Aldebaran Resources (TSXV: ALDE) has officially spun out its exploration-stage assets in northern Argentina while it continues to work on the more advanced Altar project in San Juan province as its sole asset.
The Vancouver-based copper-gold developer first announced its intention to spin out the assets in September, a move that it said would “unlock additional value” for its shareholders by creating a new company focused on advancing a portfolio of exploration projects that have been on hold for the past several years.
The new company — called Centauri Minerals — will hold six greenfield projects spanning over 430 sq. km across Salta, Jujuy and Catamarca provinces. Currently, the most advanced is Rio Grande, located 9 km from the Lindero gold-copper mine owned by Fortuna Mining. Based on drilling last completed in 2012, the project has a resource of 71 million tonnes grading 0.30% copper and 0.36 g/t gold in the indicated category and 41 million tonnes at 0.23% copper and 0.28 g/t gold in the inferred category.
Another notable project is Aguas Calientes, which has a well-mineralized surface but has not seen drilling since 2019.
New subsidiary
Leading the new subsidiary will be Sam Leung, a director at Aldebaran who previously worked at Adventus Mining (sold to Silvercorp Metals last year) and Lundin Mining, both of which have projects in South America.
As part of the spin-off, Aldebaran will “sell” the exploration assets to Centauri in exchange for 40 million shares of the subsidiary, representing 78.1% of those outstanding. The remaining shares will be sold at C$0.50 each to investors as part of a private seed financing for around C$5.7 million.
The funds would allow Centauri to execute its exploration initiatives, including the completion of a technical report on Rio Grande and field programs at Rio Grande and Aguas Calientes in preparation for drilling. It also plans to use the proceeds for administrative purposes ahead of a proposed initial public offering or go-public transaction in 2026.
Meanwhile, Aldebaran will continue to develop the 80%-owned Altar project as its lone asset. A resource update last year outlined 2.4 billion tonnes in measured and indicated resources grading 0.42% copper and 0.07 g/t gold, for 22 billion lb. of contained copper and 5.1 million oz. of gold. The company’s goal for next year is to advance the project towards a prefeasibility study.
Aldebaran Resources’ stock inched 0.6% higher on the spin-off announcement, giving the company a market capitalization of C$580.5 million ($414.3 million).
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Aldebaran Resources (TSXV: ALDE) has officially spun out its exploration-stage assets in northern Argentina while it continues to work on the more advanced Altar project in San Juan province as its sole asset.
The Vancouver-based copper-gold developer first announced its intention to spin out the assets in September, a move that it said would “unlock additional value” for its shareholders by creating a new company focused on advancing a portfolio of exploration projects that have been on hold for the past several years.
The new company — called Centauri Minerals — will hold six greenfield projects spanning over 430 sq. km across Salta, Jujuy and Catamarca provinces. Currently, the most advanced is Rio Grande, located 9 km from the Lindero gold-copper mine owned by Fortuna Mining. Based on drilling last completed in 2012, the project has a resource of 71 million tonnes grading 0.30% copper and 0.36 g/t gold in the indicated category and 41 million tonnes at 0.23% copper and 0.28 g/t gold in the inferred category.
Another notable project is Aguas Calientes, which has a well-mineralized surface but has not seen drilling since 2019.
New subsidiary
Leading the new subsidiary will be Sam Leung, a director at Aldebaran who previously worked at Adventus Mining (sold to Silvercorp Metals last year) and Lundin Mining, both of which have projects in South America.
As part of the spin-off, Aldebaran will “sell” the exploration assets to Centauri in exchange for 40 million shares of the subsidiary, representing 78.1% of those outstanding. The remaining shares will be sold at C$0.50 each to investors as part of a private seed financing for around C$5.7 million.
The funds would allow Centauri to execute its exploration initiatives, including the completion of a technical report on Rio Grande and field programs at Rio Grande and Aguas Calientes in preparation for drilling. It also plans to use the proceeds for administrative purposes ahead of a proposed initial public offering or go-public transaction in 2026.
Meanwhile, Aldebaran will continue to develop the 80%-owned Altar project as its lone asset. A resource update last year outlined 2.4 billion tonnes in measured and indicated resources grading 0.42% copper and 0.07 g/t gold, for 22 billion lb. of contained copper and 5.1 million oz. of gold. The company’s goal for next year is to advance the project towards a prefeasibility study.
Aldebaran Resources’ stock inched 0.6% higher on the spin-off announcement, giving the company a market capitalization of C$580.5 million ($414.3 million).