Shareholders OK Dayton, Pacific Rim merger

Shareholders of both companies have overwhelmingly approved the merger of Pacific Rim Mining (PFG-T) and Dayton Mining (DAY-T), leaving the final say to the courts.

Under the proposed amalgamation, Dayton shareholders would receive 1.76 shares of Pacific Rim for every share held. Pacific Rim will be the surviving entity, with 78.3 million shares outstanding, and trade on the Toronto and American stock exchanges.

Catherine McLeod-Seltzer and Thomas Shrake of Pacific Rim will continue to act as president and chief executive officer, respectively. The board of directors will consist of three Pacific Rim nominees and two Dayton nominees, with Dayton President William Myckatyn serving as non-executive chairman.

Among Dayton’s contributions to the merger are the El Dorado gold project in El Salvador and the 49%-owned Denton-Rawhide silver mine in Nevada. A 7,000-metre program of core drilling is scheduled to begin shortly at the former, and production at the latter is to be phased out over the next few years.

Pacific Rim’s assets consist of US$3.4 million in cash and receivables. The company recently sold its Diablillos silver-gold project in Argentina to Silver Standard Resources (sso-v) for US$3.4 million, of which it has received US$1.5 million. The company was also issued US$1 million worth of shares.

The court hearing for the merger is scheduled for April 10.