Stellar AfricaGold Announces Board and Management Reorganization and Stock Option Grant
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Jan. 18, 2017) - Maurice Giroux, director of Stellar AfricaGold Inc. (TSX VENTURE:SPX) ("Stellar" or the "Company") is pleased to announce:
Management Changes
John Cumming has been appointed as a director of the Company. Mr. Cumming will also assume the office of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.
Mr. Cumming, a corporate, securities and mining lawyer and businessman, has been active in the Canadian securities markets and resource exploration sector for 40 years. Mr. Cumming was the senior securities and mining law partner at a Vancouver law firm until 1992. Mr. Cumming was a founding shareholder of St. Philips Resources Inc. which, in joint venture with the Hunter Dickinson Group, found the Kemess gold copper mine. Both joint venture companies were sold in 1996 in a $200 million take-over bid. Over its life the mine produced approximately 3 million ounces of gold and 800 million pounds of copper.
Mr. Cumming presently serves as Executive Vice-President and CFO of Merrex Gold Inc., a company that has been active in the West African gold space for over 10 years. In 2014 Merrex's Siribaya Gold Project (50/50 joint venture with IAMGold Corp.) discovered the Diakha gold deposit in West Mali. In December 2016 the Merrex management team successfully negotiated the sale of Merrex to IAMGold Corp. in a $40 million share transaction expected to close in Q1 2017. (Merrex Gold News Release December 22, 2016)
Mr. Cumming holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of British Columbia and a Masters in Laws degree with specialty in corporate and commercial law from King's College, University of London. Mr. Cumming has served as a director and officer of numerous public resource corporations since beginning his legal career in 1978.
"I want to welcome Mr. Cumming to Stellar AfricaGold" commented director Maurice Giroux. "Recent years have been difficult for junior exploration companies and Mr. Cumming has successfully helped guide Merrex Gold Inc. through that period. Amongst his first tasks in his role at Stellar the board has asked Mr. Cumming to fully evaluate Stellar's assets, to prepare a near and medium-term corporate plan to advance those assets and to grow the Company, and to report to the board as soon as that assignment is completed. I also want to acknowledge Raymond Cloutier who is resigning as a director and thank him for his service to Stellar and its shareholders."
Other changes to the board and management include: Raymond Cloutier has resigned as a director and Corporate Secretary; Mr. Giroux has resigned as President and CEO and been appointed as Vice President Exploration and Chief Operating Officer overseeing the Company's exploration and property acquisition activities in Canada and Africa; J. François Lalonde has resigned as COO and been appointed as Corporate Secretary and to the newly created office of Vice-President Corporate Development.
Grant of Stock Options
The Company has granted 1,250,000 incentive stock options to directors and officers of the Company. The options are for a five year term exercisable at $0.05 per share, are fully vested and are granted pursuant and subject to the Company's approved Stock Option Plan and required regulatory approvals.
About Stellar AfricaGold Inc.
Stellar AfricaGold Inc. is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, with gold projects in West Africa and Quebec.
The Company is pursuing the promising gold potential of its Balandougou Project in Guinea, with particular focus on the B3 oxide zone which is at an advanced exploration stage, and its early stage Namarana project in southern Mali.
The Company also owns 100% of the Opawica, Eastmain Belt North and South and Terrax Option, all in the Chibougamau and James Bay area of Quebec, Canada.
For further details about the Company's exploration activities visit Stellar's website at www.stellarafricagold.com.
To be added to Stellar's email contact list please email your request to our shareholder contact email box at contact.stellar@shaw.ca
On Behalf of the Board
Maurice Giroux
Director
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding expected, estimated or planned gold and niobium production, cash costs, margin expansion, capital expenditures and exploration expenditures and statements regarding the estimation of mineral resources, exploration results, potential mineralization, potential mineral resources and mineral reserves) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "outlook", "guidance", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation: changes in the global prices for gold, niobium, copper, silver or certain other commodities (such as diesel, aluminum and electricity); changes in U.S. dollar and other currency exchange rates, interest rates or gold lease rates; risks arising from holding derivative instruments; the level of liquidity and capital resources; access to capital markets, financing and interest rates; mining tax regimes; ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; legislative, political or economic developments in the jurisdictions in which the Company carries on business; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment; employee relations; availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of exploration and development; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; and the risks involved in the exploration, development and mining business. Risks and unknowns inherent in all projects include the inaccuracy of estimated reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries, capital and operating costs of such projects, and the future prices for the relevant minerals. Development projects have no operating history upon which to base estimates of future cash flows. The capital expenditures and time required to develop new mines or other projects are considerable, and changes in costs or construction schedules can affect project economics. Actual costs and economic returns may differ materially from estimates and the Company could fail to obtain the governmental approvals necessary for the operation of a project; in either case, the project may not proceed, either on its original timing or at all.
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.