Toronto-headquartered American Eagle Gold Corporation has made an offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of TSX-V-listed Pacific Booker Minerals and thereby the dormant Morrison project that has been on hold for 13 years.

The offer comprises 1.41 common shares of American Eagle for each Pacific Booker share, which values Pacific Booker at a price of C$1.76 apiece, or a total equity value of C$31-million.

Pacific Booker shareholders are expected to own about 10% of the combined entity upon completion of the transaction.

Lake Babine Nation chief Wilf Adam has expressed support for American Eagle’s proposed acquisition of Pacific Booker and its Morrison project in British Columbia.

“We would welcome the opportunity for a constructive reset in engagement on Morrison. American Eagle has built trust with Lake Babine Nation through consistent communication and collaborative consultation,” he states.

American Eagle CEO Anthony Moreau says the potential transaction provides Pacific Booker shareholders with the opportunity to participate in a well-capitalised company with momentum, strong backing, meaningful stakeholder relationships and a modern strategy to unlock value in the Babine district.

The Morrison project has been halted for more than 13 years following a failed permitting exercise in 2012. American Eagle believes the historical development strategy of the project no longer reflects current realities, including changes in capital costs, permitting expectations, Indigenous engagement, project design and regional development strategy.

American Eagle believes the value of the Morrison project could be significantly enhanced if it were repositioned as part of an integrated Babine district strategy rather than advanced as a stranded standalone asset.

The offer would combine the Morrison project with American Eagle’s nearby NAK copper and gold project, creating a consolidated regional development platform in the district.

In turn, a combined Morrison-NAK strategy has the potential to create meaningful value through shared infrastructure and support facilities; optimised and accelerated sequencing of development; coordinated permitting and technical work; improved capital allocation across both assets; and long-term regional-scale exploration and development activities capable of supporting a multigenerational mining operation.  

American Eagle has $55-million of cash on hand to support the acquisition and its planned exploration and technical programmes. The company also benefits from its strategic shareholders that include South32, Teck, Eric Sprott and Ore Group.