Reunion Gold Corporation – Exploring Mineral Projects in the Guiana Shield, South America
Overview
Reunion Gold Corporation
Reunion Gold Corporation (TSX.V:RGD) is a mineral exploration company focused on acquiring and exploring mineral projects in the Guiana Shield region of South America. The company has assembled a large, strategic land position in northwest Guyana and east Suriname. In April, the company closed a bought deal financing for gross proceeds of $40,250,000 through the sale of 23,000,000 common shares. Reunion Gold intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for the continued advancement of its subsidiary Reunion Manganese’s work at Matthews Ridge property including resource definition drilling, metallurgical studies, technical studies including a pre-feasibility study, and for general corporate purposes.
Reunion Manganese Inc
Reunion Manganese Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Reunion Gold Corporation (CVE:RGD), is focused on exploring manganese in Guyana. The Government of Guyana awarded the company four prospecting licenses to conduct exploration and development activities for manganese in the Northwest district of Guyana in South America and Reunion Manganese is currently executing an exploration program which consists of trenching, geological mapping and drilling aiming to delineate a NI 43-101 compliant resource.
Chief Project
Matthews Ridge Project – Northwest Guyana
The Matthews Ridge manganese project is located at the site of the abandoned Matthews Ridge Manganese Mine in northwest Guyana, approximately 260 km from the capital, Georgetown. The prospecting licenses Reunion Manganese obtained from the Guyanese government in September 2010 cover an area of 45,729 acres and center around the abandoned manganese mine at Matthews Ridge and Pipiani, once operated by a subsidiary of Union Carbide Corporation from 1962 to 1968. Over 1.66 million tonnes of manganese concentrate was shipped from the mine site during that period and total historical in situ resources at Matthews Ridge were estimated to be 3.6 million tonnes of 33.4% Mn recoverable concentrate.
The former Matthews Ridge mine area consists of a 12-kilometer long series of hills within the ridge formation hosting the manganese mineralization and extends for 40 kilometers of strike. The primary manganese zone is reportedly 150 to 175 cm thick and approximately 30 km long in a general NE-SW direction.
Exploration activities conducted by Reunion Manganese Inc. since November 2010 consist of 59 trenches totalling 4,700m, and 35 drill holes totalling 2,800m. A total of 42 auger holes have also been completed to test the tailings from the previous operation.
Results from the completed trenching program announced in March reported continuous and thick high grade manganese mineralization over 2.5 km of strike, and, in June, further results revealed evidence of manganese mineralization in over 7 kilometers of strike. Given the strong results of the program, Reunion is ready to initiate an aggressive 24,000m drilling program comprising 220 holes with the objectives of confirming the historic mineral resources within the trenched zone and defining a NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource by the end of 2011. Reunion also plans to expand its trenching program to test an additional 9 km of strike of previously identified manganese mineralization to identify additional drill targets.
At the end of March, Reunion Manganese reached a Mineral Agreement with the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, defining the fiscal terms and conditions for the exploration, development and mining at Matthews Ridge.
Reunion Gold
Reunion Gold Corporation is a mineral exploration company focused on acquiring and exploring mineral projects in the Guiana Shield region of South America. The company has assembled a large, strategic land position in northwest Guyana and east Suriname. In April, the company closed a bought deal financing for gross proceeds of $40,250,000 through the sale of 23,000,000 common shares. Reunion Gold intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for the continued advancement of its subsidiary Reunion Manganese’s work at Matthews Ridge property including resource definition drilling, metallurgical studies, technical studies including a pre-feasibility study, and for general corporate purposes.
Lely Gold Project – East-central Suriname
Reunion Gold’s Lely Gold project covers 82,850-hectares in the Lely Mountain area in Eastern Suriname. The project encompasses a greenstone belt with similar geology to that hosting the Gross Rosebel gold deposit and other substantial gold deposits in Venezuela, Guyana, and French Guiana. Lely hosts several large areas of artisanal workings that appear to be surface expressions of more deep rooted gold bearing structures. Reunion Gold conducted exploration activities on the Lely project until October 2008, when activities were suspended as a result of the financial crisis. Under an option agreement with a state-owned mining company, Reunion Gold can now acquire a 100% interest in the project.
Management
Directors
David A. Fennell – Executive Chairman
Mr. Fennell received his law degree in 1979 from the University of Alberta and practiced in the areas of corporate and resource law until 1983, when he founded Golden Star Resources (”Golden Star”). During his term as President and CEO, Golden Star became a TSE 300 company and one of the largest and most successful exploration companies. In 1998, Mr. Fennell left Golden Star to become Chairman and CEO of Cambiex Explorations Ltd, which became Hope Bay Gold Corporation (“Hope Bay”). He held this position until the merger of Hope Bay and Miramar Mining Corporation (” Miramar”) where he continued as Executive Vice-Chairman and director for the combined entity until its takeover, in January 2008, by Newmont Mining Corporation. He was Chairman of Ariane Gold Corp. (”Ariane”) from August 2002 until its acquisition by Cambior Inc. In November 2003, and was a director of Palmarejo Silver and Gold Corporation (”Palmarejo”) until the merger with Coeur d’Alene Mines Inc. to form Bear Lake Gold Ltd. (”Bear Lake”) where he continues as chairman. Mr. Fennell is also currently an officer or director or both of a number of publicly-traded resource companies.
James A. Crombie – President and Chief Executive Officer, Director
Mr. Crombie graduated from the Royal School of Mines, London, in 1980 with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Mining Engineering, having been awarded an Anglo American scholarship. Mr. Crombie held various positions with DeBeers Consolidated mines and the Anglo American Corporation in South Africa and Angola between 1980 and 1986. He spent the next thirteen years as a mining analyst and investment banker with Shepards, Merrill Lynch, James Capel & Co. and finally with Yorkton Securities. Mr. Crombie was the Vice President, Corporate Development of Hope Bay from February 1999 through May 2002 and President and CEO of Ariane Gold Corp. from August 2002 to November 2003. Mr. Crombie was President, CEO and a Director of Palmarejo until the merger with Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation in December 2007. He was a director of Sherwood Copper Corporation until its Transaction with Capstone Mining Corp. in November 2008. Mr. Crombie is also currently an officer or director or both of a number of publicly-traded resource companies.
Peter Nixon – Lead Director
Mr. Nixon is a director of Dundee Precious Metals Inc. and Stornoway Diamond Corporation. He was a director of Miramar Mining Corporation until the merger with Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation. Mr. Nixon brings over 35 years experience in providing investment advice to institutional investors as well as raising capital for companies in the natural resource industries in Canada.
Loraine (Altenweg) Oxley – Director and Chair of Audit Committee
Mrs. Oxley holds a Bachelor degree in Commerce from the University of Alberta, is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta and has received her certification from the Institute of Corporate Governance. She is on various audit committees, is an external member on the Province of Alberta Internal Audit Committee, and serves on the University of Alberta’s Audit Committee. She has recently been appointed to the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Accounting Standards Oversight Council. In the past, she has served on the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Audit Committee for the Servus Credit Union and Ariane Gold Corporation. In 2006, Mrs. Oxley was awarded the University of Alberta Alumni Honor Award in the area of business and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta’s Distinguished Service Award.
Leanne M. Baker – Director
Ms. Baker is Managing Director of Investor Resources LLC and is a registered representative with Puplava Securities Inc.. She currently serves as a director of Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd., a TSX-listed mining company, a position she has held since January 2003. Prior thereto, she was Equity Research Analyst and Managing Director of Salomon Smith Barney. Ms. Baker is a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines (M.S. and Ph. D. in Mineral Economics).
Vijay N.J. Kirpalani – Director and Chair of Compensation & Corporate Governance Committee
Mr Kirpalani is the Executive Director of Kirpalani’s N.V. a company based in Suriname. He is a graduate of the University of Suriname (Law) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Corporate Finance).
D. Bruce McLeod – Director
Bruce McLeod is a Mining Engineer with over 25 years experience in the mining exploration and development business. Mr. McLeod is currently the President & CEO of Creston Moly Corp. and Troon Ventures Ltd., and sits as an independent board member of several listed companies including Capstone Mining Corp. He was a founder of Stornoway Diamond Corporation and founder and Executive Chairman of Sherwood Copper Corp., which in 2008 completed a business combination with Capstone Mining Corp. Mr. McLeod primarily focuses on project development, strategic planning and financing activities. His professional associations include; chair of the TSXV Exchange’s Local Advisory Committee, member of the TSXV National Advisory Board, membership in the Canadian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy, the Association for Mineral Exploration British Columbia, and the Association of Professional Engineers of BC. Mr. McLeod also sits a Co-Chair of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Securities Committee and is involved with several non profit groups including sitting as a director of Science World.
Officers
Joachim Baya – Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Bayah is a mining engineer who has over 25 years of experience in the mining industry working in exploration and mining projects management. Mr. Bayah has hands-on mining operations experience in mining, metallurgy and process engineering as well as in the conduct of environmental and social impact studies and their implementation. Mr. Bayah is a graduate of Camborne School of Mines and Queen’s University. He has worked on mining projects in Canada, several countries in Africa and the Guiana Shield of South America. He also brings experience from project positions promoting mining projects in Guyana, and as a consultant to the World Bank/IFC Group dealing with technology, environment and stakeholder issues for the manganese projects in Guyana.
Alain Krushnisky, CA – Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Krushnisky obtained a bachelor’s degree in commerce in 1983 from the University of Ottawa. He is a chartered accountant with close to twenty years of experience in the mining sector. Mr. Krushnisky was employed by Cambior, a mid-tier gold producer, for over 10 years in various capacities, including Vice-President and Controller. Over the last four years, Mr. Krushnisky has been consulting for various mining companies and is currently CFO of Reunion Gold Corporation, Queensland Minerals Ltd., Bear Lake Gold Ltd. and Odyssey Resources Ltd. He was CEO of Maximus Ventures Ltd.until the business combination with NFX Gold and the name change to Bear Lake Gold Ltd. He was CFO of Palmarejo Silver and Gold Corporation until the merger with Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation. Mr. Krushnisky is also a director and chair of the audit committee of Everton Resources Inc. and Majescor Resources Inc.
Carole Plante – General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Ms. Plante holds a law degree from the University of Montreal, is a member of the Quebec Bar and has over 15 years experience in the mining sector. She is Corporate Secretary & Legal Counsel of Bear Lake Gold Ltd., Queensland Minerals Ltd. and Corporate Secretary of Odyssey Resources Ltd. Previously, she held a similar position with Palmarejo Silver and Gold Corporation until the merger with Coeur D’Alene Mines Corporation. Prior to this, Ms. Plante was Corporate Secretary and in-house counsel for Ariane Gold Corporation, Hope Bay Gold Corporation and Golden Star Resources as well as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Maximus Ventures Ltd. until the business combination with NFX Gold Inc. to form Bear Lake Gold Inc.
