On July 26, 2018, Equinox Gold shareholders voted to spin-out the Company’s copper assets to form a separate copper-focused company named Solaris Copper Inc. Equinox Gold will continue to focus on advancing its gold assets while Solaris Copper explores and develops the copper projects to unlock the value of the copper portfolio. Sixty percent of the shares of Solaris Copper were distributed to Equinox Gold shareholders, who received 1/10th of a Solaris Copper share for every EQX share held. The remaining 40% of Solaris Copper shares are held by Equinox Gold.
For the near-term Solaris Copper will operate as an unlisted reporting issuer, allowing the company to advance the properties and achieve key milestones before re-introducing the assets to the public market. More information about Solaris Copper and progress at its projects is available at www.solariscopper.com.
“Solaris Copper controls a portfolio of very promising exploration-stage projects located in world-class copper districts,” said Ross Beaty, Chairman of Equinox Gold. “Creating a standalone copper-focused company should give these projects the visibility and attention they deserve. With large copper deposits already identified, exceptional exploration upside and optionality from multiple properties, Solaris Copper represents an exciting growth-focused copper story.”
“Creating Solaris Copper to hold and advance Equinox Gold’s copper assets achieves another milestone in the business strategy we communicated to shareholders when we created Equinox Gold,” said Christian Milau, CEO and a Director of Equinox Gold. “We are creating value for Equinox Gold shareholders on two fronts now, with Solaris Copper providing exposure to rising copper prices while Equinox Gold offers substantial leverage to gold as we advance Aurizona and Castle Mountain to production.”
Separating the gold and the copper assets has allowed Equinox Gold and Solaris Copper to pursue independent growth and capital allocation strategies and stay focused on the long-term plan that suits their portfolio of assets. Equinox Gold believes that the spin-out provided shareholders with a number of benefits including:
- enhancing value by creating independent investment opportunities in a gold-focused company and a copper-focused company;
- unlocking the value of the copper assets, which were not fairly valued in the Equinox Gold portfolio;
- protecting the value of the copper assets by keeping Solaris Copper unlisted in the near-term, which reduces costs and allows the company to advance the properties and unlock the latent value of the assets before bringing them back to public markets;
- enabling investors, analysts and other stakeholders to more accurately evaluate each company and compare the assets to appropriate gold and copper peers;
- providing shareholders with 100% ownership of Equinox Gold and 60% ownership of Solaris Copper (with the remaining 40% held by Equinox Gold) to ensure that existing Equinox Gold shareholders retain upside potential as the copper assets are advanced;
- providing current Equinox Gold shareholders with a direct interest in the copper assets that will not be diluted in the future as Equinox Gold grows through organic and merger and acquisition opportunities;
- providing each company with a sharper business focus, enabling them to pursue independent business and financing strategies best suited to their respective business plans;
- enabling each company to pursue independent growth and capital allocation strategies; and
- allowing each company to be led by experienced executives and directors who have experience exploring resource properties and building and operating mines.
Receiving your Solaris Copper Shares
If your Equinox Gold shares were deposited electronically in an online account before August 2, 2018, you won’t need to do anything to receive your Solaris Copper shares. The conversion would have happened automatically and the shares will appear in your account. Since Solaris Copper is not listed, your Solaris Copper shares will not show a ticker symbol or a market value, but you should see them in your account.
If you still hold physical share certificates or DRS advice for your Equinox Gold shares you need to submit them to Computershare before August 3, 2025 to effect the conversion and get your Solaris Copper shares. You should have received a Letter of Transmittal and instructions by mail or you can download it here. Please do not send your share certificates to Equinox Gold. They must be submitted to Computershare, preferably by courier or registered mail, to:
Computershare Investor Services
8th Floor, North Tower, 100 University Ave
Toronto, ON, Canada M5J 2Y1
corporateactions@computershare.com
1-800-564-6253