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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ExGen Resources Inc. (EXG.V) (BXXRF) (“ExGen”) is pleased to announce today that, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, it has entered into an option agreement (the “Option”) with Phoenix Global Mining Ltd., a London AIM listed mining company focused on base and precious metals development in North America (“Phoenix”) to earn an 80% interest in our high grade gold Gordon Lake project located in the Northwest Territories (“Gordon Lake”).

Project Participation

• ExGen to retain a 20% carried interest until commencement of mine construction
• ExGen to be granted a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty for all metals on Gordon Lake (the “2.5% NSR”)
• 30 mile area of interest, which applies to both ExGen’s 20% carried interest and the 2.5% NSR

Cash and Shares

• ExGen to be paid a cash payment of US $25,000 on signing the Option
• ExGen to be issued 2,000,000 common shares of Phoenix within 30 days of signing the Option
• ExGen to be paid US $25,000 on the first 2 anniversary dates of the signing of the Option and then US $50,000 on the anniversary date of the signing of the Option until the completion of a bankable feasibility study

Project Spend by Phoenix

• Phoenix to spend US $250,000 on Gordon Lake within 12 months of signing the Option
• Phoenix to fund all Gordon Lake Project property maintenance and sustaining costs

Deal Protection and Corporate Structure

• After earning in, should Phoenix sell its 80% interest in Gordon Lake prior to the commencement of commercial production, ExGen shall have the right but not the obligation to sell its 20% interest in Gordon Lake on the same terms as Phoenix
• Alternatively, ExGen can elect to convert its 20% interest to a fully carried interest in Gordon Lake
• Jason Riley to join the board of directors of Phoenix, effective February 28, 2018

The Option is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

Mr. Jason Riley, CEO of ExGen commented: “Our experience with the Phoenix team on Empire has been truly exceptional and we are delighted to expand our relationship to another partnership on Gordon Lake. We look forward to the next steps for Gordon Lake and delineating the initial 12 month work program. This is shaping up to be an exciting year for ExGen as we will now have 2 active work programs and news flow on Gordon Lake and Empire over the next 12 months. We also anticipate the release our 43-101 Resource Calculation on Empire this quarter.”

Mr. Dennis Thomas, CEO of Phoenix said: “I am pleased to report Phoenix’s further collaboration with ExGen and we look forward to creating value at the Gordon Lake property in Canada, which we have considered to have significant exploration merit for some time. We have a strong team of geologists and consultants in the Company who can add value at Gordon Lake.”

ABOUT THE PHOENIX TEAM
The Phoenix team has previously built two companies from development through to production, Nelson Gold in Tajikistan, an 80,000 oz/annum gold producer (source: Nelson Gold financial statements and Northern Miner 8/31/98) and Oxus Gold’s Amantaytau Goldfields in Uzbekistan, which produced more than half a million ounces of gold and almost 2.5 million ounces of silver in its first 6 years of production (source: Oxus Gold plc June 30, 2007 financial statements). Its principals have practical hands-on experience in precious and base metals exploration and mining, as well as being successful in project generative work, globally sourcing new projects for exploration and development for mid tier and major copper, gold, and iron ore producers.

ABOUT THE GORDON LAKE PROJECT

The Gordon Lake gold property which consists of two mining leases covering an area of 609 hectares on the northern edge of Gordon Lake, some 110 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is accessed by the Lupin winter road which traverses the west side of the property.

The Project contains 17 zones of high grade shear hosted gold mineralisation, over a 1 kilometre strike length, have been identified by geophysical surveys and 59 mineralised diamond core holes drilled into four of these 17 zones which include the following intersections:

This series of closely spaced gold zones occur along a broad shear zone in a geological setting similar to that of the Giant, Con and Discovery mines to the south.

Gold had been discovered near the Great Slave Lake in the 1890s but significant gold exploration in the area only started in 1935. In 1938 the Con Mine started production and Giant Mine in 1948. In 1950 The Discovery Mine located 84 kilometres north of Yellowknife came on stream.

The production profiles of these mines were as follows:

The 4 zones explored to date at Gordon Lake are approximately 140 metres long, 1 to 11 metres wide and open at depth. The deepest hole to date is 246 metres in the No 9 Vein of the South Zone and open at depth. The other 13 identified zones have yet to be assessed.

INITIAL WORK PLAN
Phoenix will carry out a preliminary detailed assessment of Gordon Lake to determine the recommended work program over the next 12 months. Phoenix plans to spend a minimum of US $250,000 over this initial 12 month period.

Qualified Person
Roger Turner A.C.S.M., M.Sc., M.I.M.M.M., C.Eng., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and Chief Technical Officer and Director of Phoenix Global Mining, has reviewed and verified the technical mining information provided in this release. Mr Turner is a graduate mining engineer from the Camborne School of Mines with an MSc in Economic Geology from Leicester University with more than 40 years’ experience in mine development, construction and operation.