Canada’s Outback Goldfields has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire the Finnish gold projects of S2 Resources through the purchase of S2’s subsidiary, Sakumpu Exploration.
The LOI outlines the acquisition, which follows Outback’s satisfactory due diligence completed on 1 March 2024.
Outback CEO Chris Donaldson said: “This is a transformative acquisition for Outback, providing our company with a world-class portfolio of projects in a highly prospective jurisdiction.
“The Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of Northern Finland is an emerging gold camp and is host to several recent gold discoveries including Europe’s largest primary gold mine, Agnico Eagle’s Kittilä Mine, which produces over 200koz [200,000oz] gold per annum.
“We look forward to working with S2 on completing this transaction and focusing our technical team solely on making gold discoveries in Finland.”
Acquisition may be classified as a “Reverse Takeover” of Outback, in line with Policy 5.2, depending on the offering’s price and size.
This move is set to enhance Outback’s portfolio with highly prospective gold projects in Finland.
In a reciprocal arrangement, Outback will provide S2 with an option to earn an interest in its Australian gold projects.
These projects, located in the Victorian Goldfields, include Glenfine, Silver Spoon, Ballarat West and Yeungroon.
The Australian projects are expected to have exploration synergies with S2’s gold projects, which are also situated in the Victorian Goldfields, in proximity to the Fosterville gold mine.
S2 executive chairman Mark Bennett said: “We are very pleased to partner with Outback to create a new Canadian-listed company focused on exploring S2’s portfolio of highly prospective gold projects in Finland.
“S2 has had significant early-stage exploration success at these projects in a short period of time. This transaction will further solidify S2 as a leading explorer in the Greater Fosterville area, allowing Outback to solely focus on advancing exploration in Finland.”
Simultaneous with the transaction, Outback intends to complete financing to raise gross proceeds of C$5m.
