ATAC board rebuffs Victoria Gold takeover bid

YUKON | Victoria says it won’t raise all-share offer valuing junior at $25M

BY HENRY LAZENBY

The Toronto-quoted equity of explorer ATAC Resources (TSXV: ATC) jumped about 38.5% on Feb. 13 following the weekend announcement by Victoria Gold (TSX: VGCX) of a takeover bid at an 85% premium.

While the all-scrip deal values ATAC at 12¢ per share, implying a value of $25 million, ATAC’s board has rejected the unsolicited offer, prompting Victoria on Feb. 13 to extend the offer to Feb. 17 to give the ATAC board more time to reconsider.

ATAC’s main asset is the Rackla gold property in Yukon. Rackla contains the Rau project, which hosts the Tiger deposit containing measured and indicated resources of 4.5 million tonnes grading 3.19 grams gold per tonne for 464,000 oz. This includes an open pit measured and indicated resource of 386,000 oz. at a grade of 3.31 grams per tonne. The open-pit deposit has a measured and indicated oxide resource of 238,000 oz. grading 3.74 grams gold in 2 million tonnes of material.

Rau’s 2020 preliminary economic assessment outlines a potential annual output of 45,000 oz. gold annually over a seven-year mine life. Rau also contains multiple exploration targets with gold and base metals discoveries.

Rackla also contains the Nadaleen project, another group of targets with the most advanced being Osiris which holds an indicated

PATERSON from 5 mid-1980’s, part of a CIDA geophysical interpretation project to assess mineral potential.

“This remains the toughest field work of my career due to the extreme heat and new cuisine,” he said. “Norm soldiered on as leader of the team. Partway through a traverse, we settled under a large tree for a break from the heat. It was located in a field outside a local village. Soon after, a small delegation from the village brought water for our group. An elder presented Norm with a live pintade, a domestic fowl. Norm accepted this gift as a deep sign of respect from one elder to another, and later gifted it to the local geophysicist who was guiding us.

“After we completed the project, of his own volition Norm dug back into the data, extracting numerous examples and published a jour-