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Lexston Mining Corporation has begun drafting a final purchase agreement to acquire a substantial tract of mineral claims in Guyana's northwest region. Through its local subsidiary, the Canadian exploration firm intends to secure full ownership of 15 claims covering approximately 16,000 acres in Mining District 5 from private claim-holder Joseph Jardine.
The proposed transaction is valued at US$1.1 million and structured as a series of milestone payments rather than a single lump sum. Lexston has already advanced a $25,000 refundable deposit toward the deal. Once the company receives all necessary regulatory approvals, it will make an initial payment of $125,000, followed by a further $150,000 after 90 days. The remaining $800,000 is to be paid in annual instalments spread across the subsequent five years. The staggered structure ties the bulk of the payment obligation to the pace at which regulators clear the transaction and to the years that follow.
Although Lexston is seeking a full, 100 percent interest in the claims, the agreement contains provisions that preserve certain benefits for the seller. Jardine will retain a two percent net smelter royalty on any commercial production that eventually results from the site. He will also keep independent rights to harvest surface alluvial gold across the property, meaning his access to that particular resource continues regardless of the change in ownership. These retained rights are common features in mineral claim transactions of this kind, allowing a seller to draw some ongoing value from land even after control has passed to another party.
The potential acquisition would mark an international expansion for Lexston, whose existing exploration projects are located in British Columbia and Nevada. Guyana's Guiana Shield, a geological formation spanning several South American countries, has drawn increasing interest from mining companies in recent years owing to its gold and mineral deposits. Chief Executive Jag Bal said the company's technical team is currently assessing the site's prospects within the Guiana Shield while the formal terms of the contract are being finalised. Bal did not provide a specific timeline for when the assessment work would conclude.
The deal is not yet complete. Both Lexston and Jardine must still sign the definitive agreement once drafting is finished, and the transaction remains contingent on the company securing the regulatory approvals required under Guyanese law. Mineral claims of this scale typically require sign-off from multiple government bodies before a change of ownership can proceed, a process that can take months depending on the jurisdiction and the nature of the claims involved. Lexston has not disclosed an expected date for when these approvals might be granted.
No exploration or extraction activity will begin on the property until the legal and regulatory steps are resolved. Until then, the arrangement remains a statement of intent rather than a concluded purchase, with the $25,000 deposit representing the only funds committed so far. Whether the remaining payment milestones proceed as outlined will depend on the outcome of the approval process and on both parties reaching final agreement on the contract's terms.
For Lexston, the Guyana claims would add a South American foothold to a portfolio currently concentrated in North America. For Jardine, the retained royalty and alluvial gold rights offer a continued stake in the property's future, even as operational control shifts to the Canadian firm. How the arrangement unfolds from here rests largely on regulators in Guyana, whose approval remains the central unresolved variable in the transaction.