Etruscan to sell property

The Hackett River base metal property is about to change hands.

NovaGold Resources (NRI-T) has announced plans to acquire Hackett River Resources, which has a 53% interest in the property, situated 400 km northwest of Yellowknife, N.W.T.

NovaGold will acquire the company from its current owner, Etruscan Resources (EET-T), by issuing shares and transferring to Etruscan its 62% interest in Secor GeoMin Mining Development. Secor holds interests in the Bounsankoba gold concession in Senegal, and the N’Goybomba gold concession in Congo, Africa.

The letter-of-intent also calls for NovaGold to issue sufficient shares to Etruscan to settle an outstanding debt of about $4 million. The number of NovaGold shares to be issued to Etruscan for Hackett River Resources and the debt settlement will be determined after an independent valuation is completed. The proposed transactions also await necessary approvals.

NovaGold President Gerald McConnell says the acquisition of a 53% interest in the Hackett River property is the first step towards building a new company focused on North America. He notes that past work at Hackett River has yielded “impressive assay results” and that several other companies are developing gold and base metal projects in the area.

Cominco (CLT-T) holds the remaining interest in the Hackett River project.

McConnell is also president of Etruscan, which continues to focus on gold properties in West Africa.