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<<-- Northern Lion to Sell Finnish Assets for $10.46 Million to Focus on Portugal --
CCNMATTHEWS
Northern Lion Gold Corp.
April 11, 2007 - 11:00:15 AM
Northern Lion to Sell Finnish Assets for $10.46 Million to Focus on Portugal
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - April 11, 2007) - Northern Lion
Gold Corp. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:NL)(FRANKFURT:N3E) has reached
agreement to sell all of its Finnish mineral properties to Lappland Goldminers
AB ("Lappland Goldminers"), a publicly-traded Swedish exploration company, for
approximately Cdn$10.46 million, consisting of $5 million cash and 1,771,726
shares (the "Lappland Shares") of Lappland Goldminers, at a deemed price of
approximately Cdn$3.08 per share. The purchase price is approximately equal to
the entire amount of the Company's historical investment in Finland.
The Company has recently shifted the focus of its exploration and development
activities to its Cercal and Moura projects in Portugal. The Company also
holds a strong portfolio of projects in Sweden.
Company President, John Lando, commented: "This transaction will allow us to
focus squarely on the world-class exploration opportunity that we have
assembled in Portugal, without need for new financing or share dilution. The
history of Rio Tinto, and the recent success of Lundin Mining's Neves Corvo
project, demonstrate the magnitude of potential that lies within the
under-explored region of the Iberian Pyrite Belt where we are currently
defining drill targets.
Although the decision to sell our Haveri Project and other less advanced
projects in Finland was not easy, with close to $11.5 million in cash and
marketable securities, we will be well-positioned financially to proceed
aggressively in Portugal. In addition, the Lappland Shares will give us a
substantial equity interest in a company that is close to a production
decision at its most advanced asset, the Faboliden gold project, and has the
expertise and financial means to uncover hidden value at Haveri."
The transaction will take the form of the purchase by Lappland Goldminers of
all of the shares and debt of the Company's wholly-owned Finnish subsidiary
Northern Lion Gold Oy ("NLOY"). NLOY is the registered owner of the Company's
Haveri gold project in southwestern Finland, as well as the Ansomaki claim,
several claims in the Tampere Schist Belt, and several claims in the Lappland
region of northern Finland.
Lappland Goldminers is a well established mineral exploration and development
company with several projects in the "Gold Line" in Vasterbotten, northern
Sweden. The shares of Lappland Goldminers trade in Sweden on the "First North"
stock exchange under the symbol "GOLD".
Lappland Goldminers will pay the Company a $1,000,000 cash deposit, which is
non-refundable if the transaction fails to close as a result of a breach of
the purchase agreement by Lappland Goldminers. The Lappland Shares will be
subject to volume restrictions on re-sale. No finder's fee is payable in
connection with the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approval.
About Northern Lion
Northern Lion Gold Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company, listed on
the TSX Venture Exchange and the Frankfurt Exchange. The Company is committed
to building a strong portfolio of projects within mining-friendly and
infrastructure-rich areas of Europe. It has approximately 28 million shares
issued, and on the completion of this transaction, will have $6 million in
cash and a further $5.5 million in marketable securities.
In 2006, the Company was granted the Cercal exploration license from the
Portuguese government mining authority to explore for metallic minerals over
an area of approximately 240 square kilometres in the prolific Iberian Pyrite
Belt of southern Portugal. In August 2006, Geotech Limited ("Geotech") of
Aurora, Ontario, completed a 1,350 kilometre, helicopter-borne geophysical
survey of the area for the Company using Geotech's advanced, deep-penetrating
VTEM (Versatile Time-Domain ElectroMagnetic) system, which includes a
high-resolution cesium magnetometer.
Interpretation of this data along with recently acquired gravity data is now
complete and a series of high priority exploration targets have been
identified for immediate follow-up. The Company has commissioned an
independent NI 43-101 compliant technical report of the Cercal project in
recognition of its status as the Company's principal exploration focus.
In late January 2007, the Company was notified by the Portuguese mining
authority that it had been awarded the exclusive right to explore for base and
precious metals in an area of approximately 374 square kilometers in the
Moura-Villa Verde de Ficalho region of southeastern Portugal. A number of
zinc-lead and silver occurrences are known within the license and the formal
signing of the license contract is expected shortly.
In southern Sweden, the Company holds the Oxberg, Skyttgruvan, Skallingsberg,
Halstjarn and Karlsgruvan projects in the historic Bergslagen mining district.
These properties were acquired in 2006 and data compilation and review and
limited soil sampling have been completed on the Bergslagen projects in
preparation for field work. The Company also holds a 100% interest in the
Nynasberget gold prospect that was recently acquired in the Jamtland region of
central Sweden.
NORTHERN LION GOLD CORP.>> |
