Antelope Valley Gold Mine Sells Shares

The owner of an Antelope Valley gold mine has agreed to sell $10 million worth of shares in the company to a syndicate of investors led by a Canadian firm. Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd., in Vancouver, will use the proceeds to pay off loans due later this year and for general corporate purposes. Cormark Securities Inc. and M Partners Inc., both in Toronto, along with other investors agreed to buy nearly 9 million shares in Golden Queen and warrants for additional shares at $1.55 per share for a period of 36 months after the closing of the deal on July 25. There is also an option for the investors to buy another 1.3 million shares at the cost of $1.5 million within 30 days of the close on the original transaction. Golden Queen is in a joint venture to operate its Soledad Mountain gold and silver mine just south of Mojave in the Antelope Valley. The mine began processing the precious metals earlier this year. Golden Queen is a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and the OTC Market in the United States. The Soledad mine is the company’s only asset. Shares closed down 18 cents, or 13 percent, to $1.17 in over-the-counter trading.