampling data and preliminary LiDAR data.”

Miata also issued 1,000,000 of its shares to an arm’s length party as a finder’s fee related to the transaction.