Solaris Copper Inc. Announces Changes to Management and Board of Directors, and Private Placement
Solaris Copper Inc. ("Solaris" or the "Company") is pleased to announce changes to the management team and Board of Directors, including the appointment of Mr. Daniel Earle as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and a member of the Board. The Company also announces the appointment of Ms. Linda Chang as Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Purni Parikh as Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Corporate Secretary and Mr. James Steels as a member of the Board of Directors of Solaris. These appointments will be effective immediately following the release of the Company's third quarter financial statements later this month.
Mr. Greg Smith, current Chief Executive Officer and Director said, "I would like to welcome Dan, Linda, Purni and James to Solaris. We are very pleased to have attracted an executive team of this calibre as we expand our exploration activities and prepare for a public listing."
Mr. Earle and Mr. Steels will join current directors Mr. Marcel de Groot, Mr. Scott Heffernan and Mr. Smith on the Company's Board. Mr. Alex Holmes will be resigning from the Board in order to accommodate the addition of the new directors. Mr. Smith will also be resigning from his role as Chief Executive Officer and Ms. Kylie Dickson and Ms. Susan Toews will be resigning from their roles as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, respectively. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Holmes, Ms. Dickson and Ms. Toews for their many contributions.
Mr. Earle most recently served as a Vice President and Director at TD Securities Inc. where he covered companies in the precious and base metals sectors as an equity research analyst for over 12 years. During that time, he established himself as one of the leading authorities on exploration and development stage mining projects. Prior to joining TD Securities, Mr. Earle was a senior executive with a number of Canadian and U.S. public mineral exploration and mining companies. He is a graduate and scholar of the Lassonde Mineral Engineering Program at the University of Toronto.
Ms. Parikh has more than 25 years of public company experience in the mining sector including corporate affairs and finance, legal and regulatory administration, and governance. She is President of the Augusta Group of Companies and Titan Mining Corporation, and was previously Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Corporate Secretary of Arizona Mining Inc. and Vice President, Corporate Secretary of Newcastle Gold Ltd., Augusta Resource Corporation and Ventana Gold Corp. prior to their acquisition. Ms. Parikh obtained a Certificate in Business from the University of Toronto and a Gemology degree.
Ms. Chang has worked with the Augusta Group since June 2010. She previously served as Corporate Controller for Arizona Mining and Director of Finance for Titan Mining. Ms. Chang is a CPA, CA and began her career with Ernst & Young LLP after obtaining her Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting and Finance from the University of Manitoba.
Mr. Steels is a finance and capital markets professional in the metals and mining sector, specializing in the evaluation of mergers, acquisitions, financings, divestitures and passive investments. He is currently an executive of the Augusta Group and has previously held positions at Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets and KPMG LLP, as well as various governance positions at an incorporated charity in Ontario. Mr. Steels is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Mr. Earle said, "It is an honour to have been appointed to this position. Solaris has a very compelling portfolio of assets and a strong list of supportive shareholders, including Ross Beaty, Richard Warke, the Lorito and Zebra trusts established by the Lundin Family, and Equinox Gold. I look forward to working with the Solaris team to advance our suite of highly prospective projects in the Americas to the benefit of all stakeholders."
Solaris proposes to undertake a non-brokered private placement financing to raise gross proceeds of up to CAD$5,500,000 (the "Private Placement").
The Private Placement will consist of an issue of units at a price of CAD$0.40 per unit, with each unit consisting of one common share of the Company and one-half of a common share purchase warrant of the Company (each whole warrant being a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one common share at a price of CAD$0.60 for a period of three years following the closing date of the Private Placement.
The proceeds from the Private Placement will be used to advance permitting, exploration and drilling activities at the Company's mineral claims, for mineral property holding costs and for general and working capital purposes.
The Private Placement is expected to close in November 2019. The common shares and Warrants issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold.
Concurrent with the Private Placement, Equinox Gold Corp. ("Equinox Gold"), a related party to the Company, will subscribe for 6,875,000 units in exchange for the cancellation of all debt payable by the Company to Equinox Gold totaling CAD$2,750,000. Accordingly, on closing of the Private Placement, Equinox Gold will retain an interest of approximately 32% in Solaris.
On behalf of the Board of Solaris Copper Inc.
About Solaris Copper Inc.
Solaris Copper is advancing a portfolio of exploration projects in the Americas. Foremost among these is the 100%-owned Warintza copper-molybdenum project in Ecuador, which hosts a near-surface, high-grade resource that is open laterally and at depth. The Company also holds a 60% interest in the advanced-stage La Verde copper-silver-gold project in Mexico, with Teck Resources holding the remaining 40%; a 100% interest in the Ricardo copper exploration project in Chile, which is under option to Freeport; and earn-in agreements for the Tamarugo project in Chile and two early-stage projects in Peru. Solaris Copper operates as a reporting issuer, however, is not currently listed on a designated stock exchange.
This document contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of the words "will", "may", "can", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding planned exploration and development activities at the Company's projects, and the expected closing and use of proceeds of the Private Placement. Although Solaris Copper believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since Solaris Copper can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in Solaris Copper's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and Solaris Copper does not undertake any obligations to publicly update and/or revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of additional information, future events and/or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.