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REGIONAL NEWS - U.S. & CANADA 6 E&MJ; • APRIL 2016 www.e-mj.com Silver Standard Acquiring Claude Resources for C$337M Silver Standard Resources agreed in early March to acquire Claude Resources in a friendly shares-and-cash transaction that valued Claude at about C$337 million. Claude Resources owns and operates the underground Seabee gold complex in northern Saskatchewan. Silver Standard owns and operates the open-pit Marigold gold mine in Nevada and the open-pit Pirquitas silver mine in Argentina. All three properties have exploration potential. In 2015, the Marigold mine produced 207,006 oz of gold; the Pirquitas mine produced 10.3 million oz of silver; and the Seabee complex produced 75,748 oz of gold. Silver Standard forecasts that in 2016, the combined company will pro- duce approximately 390,000 gold equiv- alent oz at cash costs of approximately $735/gold equivalent oz. Upon completion of the transaction, existing Silver Standard and Claude Re- sources shareholders will own approxi- mately 68% and 32% of the combined company, respectively. Silver Standard President and CEO Paul Benson said, "Through this trans- action, we are adding a third high-qual- ity, strong-cash-fowing operation located in Canada, one of the best places in the world to operate mines. We also acquire a large, under-explored land position with signifcant exploration upside. With fnancial synergies and our strong bal- ance sheet, the combined company is well positioned to maximize value from our assets and pursue further growth opportunities." The transaction requires the approval of at least 66 2/3% of the votes cast by Claude shareholders at a special meeting, while the issuance of shares by Silver Standard under the agreement is subject to the approval of the majority of votes cast by Silver Standard shareholders at a special meeting. The shareholder meet- ings are scheduled for mid-May. Both companies' boards of directors have unanimously approved the transac- tion. Silver Standard Resources is head- quartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Claude Resources is headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Pure Gold Initiates PEA at Historic Madsen Mine Pure Gold Mining has initiated a prelim- inary economic assessment (PEA) of its 100% owned Madsen gold project in Ontario's Red Lake district. The PEA will provide a base-case assessment of near- term development opportunities utilizing existing mining infrastructure, including a permitted mill and tailings facility, to develop an existing near-surface mineral resource. "The Madsen gold project is a unique Canadian-based asset with a history of high-grade production, an in-situ high- grade gold resource, mining infrastruc- ture, and permitted milling and tailings facilities. The completion of an assumed 500-mt/d base-case development scenar- io will be a stepping stone as we target resource growth through our accelerated exploration program," Pure Gold Presi- dent and CEO Darin Labrenz said. Nordmin Engineering's Mining Ser- vices Division in Sudbury, Ontario, has been contracted to work with Pure Gold's technical team on the PEA. Nordmin will report on scoping-level capital costs, op- erating costs, and project economics as- sociated with the potential development of the Madsen mineral resource. Detailed mine design will utilize an existing surface portal, phased expansion of the related ramp, and mechanized un- derground mining methods. A review of past milling performance and metallurgi- cal recovery will be based on existing mill records. An existing Environmental Compliance Approval allows for operation of a 1,089- mt/d mill and carbon-in-pulp circuit, with discharge of treated tailings to an existing tailings facility. The historic Madsen mine operated for more than 36 years and produced 2.5 million oz of gold at grades of 9.9 g/mt gold. The Austin horizon was the principal source of mill feed and was mined from surface to a depth of 1,200 m, producing 170,000 oz of gold per 100 vertical m. Pure Gold's current Madsen gold proj- ect has an indicated resource of 928,000 oz gold at 8.93 g/mt gold in 3.24 million mt and an inferred resource of 297,000 oz at 11.74 g/mt in 0.79 million mt. In addition to the mineral resource, the proj- ect hosts a number of highly prospective new discoveries, including the Fork Zone and Russet South targets, where drilling in 2015 returned 15 g/mt gold over 5 m and 39.1 g/mt gold over 2.9 m. In 2015, Silver Standard's Marigold mine produced 207,006 oz of gold; its Pirquitas mine produced 10.3 million oz of silver. Claude Resources' Seabee complex (pictured here) produced 75,748 oz of gold. (Photo: Claude Resources)