Northquest Ltd.: Debela Project Acquired, Southern Mali
September 14 2011 - 9:00AM
Marketwired
Northquest Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: NQ) ("Northquest" or the "Company")
has acquired, through an option agreement dated as of September 15,
2011 (the "Option Agreement"), an option (the "Option") to earn a
100% interest, subject to a 2% net smelter return royalty ("NSR"),
in the property known as the Debela project located in Southern
Mali. The property was acquired from an arm's length party.
Under the terms of the Option Agreement, the Company can
exercise the Option by (i) issuing 25,000 common shares and making
a cash payment of US$25,000 upon signing the Option Agreement,
which share issuance and cash payment are mandatory; and (ii)
making additional cash payments of US$35,000, US$50,000 and
US$90,000 on the first, second and third anniversaries of the
Option Agreement, respectively. The optionor shall retain a 2% NSR
interest in the Debela project, one-half of which may be purchased
by the Company at any time for US$2,000,000, and the remaining
one-half of which may be purchased at any time by the Company for
US$5,000,000. In addition, in the event that the Company exercises
the Option, prior to the commencement of commercial production on
the Debela project, the optionor shall be entitled to receive
annual pre-production payments of US$25,000 until the commencement
of commercial production (which payments shall be credited against
any NSR payable by Northquest in the event of commencement of
commercial production on the Property).
The Debela gold project is a 113 square kilometer exploration
permit located in the prolific Massigui Greenstone Belt of southern
Mali. The permit is 250 kilometers south of Bamako and 100
kilometers southwest of the 7.5 million ounce Morila gold mine. The
Debela property is at the intersection of conjugate northeast and
northwest-trending faults and is coincident with several gold in
soil anomalies identified in the 1980's vintage UNDP regional
geochemical survey. The Company intends to complete a detailed
geochemical survey over the entire property on a nominal 400 metre
by 200 metre grid as soon as possible. Contingent upon the results
of that work, additional sampling will be carried out in order to
define targets for drilling in 2012. With the addition of the
Debela project, Northquest has five gold exploration projects in
Mali and a total of 770 square kilometres of mineral rights. The
Company also has 1,100 square kilometres of mineral rights at the
Pistol Bay gold project in Nunavut, Canada, where a diamond
drilling program is currently underway.
The Option Agreement remains subject to the approval of the TSX
Venture Exchange.
All technical information disclosed in this press release has
been prepared under the supervision of, and verified by, Jon North.
Dr. North is the President and Chief Executive Officer of
Northquest and a "qualified person" within the meaning of National
Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
Northquest is a mineral exploration company focused on the
acquisition, exploration and development of properties for the
mining of gold and other minerals. Northquest has 25,780,823 shares
outstanding (38,710,034 on a fully diluted basis). For further
information please visit www.northquest.biz.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information set forth in this news release may contain
forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and
unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements
are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which
are beyond the control of Northquest, including, but not limited
to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions,
volatility of financial markets and commodity prices, risks
associated with the uncertainty of exploration results and
estimates and that the resource potential will be achieved on
exploration projects, currency fluctuations, dependence upon
regulatory approvals, and the uncertainty of obtaining additional
financing and exploration risk. Readers are cautioned that the
assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although
considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be
imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on
forward-looking statements.
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES
PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX
VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR
ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Contacts: Northquest Ltd. Dr. Jon North President and Chief
Executive Officer (416) 306-0202 Northquest Ltd. Tanya Mahadeo
Investor Relations (416) 306-0486