Junior explorer Sirios Resources has agreed to acquire OVI Mining in an all-share deal that will create an Osisko-backed gold company with a district-scale foothold in Québec’s Eeyou Istchee James Bay region.

The combination brings together Sirios’ Cheechoo gold deposit and OVI’s Corvet Est and PLEX projects, forming a new platform anchored by Osisko Development’s leadership and technical expertise.

Under a definitive arrangement agreement signed this week, Sirios will acquire all outstanding OVI shares under a court-approved plan of arrangement. OVI shareholders will receive 2.34 Sirios shares for each OVI share held, equivalent to an implied value of C$0.1755 a share. On completion, Sirios shareholders will hold about 75% of the enlarged company, with OVI shareholders owning the remaining 25%.

The combined company will be led by incoming CEO Jean-Félix Lepage, formerly vice-president of project development at O3 Mining. Sirios founder Dominique Doucet will transition to executive chair and head of exploration, while Osisko Development executives Sean Roosen and Laurence Farmer will join the board at closing.

Doucet said the transaction marked “a new era” for Sirios, noting that the addition of Lepage, Roosen and Farmer would deepen the group’s project development and financing capabilities. Lepage said the merged company would accelerate the advancement of a “promising gold portfolio” under the Osisko banner, highlighting Cheechoo’s potential to become a major James Bay mine and the growth opportunities at Corvet Est and PLEX.

Roosen said Cheechoo remained “greatly under-appreciated” and that the merger created an opportunity to support the asset’s development alongside Doucet, whom he described as “the elder statesman of exploration” in the region.

The Cheechoo project will serve as the flagship asset of the enlarged company. The deposit currently hosts 1.3-million ounces of gold at 1.12 g/t in the indicated category and 1.7-million ounces at 1.23 g/t in the inferred category. Sirios believes significant resource growth remains possible, citing an exploration target of 31-million to 40-million tonnes at grades of between 1.27 g/t and 1.45 g/t.

Sirios and OVI plan to adopt a new corporate name before closing. The transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2026, subject to approvals.