Fura Gems Acquires Coscuez Emerald Mine in Colombia

Fura Gems Inc. (FURA) is excited to announce that it has now completed a majority acquisition of Esmeracol S.A. ("Esmeracol"), which owns a 100% interest in the mining license no. 122- 05M, "Coscuez Licence".

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - February 23, 2018 /MarketersMedia/ —

The historic emerald mine of Coscuez is globally recognized as one of the most prolific in the world. The Coscuez mine has earned its reputation by producing some of the world's finest emeralds, such as the 7,000-carat Emilia Emerald Crystal -- the largest ever discovered. Fura Gems Inc. (FURA) is excited to announce that it has now completed a majority acquisition of Esmeracol S.A. ("Esmeracol"), which owns a 100% interest in the mining license no. 122- 05M, “Coscuez Licence”.

The emerald deposits of Coscuez have remained largely untouched for 32 million years. The 46 hectares (roughly 114 acres) mine has been used on a small-scale until now. Fura Gems now plans on significantly increasing the production and efficiency of the mine through technological and processual upgrades.

Fura will considerably scale up emerald mining by optimizing the current infrastructure and modernizing the mine through the implementation of leading-edge technologies. In the short-term this includes focusing on improving the mine’s infrastructure and developing safe and effective operations. This ranges from the construction of a 1/7 gradient, positive and negative ramp system, and the construction of a horizontal tunnel to optimize access to the orebody. This tunnel will then enable the modernization of the extraction process, vastly increasing the efficiency and output of the mine.

As part of the 76% acquisition of Esmeracol , Fura has paid Emporium HS S.A.S. ("Emporium") US$2.50 million on closing and issued 363,872 common shares. Fura is pleased to announce that it has now assumed the complete management control of the Coscuez mine as a result.

Emporium will continue to hold a 20.10% free carried interest in Esmeracol, subject to a shareholders' agreement containing restrictions on transfer of shares, a right of first refusal, drag along rights and other terms standard for an agreement of this nature. The balance of 3.9% will continue to be held by third parties.Under the terms of the share purchase agreement relating to the transaction, Fura has agreed to the following additional payments:

1) US$2.00 million on the 12-month anniversary of the closing;
2) US$2.50 million on the 24-month anniversary of the closing; and,
3) US$3.00 million on the 36-month anniversary of the closing.

In addition, Fura will assume certain expenses of Esmeracol not exceeding US$5 million. If Esmeracol earns a net profit of US$17 million or more in a fiscal year, then Fura will pay to Emporium an additional one-off bonus of US$3 million.

The common shares issued to Emporium are subject to a four month statutory hold period. The transaction was an arm's length transaction for the purposes of the TSXV policies and Fura has not paid any finder's fee relating thereto.

Technical information in respect of the Coscuez property is available in the technical report entitled "Technical report on the 122-95M emerald license in the Boyac district, Colombia", dated with an effective date of November 15, 2017 filed under Fura's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

With this acquisition Fura is excited to unearth some of the worlds most sought after emeralds and rapidly increase our production.

Fura is also please to annouce that it has now launched new corporate website, which can be found at: www.FuraGems.com.

The new website features up-to-date information on the Company's mining assets as well as quick and easy access to in-depth information regarding the Company, its management and board of directors, corporate presentations, news releases, financial reports and other relevant corporate information.

About Fura Gems Inc.

Fura Gems Inc. is engaged in the exploration and acquisition of gemstone licences. Fura's headquarters are located in Toronto, Canada and its administrative headquarters are located in the Almas Tower, Dubai.

Fura owns an 80% effective interest in four ruby licences (4392, 3868, 3869 and 6811) in Mozambique. Fura is also engaged in the exploration of resource properties in Colombia and owns a 100% interest in the emerald licence ECH -121. In addition, Fura owns 76% of the issued and outstanding shares of Esmeracol S.A., which wholly owns the Coscuez emerald mine in Boyac, Colombia.

Regulatory Statements

This press release may contain "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the prospectivity of the Coscuez Licence, the Company's ability to raise capital, the Company's ability to make the deferred payments to Emporium; the Company's proposed activity at the Coscuez mine; the Company's exploration activities and the Company's performance. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: the risk with respect to the ability of Fura to finance the additional payments relating to the acquisition; uncertainties with respect to the successful integration of Esmeracol to Fura's business; general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of exploration activities; regulatory risks; risks inherent in foreign operations, uncertainties with respect to Coscuez deposit, which has never been subject to modern mining methods; legacy environmental risks, title risks and other risks of the mining industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Contact Info – President & Chief Executive Officer:
Name: Dev Shetty
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +971 (0) 4 240 8760

Contact Info:
Name: Vikram Pathak – Investor Relations
Email: [email protected]
Organization: Fura Gems Inc.
Address: PO Box 126515, 26J Almas Tower, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, UAE
Phone: 1-647-276-7816

Source URL: https://marketersmedia.com/fura-gems-acquires-coscuez-emerald-mine-in-colombia/304419

For more information, please visit http://www.furagems.com/

Source: MarketersMedia

Release ID: 304419