Pacific Rim, Dayton become one

Having received Court approval, Pacific Rim Mining (PFG-T) and Dayton Mining (DAY-T) have completed their merger.

Under the deal, Dayton shareholders will receive 1.76 shares of Pacific Rim for each share held. In the end, Dayton shareholders will hold 70% of the merged company; Pacific Rim shareholders will have 30%.

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.

The new Pac Rim will focus its efforts on exploring the El Dorado gold project in El Salvador. A 7,000-metre, 20-hole drilling campaign is slated to begin in May.

Eldorado was brought to the table by Dayton, along with a 49% stake in the Denton-Rawhide silver mine in Nevada, where production will be phased out over the next few years.

Pacific Rim’s contribution included 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.