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WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT BY MITSUBISHI MATERIALS CORPORATION

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WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC INVESTMENT BY MITSUBISHI MATERIALS CORPORATION

 

 

 

 

 

Western Copper and Gold Corporation (TSX: WRN) (NYSE American: WRN) announces a strategic equity investment by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation to further advance the Company’s copper-gold Casino Project in the Yukon.

 

Mitsubishi Materials has agreed to acquire that number of common shares of the Company (the “Shares”) that will represent approximately 5.0% of Western’s issued and outstanding Shares, on an undiluted basis, following completion of the investment, at a price of C$2.63 per Share.

 

The exact number of Shares to be issued, and proceeds to be received, by the Company will depend on whether Rio Tinto Canada Inc. elects to exercise its pre-existing right to participate on a pro rata basis in equity financings by the Company to maintain its current ownership interest, which based on public filings is approximately 7.84%.

 

Assuming Rio Tinto elects to exercise its participation right in full, then it is expected that 8,091,390 Shares will be issued to Mitsubishi Materials for aggregate gross proceeds of C$21.3 million and 878,809 Shares will be issued to Rio Tinto for aggregate gross proceeds of C$2.3 million.

 

“We are pleased to welcome Mitsubishi Materials as a strategic investor in the Company,” said Paul West-Sells, President and CEO. “The investment by Mitsubishi Materials is a strong endorsement of the Casino Project. We look forward to working with Mitsubishi Materials to advance Casino.”

 

Western remains the sole owner of the Casino Project and will continue to be the operator. The Company will use the proceeds of the strategic investment to advance the project and to fund specific areas of study, developed with input from Mitsubishi Materials, with the aim of progressing to a development phase for the Casino Project.

 

In connection with the strategic investment by Mitsubishi Materials, the Company and Mitsubishi Materials will enter into an investor rights agreement whereby, subject to certain conditions, Mitsubishi Materials will have certain rights until the earlier of (a) its ownership falling below 3.0%, and (b) the date that is 24 months following completion of the investment (the “Expiry Date”), including:

  • the right to appoint one member to a Casino Project Technical and Sustainability Committee
  • the right to appoint the greater of one director of the Company or 17% of the number of directors (rounding to the nearest whole number), if Mitsubishi Materials’ ownership increases to at least 12.5%

 

In addition, until the Expiry Date, Mitsubishi Materials will have a right to participate in future equity issuances to maintain its ownership in the Company and, in the event its ownership increases to 8.0%, will be provided with a one-time “demand registration right” and “piggy-back registration rights.”

 

Under the investor rights agreement, for a period of 24 months, Mitsubishi Materials will agree:

  • not to sell, transfer, offer or otherwise dispose of any Shares without first notifying the Company
  • to abstain from voting or vote any Shares in favor of each director nominated by the board of directors of the Company for election by shareholders
  • not to acquire any securities of the Company, subject to certain exceptions

 

Mitsubishi Materials will have the right of first negotiation, until the later of (a) its ownership falling below 3.0%, and (b) the date that is 24 months following completion of the investment, to offtake at least its proportionate share of minerals produced from the Casino Project.

 

The Company and Mitsubishi Materials will negotiate in good faith new rights and restrictions attaching to its share ownership on the earlier of (a) 18 months following completion of the investment, and (b) Mitsubishi Materials’ ownership reaching 12.5% or greater.

 

The closing of the strategic investment is expected to occur on or about April 14, 2023 and is subject to regulatory approval, including that of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American LLC. The Shares will be subject to a statutory hold period in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

 

BMO Capital Markets and RBC Capital Markets are acting as financial advisors to Western Copper and Gold.

 

ABOUT WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD CORPORATION

 

Western Copper and Gold Corporation is developing the Casino Project, Canada’s premier copper-gold mine in the Yukon Territory and one of the most economic greenfield copper-gold mining projects in the world.

 

ABOUT MITSUBISHI MATERIALS CORPORATION

 

Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, founded in 1871, is a Japan-based company principally engaged in the processing and manufacturing of non-ferrous metals and products. The group operates businesses in over 30 countries across the world and employs around 23,000 people. Its extensive scope of operations ranges from mining, smelting/refining and recycling, to high-performance processed products, providing solutions for a sustainable society.

Posted March 24, 2023

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New Break Resources Ltd. (CSE: NBRK) (OTCQB: NBRKF) (FSE: O91) has received results from the last four holes of a ten-hole, 1,996 metre summer drilling program in the Zavitz gold zone at the Company's 100% owned Moray gold project. In total, New Break has completed 5,372 metres of drilling in 32 drillholes in 2026. Moray is located 49 km southeast of Timmins, Ontario and 32 km northwest of the Young-Davidson gold mine operated by Alamos Gold Inc. Select results from the final four of ten holes drilled in the summer drilling program are presented below in Table 1, while drillhole collar locations are detailed in Table 2 in Appendix A. Table 1 – Moray Summer 2026 Final Drill Results Hole ID Length (m) From (m) To (m) Width (1) (m) Au Grade (2) (g/t) NBR-26-29 322.0 77.3 78.8 1.5 0.42 and 138.0 139.1 1.1 0.38 and 162.5 173.3 10.8 (3) 1.61 and 227.4 229.0 1.6 1.21 and 231.5 232.1 0.6 1.72 NBR-26-30 250.0 37.0 38.0 1.0 0.30 and 102.8 103.5 0.7 0.60 and 121.5 122.5 1.0 0.36 and 124.5 125.5 1.0 0.33 and 128.5 129.0 0.5 0.90 and 131.0 132.0 1.0 0.36 and 169.8 174.0 4.2 2.65 and 178.0 179.5 1.5 0.77 and 183.5 186.6 3.1 1.22 and 190.0 190.5 0.5 1.06 and 191.5 192.5 1.0 1.48 and 196.0 200.5 4.5 2.53 and 203.5 204.0 0.5 2.15 and 206.5 212.0 5.5 1.57 NBR-26-31 274.0 169.0 170.5 1.5 0.37 and 184.5 186.0 1.5 0.51 and 197.0 200.0 3.0 0.94 and 201.5 202.0 0.5 0.50 and 203.5 210.0 6.5 (3) 3.12 NBR-26-32 352.0 73.5 74.0 0.5 0.44 and 174.0 174.6 0.6 0.52 and 194.0 195.0 1.0 0.66 and 199.8 203.3 3.5 2.29 and 227.3 228.0 0.7 0.97 (1) Intervals are drill intersections and do not necessarily represent true widths. (2) All intervals are presented using a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au and internal dilution of no more than 1.0 metres at grades less than 0.3 g/t Au and assays are not capped (see QA/QC Procedures). (3) Drill core photos shown in Appendix B. Figure 1 – Newly Reported Drillholes NBR-26-29, 30 Figure 2 – Newly Reported Drillholes NBR-26-30, 31, 32 Note: The bottom of NBR-26-30 deviated southeast and is represented in both sections. Figure 1: Section B-B1 incorporates drillholes NBR-26-06, 07, 08, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and part of 30. Gold mineralization extends southeast into the syenite as exhibited in NBR-26-29. NBR-26-30 is identified in both sections A-A1 and B-B1 as the drillhole was collared along section A-A1 but deviated southeast, intersecting gold mineralization in the mafic volcanics in section B-B1. Figure 2: A-A1 incorporates drillholes NBR-26-03, 04, 05, 23, 24, 30, 31 and 32. NBR-26-31 exhibits gold mineralization both within the syenite (at the contact) and within a "flow breccia" within the hematite altered mafic volcanic at the contact. NBR-26-32 is typified by blocky faulted ground with lamprophyre dykes and gold mineralization in the hematite altered mafic volcanics in a brecciated quartz vein with angular syenitic fragments. William Love, Chief Executive Officer of New Break commented, "Ongoing drilling this summer in the Zavitz gold zone continues to deliver significant gold values, with gold mineralization intercepted in every drillhole. As depicted in Figures 1 and 2, gold mineralization has been encountered predominantly within the mafic volcanics. Importantly, drillholes NR-26-29 and NR-26-32, the deepest drilled to date, demonstrate that gold mineralization extends into the syenite to the southeast at the contact with the mafic volcanics." He further noted, "The intrusive-mafic volcanic contact in the Zavitz gold zone has a distinctive magnetic high. This could be reflective of the higher proportion of iron in these mafic volcanics, which is associated with the higher gold values. This same magnetic and IP signature has been identified elsewhere in areas also believed to be along the intrusive-mafic volcanic contact. Drilling these never before tested targets with the goal of identifying gold mineralization similar to that encountered in the Zavitz zone represents the potential for significantly expanding the Moray gold discovery. There is also the belief that the Zavitz zone could represent the first of a series of stacked mineralized gold zones, which would point to the potential for a much larger gold system at depth. We plan to test this through deeper drilling directly into the Zavitz zone." About the Moray Gold Project The Moray property is located in the heart of the Ontario Abitibi greenstone belt, 49 km southeast of Timmins surrounded by a number of significant gold producing companies and existing mills (see Figure 3). The Young-Davidson gold mine operated by Alamos Gold Inc., with its 8,000 tonne per day mill is the closest and within a short trucking distance of approximately 45 km by road from Moray. The understanding of gold mineralization at Moray continues to evolve with each round of drilling. The occurrence of gold mineralization extending into the syenite to the southeast of the Zavitz zone and in the deepest drillholes is noteworthy given the presence of syenite-hosted mineralization at Young-Davidison. More recent examination of the drill core also suggests that the gold mineralization discovered to date may resemble an intrusion related style of deposit like Agnico Eagle's Upper Beaver gold deposit east of Kirkland Lake, as opposed to a structurally hosted gold system. Both Young-Davidson and Upper Beaver host multi-million ounce gold deposits. Figure 3 – Moray Location Map: Surrounding Gold Producers and Upper Beaver Gold Project Technical Content and Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Peter C. Hubacheck, P. Geo, consulting geologist to New Break, and an independent Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Hubacheck certifies that this news release fairly and accurately reflects the technical information and data presented. New Break conducts its exploration activities in accordance with CIM Best Practices Guidelines. QA/QC Procedures QA/QC procedures were executed to ensure all work is conducted in accordance with best practices. All drill core was sawn in half with one half of the core prepared for shipment and the other half retained for future verification. All core is under watch from the drill site to the core processing facility. Drill core is BQTK size and sample intervals range from 0.5 metres to 1.0 metres in length. Commercially prepared certified reference material ("CRM") standards and blanks were inserted with each shipment at a rate of 1 QAQC sample in every 12 core samples. Samples from New Break's 2026 Moray drilling program were analyzed at Activation Laboratories in Timmins, Ontario, which is ISO 17025 certified, by 30-gram fire assay with atomic absorption finish. Any sample assaying greater than 10.0 g/t Au was re-assayed with fire assay gravimetric analysis. Grade composite intervals over core lengths are calculated using a weighted average grade with a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au. Up to 1.0 m of internal dilution (consecutive interval below cut-off grade) are included within specific geologic domains and alteration assemblages, except as otherwise noted. The composites are constrained geologically by metasomatic alteration processes sourcing from the Fiset syenite intrusion and contact mafic volcanic rocks. Elevated gold values are coincident with hematite, silica, sericite and pyrite mineralization within structurally prepared brecciated corridors flanking the intrusion. Intervals are not true widths and no top cutting has been applied to the higher gold values. About New Break Resources Ltd. New Break is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on its Moray gold project located 49 km southeast of Timmins, Ontario, in a well-established mining camp within proximity to existing infrastructure, and 32 km northwest of the Young-Davidson gold mine, operated by Alamos Gold Inc. Shareholders are also leveraged to exploration success in Nunavut, Canada, through New Break's 20% carried interest in the Sundog gold project and ownership of 6.0 million shares of Guardian Exploration Inc. (TSXV: GX). The Company is supported by a highly experienced team of mining professionals. Appendix A – Drillhole Data and Locations Table 2 – Moray Summer 2026 Drillhole Collar Locations Hole ID Length (m) UTM Easting UTM Northing UTM Elevation Azimuth (degrees) Dip (degrees) NBR-26-29 322.0 492703 5320285 363 220 -70 NBR-26-30 250.0 492708 5320329 363 220 -47 NBR-26-31 274.0 492708 5320329 363 220 -60 NBR-26-32 352.0 492708 5320329 363 220 -70 Total 1,198.0 Coordinates are reported in UTM Zone 17 North, with units in metres. Figure 4 – Zavitz Gold Zone – Surface Traces of 2025 and 2026 Drillholes. All of the drilling at Moray has been completed by Enviro North Exploration Inc. out of Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. Drilling in the Zavitz gold zone is shown in figure 4, with the 1,996 metres in 10 holes drilled this summer depicted in red, the 2,807 metres in 20 holes drilled from January to April 2026 shown in blue and the 1,817 metres in 8 holes drilled in 2025 shown in black. In total, 6,620 metres in 38 drillholes have been completed in the Zavitz gold zone, while New Break has completed a total of 5,372 metres in 32 drillholes of our planned 2026, 10,000 metre drilling program. Appendix B – Drill Core Photos From NBR-26-29 and NBR-26-31

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