One of Canada’s largest gold miners has joined Matador Mining in the hunt for frontier Newfoundland gold

The extraordinary potential of Matador Mining’s Newfoundland gold package in Canada has been underlined as one of North America’s largest gold mining companies signs on for a big stake in the company.

B2Gold will make a strategic $3.6 million investment in Matador (ASX:MZZ) at a premium of 11.62c per share, representing 9.9% of Matador’s shares on an undiluted basis.

It will help advance Matador’s exploration push in frontier gold country in Canada’s northeastern Newfoundland province, where it already boasts a resource of 837,000oz at the Cape Ray gold project.

B2Gold will provide its extensive exploration expertise as part of the deal, entering into an investment agreement including the formation of a three-person technical committee with one B2Gold representative to advise on Matador’s exploration programs.

The funds raised from the 1Mozpa gold miner, owner of the 585,000ozpa Fekola mine in Mali as well as the Masbate mine in the Philippines and Otjikoto mine in Namibia, will be put toward exploration at the Malachite project.

Matador began drilling at Malachite this month with a 3000m diamond drilling program to test areas where summer field work identified extensive areas of outcropping sulphide and quartz veining.

The Malachite area contains an extensive 15km of strike and 4km of strike width without any previous drilling.

It is a footprint that dwarfs the nearby 5.1Moz Valentine Lake project owned by Marathon Gold.

Great track record

MZZ managing director and CEO Sam Pazuki said B2Gold had a great track record when it came to identifying and developing top quality gold projects, and organic growth through green and brown fields exploration.

“We are very pleased to welcome B2Gold’s strategic investment in Matador and look forward to their partnership in advancing our exploration program in Newfoundland,” he said.

“B2Gold’s investment demonstrates their confidence in the gold potential of our extensive tenement package, our greenfields exploration strategy with our systematic approach to discovery and the team we have in place to create long-term shareholder value.

“B2Gold’s track-record speaks for itself. They have had a long, rich history of creating shareholder value through identifying, acquiring, constructing and operating gold projects globally – all the while doing so to the highest of standards financially, environmentally and socially.

“B2Gold also has a great track record of organic growth through green and brownfields exploration. I firmly believe their involvement as a strategic partner and owner of Matador, combined with their extensive technical expertise, enables us to unlock value for shareholders over the long-term.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Matador Mining, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.