Bean - think of it as effectively a sale of the gold assets. They could structure it a number of ways so there is some ambiguity as to what could the end result - I'll have a stab at it.
If QMN were to spin the gold out into a separate entity, would QMN holders have to fork out more money to receive the new shares? Short answer - yes. New company formed will raise $Xm dollars to target purely gold. That company would then use some of the money raised to acquire the leases from QMN.
QMN takes pockets the money and uses it to focus on the copper assets.
Would we receive the new shares free? Nope.
Would we receive the new shares discounted? They may offer a discount to current holders to help drive the process.
Also, what about the option holders? Would they get anything? Option holders wouldn't get anything.
QMN Price at posting:
5.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held