Luca Mining Corp. announced that it will acquire the El Barqueño property from Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., including the El Barqueño gold-silver-copper project in Jalisco, Mexico. The transaction includes an initial payment of $10 million on closing to be satisfied through the issuance of common shares of Luca, followed by up to $30 million through milestone-linked payments. Those payments are to be executed as: $15 million three months following the commencement of the first drilling program and $15 million upon the achievement of commercial production. There is also an additional consideration of up to $20 million in production milestone-linked payments, comprised of: $5 million for every 100,000 gold equivalent ounces (oz) produced up to a maximum of 400,000 gold equivalent oz.
Agnico will receive a 2% net smelter return (NSR) interest on all metal production solely in respect of certain areas of the El Barqueño property which host currently defined mineral resources. Luca will have the right to repurchase one-half of the NSR at any time for $12.5 million.
“This acquisition aligns with our growth strategy to use our specific in-country skills and experience to de-risk mining projects, adding value and realizing benefits for all stakeholders. Luca is uniquely positioned to create value at El Barqueño, and we will use our expertise to advance permitting efforts at the project, which we believe is amenable to both open-pit and underground mining methods,” said Dan Barnholden, Luca’s CEO and director. “Furthermore, our exploration team is excited to evaluate the growth potential at El Barqueño with a large-scale, regional exploration focus. We look forward to building on Agnico Eagle’s strong track record of community involvement, social governance and environmental stewardship at the project, and we are pleased to add Agnico Eagle as a significant Luca shareholder.”
The El Barqueño property covers over 32,000 hectares and is accessible by paved and secondary roads. Agnico acquired El Barqueño through acquisitions of Cayden Resources and Soltoro Ltd. in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Agnico subsequently conducted approximately 225,000 m of exploration drilling, primarily between 2015 and 2018.
The property is not currently permitted for exploration drilling due to the existence of the Jalisco Regional Ecological Territorial Planning Program (POETR), which covers portions of the project. Luca said a direct amparo proceeding has been instituted before the Fourth District Court for Administrative Matters in the State of Jalisco regarding the application of the POETR, which was granted before the creation of the POETR.
Luca said it is working with Agnico regarding the ongoing Amparo and intends to continue pursuing a legal pathway to address the application of the POETR to the project. Closing of the transaction is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.
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