Amerigo Resources Ltd. (TSX: ARG; ARREF: OTC)
(“Amerigo” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce its Board of
Directors (the “Board”) has reached a decision to reinstate the
declaration and payment of dividends, on a quarterly basis
commencing in the fourth quarter of 2021. The Company also
intends to commence a substantial issuer bid (the “Offer”) to
purchase for cancellation from Amerigo shareholders who choose to
participate up to Cdn$25,000,000 in value of its common shares in
the authorized share structure of the Company (the “Common
Shares”).
“Today’s announcements reflect Amerigo’s strong
operating and financial results and confidence in our outlook. We
have a strong balance sheet, and the financial flexibility to pay
quarterly dividends to shareholders commencing this year,” said
Aurora Davidson, Amerigo’s President and CEO. “The issuer bid will
also allow us to enact an orderly retirement of up to Cdn$25
million in the capital of Amerigo.”
The Offer is being made by way of a “modified
Dutch auction”, which will allow holders who choose to participate
in the Offer to individually select the price, within a price range
of not less than Cdn$1.18 and not more than Cdn$1.30 per Common
Share (in increments of Cdn$0.02 per Common Share), at which they
will tender their Common Shares to the Offer. Upon expiry of the
Offer, the Company will determine the lowest purchase price (the
“Purchase Price”) (which will not be less than Cdn$1.18 and not
more than Cdn$1.30 per Common Share) based on all tenders validly
deposited and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the Offer that
will allow it to purchase the maximum number of Common Shares
tendered to the Offer, having an aggregate purchase price not
exceeding Cdn$25,000,000.
Amerigo anticipates that the Offer will commence
on September 29, 2021, and expire on November 12, 2021, at 5 pm
Eastern Standard Time. The Board believes that the purchase of
Common Shares under the Offer represents an attractive investment
opportunity for Amerigo.
“Commencing in the fourth quarter of 2021, it is
the intention of the Board of Directors of Amerigo to declare and
pay quarterly dividends to our shareholders,” added Ms. Davidson.
“The Board continues to evaluate all options, including additional
share buybacks, to return capital to shareholders in a prudent
manner.”
The declaration of dividends will remain at the
discretion of the Board and will depend upon the financial results
of Amerigo and other factors of relevance determined by the Board
and will be subject to the maintenance of appropriate levels of
working capital.
Additional Details of the
Offer
If the Purchase Price is determined to be
Cdn$1.18 per Common Share (which is the minimum Purchase Price
under the Offer), the maximum number of Common Shares that may be
purchased by the Company under the Offer is 21,186,441 Common
Shares, which represents approximately 11.6% of the Common Shares
issued and outstanding as at September 27, 2021. If the Purchase
Price is determined to be Cdn$1.30 per Common Share (which is the
maximum Purchase Price under the Offer), the maximum number of
Common Shares that may be purchased by the Company under the Offer
is 19,230,769 Common Shares, which represents approximately 10.6%
of the Common Shares issued and outstanding as at September 27,
2021.
If Common Shares with an aggregate purchase
price of more than Cdn$25,000,000 are properly tendered and not
properly withdrawn, the Company will purchase the Common Shares on
a pro rata basis after giving effect to "odd lot" tenders (of
holders beneficially owning fewer than 100 Common Shares), which
will not be subject to pro-ration. In that case, all Common Shares
tendered at or below the finally determined Purchase Price will be
purchased, subject to pro-ration, at the same Purchase Price
determined pursuant to the terms of the Offer. Common Shares that
are not purchased, including all Common Shares tendered pursuant to
auction tenders at prices above the Purchase Price, will be
returned to shareholders.
The Offer and all deposits of Common Shares will
be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in an offer to
purchase, an accompanying issuer bid circular and a related letter
of transmittal and notice of guaranteed delivery (all such
documents, as amended or supplemented from time to time,
collectively constitute and are herein referred to as, the
“Offer Documents”). Further details of the Offer,
including the terms and conditions thereof and instructions for
tendering Common Shares, will be included in the Offer Documents.
The Company anticipates that the Offer Documents will be mailed to
shareholders, filed with the applicable Canadian securities
regulatory authorities and made available without charge on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com in accordance with applicable securities laws, as
well as being posted on the Company’s website at
www.amerigoresources.com, within the next week.
As at September 27, 2021, the Company had
181,961,078 Common Shares issued and outstanding. The Common Shares
are listed and posted for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange
(the “TSX”) under the symbol “ARG”. On September
27, 2021, the last full trading day prior to the day the terms of
the Offer were publicly announced, the closing price of the Common
Shares on the TSX was Cdn$1.24.
Amerigo expects to fund any purchases of Common
Shares under the Offer using the Company’s available cash on hand.
All Common Shares purchased by the Company under the Offer will be
cancelled.
The Offer is not conditional upon any minimum
number of Common Shares being deposited. However, the Offer will be
subject to certain conditions that are customary for transactions
of this nature, all of which will be disclosed in the Offer
Documents.
Amerigo has retained Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
(“Gowling WLG”) to act as legal counsel and
appointed Computershare Investor Services Inc. (the
“Depositary”) to act as depositary for the Offer.
Any questions or requests for information or assistance regarding
the Offer may be directed to the Depositary at the contact details
set out in the Offer Documents.
This news release is for informational
purposes only and does not constitute an offer to buy or the
solicitation of an offer to sell any Common Shares. The
solicitation and the offer to buy Common Shares will only be made
pursuant to the Offer Documents filed with the Canadian securities
regulatory authorities. The Offer will not be made to, nor will
deposits be accepted from or on behalf of, shareholders in any
jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance of the Offer would
not be in compliance with the laws of any such jurisdiction.
However, Amerigo may, in its sole discretion, take such action as
it may deem necessary to make the Offer in any such jurisdiction
and to extend the Offer to shareholders in any such
jurisdiction.
The Board has authorized and approved
the Offer. However, none of Amerigo, the Board, Gowling WLG or the
Depositary makes any recommendation to any shareholder as to
whether to deposit or refrain from depositing any or all of such
shareholder’s Common Shares pursuant to the Offer or as to the
purchase price or purchase prices at which shareholders may deposit
Common Shares to the Offer. Shareholders are strongly urged to
carefully review and evaluate all information provided in the Offer
Documents, to consult with their own financial, legal, investment,
tax and other professional advisors and to make their own decisions
as to whether to deposit Common Shares under the Offer and, if so,
how many Common Shares to deposit and the price or prices at which
to deposit.
About Amerigo
Amerigo Resources Ltd. is an innovative copper
producer with a long-term relationship with Corporación Nacional
del Cobre de Chile (“Codelco”), the world’s largest copper
producer.
Amerigo produces copper concentrate and
molybdenum concentrate as a by-product at the MVC operation in
Chile by processing fresh and historic tailings from Codelco’s El
Teniente mine, the world's largest underground copper mine. Tel:
(604) 681-2802; Fax: (604) 682-2802; Web: www.amerigoresources.com;
Listing: ARG: TSX.
For further information, please contact:
Aurora Davidson |
Graham Farrell |
President and CEO |
Investor Relations |
(604) 697 6207 |
(416) 842-9003 |
ad@amerigoresources.com |
Graham.Farrell@HarborAccessLLC.com |
|
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Forward-Looking Information
Forward-looking information
(“forward-looking statements”) is included in this
news release. These forward-looking statements are identified by
the use of terms such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”,
“estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “predict”,
“project”, “will”, “would”, and “should” and similar terms and
phrases, including references to assumptions. Such statements may
involve but are not limited to, Amerigo’s plans, objectives,
expectations and intentions, including Amerigo’s objectives and
expectations regarding the Offer and the size, timing and terms and
conditions of the Offer, the anticipated mailing date of the Offer
Documents and commencement date of the Offer, the expectation that
the Company will reinstate the declaration and payment of dividends
in the fourth quarter of 2021, and other comments with respect to
strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions.
These forward-looking statements involve known
and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause
actual results or events to differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Inherent in forward-looking
statements are risks and uncertainties beyond Amerigo’s ability to
predict or control, including risks that may affect Amerigo’s
operating or capital plans; risks generally encountered in the
permitting and development of mineral projects such as unusual or
unexpected geological formations, negotiations with government and
other third parties, unanticipated metallurgical difficulties,
delays associated with permits, approvals and permit appeals,
ground control problems, adverse weather conditions, process upsets
and equipment malfunctions; risks associated with labour
disturbances and availability of skilled labour and management;
risks related to the potential impact of global or national health
concerns, including COVID-19, and the inability of employees to
access sufficient healthcare; government or regulatory actions or
inactions; fluctuations in the market prices of Amerigo’s principal
commodities, which are cyclical and subject to substantial price
fluctuations; risks created through competition for mining projects
and properties; risks associated with lack of access to markets;
risks associated with availability of and Amerigo’s ability to
obtain both tailings from Codelco’s Division El Teniente’s current
production and historic tailings from tailings deposits; risks with
respect to the ability of Amerigo to draw down funds from lines of
credit and the availability of and ability of Amerigo to obtain
adequate funding on reasonable terms for expansions and
acquisitions; mine plan estimates; risks posed by fluctuations in
exchange rates and interest rates, as well as general economic
conditions; risks associated with environmental compliance and
changes in environmental legislation and regulation; risks
associated with Amerigo’s dependence on third parties for the
provision of critical services; risks associated with
non-performance by contractual counterparties; title risks; social
and political risks associated with operations in foreign
countries; risks of changes in laws affecting Amerigo’s operations
or their interpretation, including foreign exchange controls; and
risks associated with tax reassessments and legal proceedings.
Notwithstanding the efforts of Amerigo and MVC, there can be no
guarantee that Amerigo’s or MVC’s staff will not contract COVID-19
or that Amerigo’s and MVC’s measures to protect staff from COVID-19
will be effective. Many of these risks and uncertainties apply not
only to Amerigo and its operations, but also to Codelco and its
operations. Codelco’s ongoing mining operations provide a
significant portion of the materials Amerigo processes and its
resulting metals production, therefore these risks and
uncertainties may also affect their operations and in turn have a
material effect on Amerigo.
Actual results and developments are likely to
differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied
by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release.
Such statements are based on several assumptions which may prove to
be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions about:
- general business and economic
conditions;
- interest rates;
- changes in commodity and power
prices;
- acts of foreign governments and the
outcome of legal proceedings;
- the supply and demand for,
deliveries of, and the level and volatility of prices of copper and
other commodities and products used in Amerigo’s operations;
- the ongoing supply of material for
processing from Codelco’s current mining operations;
- the ability of Amerigo to
profitably extract and process material from the Cauquenes tailings
deposit;
- the timing of the receipt of and
retention of permits and other regulatory and governmental
approvals;
- Amerigo’s costs of production and
its production and productivity levels, as well as those of
Amerigo’s competitors;
- changes in credit market conditions
and conditions in financial markets generally;
- Amerigo’s ability to procure
equipment and operating supplies in sufficient quantities and on a
timely basis;
- the availability of qualified
employees and contractors for Amerigo’s operations;
- Amerigo’s ability to attract and
retain skilled staff;
- the satisfactory negotiation of
collective agreements with unionized employees;
- the impact of changes in foreign
exchange rates and capital repatriation on Amerigo’s costs and
results;
- costs of closure of various
operations;
- market competition;
- tax benefits and tax rates;
- the outcome of Amerigo’s copper
concentrate sales and treatment and refining charge
negotiations;
- the resolution of environmental and
other proceedings or disputes;
- the future supply of reasonably
priced power;
- rainfall in the vicinity of MVC
continuing to trend towards normal levels;
- average recoveries for fresh
tailings and Cauquenes tailings;
- Amerigo’s ability to obtain, comply
with and renew permits and licenses in a timely manner; and
- Amerigo’s ongoing relations with
its employees and entities with which it does business.
Future production levels and cost estimates
assume there are no adverse mining or other events which
significantly affect budgeted production levels. Although Amerigo
believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because
these assumptions are inherently subject to significant
uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible
to predict and are beyond Amerigo’s control, Amerigo cannot assure
that it will achieve or accomplish the expectations, beliefs or
projections described in the forward-looking statements.
Amerigo cautions you that the foregoing list of
important factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. Other events
or circumstances could cause Amerigo’s actual results to differ
materially from those estimated or projected and expressed in, or
implied by, its forward-looking statements. You should also
carefully consider the matters discussed under Risk Factors in
Amerigo’s Annual Information Form. The forward-looking statements
contained herein speak only as of the date of this news release and
except as required by law, Amerigo undertakes no obligation to
update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements
or the foregoing list of factors, whether as a result of new
information or future events or otherwise.
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