TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ELO; OTCQX: ELRRF FSE: P2QM) (“Eloro”, or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that in connection with required permitting for continued exploration at La Victoria, it’s 82%-owned Peruvian subsidiary, Compañia Minera Eloro Peru S.A.C. (“Eloro Peru”), entered into a surface rights agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Pallasca Community in the Pallasca Province, Ancash Department, Peru. The Agreement allows exploration activities, including drilling, to proceed at the San Markito epithermal silver drill target.
The San Markito target is located within the Victoria-APB Concession in the Pallasca District and Province, 430 km NNE of Lima, Peru. Surface mapping and sampling to date has confirmed high silver grades within a silicified breccia structure located at an altitude of 4050m above sea level. Significant silver values from San Markito include 994 g/t Ag with 0.35 g/t Au in a continuous diamond saw channel sample over 4.00m and 390 g/t Ag with 0.53 g/t Au over 1.53m (see December 14, 2016 Eloro Press Release). Induced polarization survey results indicate a steeply dipping low resistivity and higher chargeability anomaly at depth, spatially correlated with the surface mineralization. A 3000m drill program to test the continuity of the breccia mineralization along strike and down-dip is planned.
Since 2016, Eloro Peru has been actively engaged with local stakeholders from the Pallasca community and nearby hamlets in order to provide the necessary information to all concerned members. On July 24 2021, an extraordinary community assembly took place, where a majority of community members voted in favour of Eloro Peru’s land use proposal. Apart from the land rental payment, Eloro has also agreed to help the community avail itself to government infrastructure funds to enhance the community’s agricultural practices and access to water.
With the Agreement in place, Eloro Peru can now proceed with the drill permitting process with the Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Water Authority. Geades Consulting S.A.C has been retained for this purpose.
Geological operations will recommence in September, 2021, under the supervision of Chief Geologist (Peru), Marcelo Alvarez, who led Eloro Peru’s 2017-2018 exploration activities. Mr. Alvarez brings 30 years of exploration experience in South American epithermal, mesothermal and porphyry deposit types. He also has extensive knowledge in the modeling and evaluation of mineral resources.
Eloro’s La Victoria joint venture partner, Burgundy Diamond Mines Limited, holds an 18% interest in Eloro Peru and pursuant to an option agreement, can increase their interest from 18% to 25% by expending a further $1,400,000, subject to the receipt of all required permitting.
Qualified Person
Luc Pigeon, B.Sc., M.Sc., P. Geo., General Manager of Compañia Minera Eloro Peru S.A.C. and a Qualified Person in the context of National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”), has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.
About Eloro Resources Ltd.
Eloro is an exploration and mine development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Bolivia, Peru and Quebec. Eloro has an option to acquire a 99% interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, which can be classified as a polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department, in southern Bolivia. Eloro commissioned a NI 43-101 Technical Report on Iska Iska, which was completed by Micon International Limited and is available on Eloro’s website and under its filings on SEDAR. Iska Iska is a road-accessible, royalty-free property. Eloro also owns an 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the North-Central Mineral Belt of Peru some 50 km south of Barrick’s Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silver’s La Arena Gold Mine. La Victoria consists of eight mining concessions and eight mining claims encompassing approximately 89 square kilometres. La Victoria has good infrastructure with access to road, water and electricity and is located at an altitude that ranges from 3,150 m to 4,400 m above sea level.
For further information please contact either Thomas G. Larsen, Chairman and CEO or Jorge Estepa, Vice-President at (416) 868-9168.
Information in this news release may contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward looking information express, as at the date of this news release, the Company’s plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations, or beliefs as to future events or results and are believed to be reasonable based on information currently available to the Company. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2021 / NV Gold Corporation (TSXV:NVX)(OTCQB:NVGLF)(FSE:8NV) (“NV Gold” or the “Company”) The Company announced today an update on its active projects in Nevada, USA.
Slumber Gold Project, Humboldt County, Nevada
Our Q4, 2020 drill program at Slumber expanded the margins of known mineralization from previous work. Additional geophysics (CSAMT) followed by detailed mapping and sampling have advanced and enlarged our target interpretation which will focus the placement of the next round of drilling, anticipated in Q4, 2021. Details of the recent work will be outlined in a separate press release.
Sandy Gold Project, Lyon County, Nevada
Our maiden drilling at the Sandy Project in Q1, 2021 returned successful results, even though no high-grade intercepts were encountered. A large volume of gold mineralization was outlined, covering a strike length of 2 kilometers and a width of up to 500 meters. Water and equipment limitations kept the drilling depths to 300 meters.
Narrow gold-quartz-pyrite veining was encountered in most of the 17 holes drilled, suggesting a deeper target or targets may be present. A follow-up IP-Resistivity geophysical program is set to initiate within the next 2 weeks. Additional details of the planned geophysical work will be outlined in a separate press release. Depending upon availability of drilling equipment, the next drill program at Sandy is likely to be scheduled in Q1, 2022.
Discovery Bay Gold Project, Lander County, Nevada
The Discovery Bay Project is located less than 10 miles southeast of the (previously producing) Cove McCoy Mine in Lander County. The target area is a kilometer long, elongate window of Triassic Osobb Mountain Quartzite and Cane Springs Limestone (host rocks at McCoy), and other underlying favorable host lithologies. Most of the target(s) is covered by thin layers of Tertiary volcanics (Basal Tuffs) and Quaternary rocks.
NVX has expanded its claim position in preparation for a 4-6-hole initial RC program, expected to commence in early Q4 2021.
Pickhandle Project, Lander County, Nevada
NV Gold plans a Phase 1 exploration program during Q4 2021 leading to a potential RC drilling program, in Q1 2022, to be focused on exploring a small window of Permian Antler Sequences, hosting anomalous jasperoids and mineralized dikes. Like the “Lone Tree Gold Mine Model” the target is mostly covered and extends underneath Tertiary volcanic cover and into the pediment. There is no historical drilling at Pickhandle, and it represents a “virgin” opportunity for a Nevada discovery!
Spanish Canyon Project, Nye County, Nevada
NV Gold plans a Phase 1 reconnaissance program during Q4 2021. The project is a “Carlin-type” disseminated gold-silver system hosted in the calcareous sediments of the Triassic Luning and Sunrise Formations. The area is characterized by multiple stages of faulting, replacement silicification, hydrothermal and tectonic breccia bodies and argillic-decalcification alteration of carbonates over a 4 square-kilometer area.
Although there has been no historical drilling at Spanish Canyon, the project is an exciting prospect owing to its numerous mineralized jasperoid zones in an area up to a kilometer long and contains previous outcrop sampling that assayed up to 2.5 g/t Au and over 1,000 ppm As.
Spanish Canyon represents an untested gold system, with bulk mineable potential, which is situated in favorable geologic and geographic environments. Drill targets have been identified and include a large basin pediment area, range front structural zone, with mineralization exposed in the outcrops along the low lying hills of the range. A maiden drilling program could be initiated in Q1 or Q2, 2022.
The Near-Term Strategy and Outlook
The Company continues its focus on Nevada and the Great Basin, one of the largest and most productive gold provinces in the world. On a regional-scale, Nevada is thought by many to be a thoroughly explored gold province. Much of the near surface gold that has been found over the past 40 years has already been mined or is being mined today. To find significant new deposits, the successful explorer needs to employ modern, sensitive sampling techniques combined with regional-scale structural interpretation and a willingness to drill, drill, drill. The breadth of experience of our staff and advisors gives us our advantage. Over 50% of Nevada is covered by recent basin sediments or volcanic cover, which often obscures the classic, visible expressions of mineralization. These covered areas are composed of the same rocks with the same temporal placement as the gold deposits found in the nearby ranges. There is a strong likelihood that other, similar-sized deposits await discovery! Significant discovery potential remains in one of the preeminent gold provinces on Earth. The Company has a strong property position with over 20 projects, ranging from Greenfields to advanced “pre-discovery”. Our property portfolio covers a number of geologic environments and at varying levels of advancement. Holding costs for most of these properties are minimal, particularly those that are held as joint venture or lease-out possibilities.
It is our plan to drill 4-6 projects in the 12-18-month time horizon, providing a good news flow and multiple opportunities for success. We look forward to a productive and successful exploration season ahead.
About NV Gold Corporation
NV Gold (TSXV:NVX)(OTCQB:NVGLF)(FSE:8NV) is a well-financed exploration company with ~80 million shares issued, a solid treasury and no debt. The Company is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Reno, Nevada and is focused on delivering value through mineral discoveries in Nevada, USA. Leveraging its expansive property portfolio, its highly experienced in-house technical team, and its extensive geological data library, 2021 will be NV Gold’s busiest exploration year in its corporate history.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
John E. Watson, President & CEO
For further information, visit the Company’s website at www.nvgoldcorp.com or contact:
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s planned exploration activities, the potential for a discovery at its properties, and acquisition of new gold projects are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s plans or expectations include regulatory issues, market prices, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals, the extent to which mineralized structures extend on to the Company’s Projects and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.
Economic analyst and financial writer David Morgan says, at some point in the not-so-distant future, the world is going to have another banking crisis. Morgan contends in the next financial crisis, the banks are going to take depositors’ money in what is called a “bail-in.” Morgan explains, “We have this saying in the precious metals world, and that is ‘If you don’t hold it, you don’t own it.’ Let’s move it over to the currency realm. What if you had that same idea that if you don’t hold it, you don’t own it? The reason why that is so important to me and many others is the bailout situation is over. It will be bail-ins next time, which means you become an unsecured creditor of the bank. This means that if you don’t hold it, you may not own it. If we were to have a bail-in . . . they may not take all of your currency, but they would probably take part of it. . . . If you go to Argentina during one of their episodes, all the money in their banks was still yours, but you were limited to what you could take out. You could be a millionaire or a multi-millionaire, but you could only take out 300 pesos a week. So, what good is that? If your mortgage was 4,000 pesos a month and you can only get 300 pesos a week, you would default on your mortgage.”
How much actual cash is out there for you to hold? Morgan says, “M-Zero is the monetary base. That is paper money and coins, and in a round number it’s about $2 trillion. That is a bigger number than what I thought. Another interesting thing is there are 12 billion $100 bills. (That equals $1.2 trillion in $100 bills.) So, the vast majority of the supply of Federal Reserve Notes are in $100 bills.”
How much currency is sitting in the banking system that you could tap? Morgan says, “60% of U.S. currency is sitting overseas. . . . So, of all the money out there, only 5% of the available physical money is actually there in the bank in America.”
Morgan suggests that you have one to three months cash at home for expenses like rent or mortgage, food and utilities.
Morgan also likes gold as an investment, but he especially likes silver. Morgan says, “Silver is totally undervalued and is the most undervalued asset out there.” Morgan contends that “silver is at near record lows” at around $23 per ounce if adjusted for inflation and massive Fed money creation.
Another reason to hold physical gold and silver is inflation is starting to take off in a way most people can clearly see now. Even the Fed knows the inflation genie is out of the bottle, and it’s not going to be put back in anytime soon.
In closing, Morgan suggests holding some cash, gold and silver in physical form for safety and security.
Join Greg Hunter as he goes One-on-One with precious metals expert David Morgan, publisher of “The Morgan Report.”
Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – August 19, 2021) – EMX Royalty Corporation (NYSE American: EMX) (TSXV: EMX) (FSE: 6E9) (the “Company” or “EMX”) announces that pursuant to the Company’s Stock Option Plan, incentive stock options (the “Options”) to purchase an aggregate of 500,000 common shares, exercisable at a price of $3.66 per share for a period of five years, has been granted to certain directors, and a consultant of the Company.
About EMX. EMX is a precious, base and battery metals royalty company. EMX’s investors are provided with discovery, development, and commodity price optionality, while limiting exposure to risks inherent to operating companies. The Company’s common shares are listed on the NYSE American Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “EMX”; and on the Frankfurt exchange under the symbol “6E9”. Please see www.EMXroyalty.com for more information.
For further information contact:
David M. Cole President and Chief Executive Officer Phone: (303) 979-6666 Dave@EMXroyalty.com
Scott Close Director of Investor Relations Phone: (303) 973-8585 SClose@EMXroyalty.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
TORONTO, Aug. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Labrador Gold Corp. (TSX.V:LAB | OTCQX:NKOSF | FNR: 2N6) (“LabGold” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce further high-grade intercepts of near surface gold mineralization from its 100% controlled Kingsway project near Gander, Newfoundland. These holes were drilled as part of the Company’s 50,000 metre drill program. The Kingsway project is located in the highly prospective central Newfoundland gold belt.
Four holes K-21-26, -33, -36 and -39 all contained intervals grading more than 15g/t Au. Hole K-21-39 intersected 44.08 g/t Au over 4.28m from 49 metres which represents a “metal factor” (grade x width) of 188.7 g/t Au x m*, the highest value yet on the Kingsway Property. This intersection included 1.02m grading 81.64 g/t Au and 1.03m grading 96.47 g/t Au and contained 91 grains of visible gold. Hole K-21-36 intersected 15.02 g/t Au over 0.74m from 8.84m. Hole K-21-33 intersected 40.85 g/t Au over 0.4m from 56.15 metres and hole K-21-26 intersected 15.55 g/t Au over 0.5m from 235 metres. A summary of the high-grade intersections, as well as other holes with assays received to date, are given in Table 1 below. *The width used to calculate metal factor is downhole width as there is insufficient information to calculate true width.
Table 1. Assay highlights
Hole
From (m)
To (m)
Length (m)
Au (g/t)
Zone
K-21-39
49.00
53.28
4.28
44.08
HTC
including
50.36
51.38
1.02
81.64
including
52.25
53.28
1.03
96.47
K-21-36
7.79
12.00
4.21
3.64
Big Vein
including
8.84
9.58
0.74
15.02
K-21-33
7.00
8.00
1.00
1.00
Big Vein
and
50.50
51.00
0.50
1.04
HTC
and
53.50
54.00
0.50
1.55
and
56.15
56.55
0.40
40.85
K-21-32
9.05
10.12
1.07
1.03
Big Vein
and
62.00
67.50
5.50
2.21
HTC
K-21-28
57.50
58.50
1.00
1.12
Big Vein
and
175.00
176.00
1.00
3.17
HTC
K-21-27
26.00
33.00
7.00
1.27
Big Vein
and
46.00
51.00
5.00
1.31
and
70.00
71.00
1.00
1.14
and
105.00
106.00
1.00
1.28
and
115.00
117.00
2.00
7.43
and
121.00
122.00
1.00
2.65
and
128.00
129.00
1.00
5.07
K-21-26
71.00
72.00
1.00
1.12
Big Vein
and
235.00
235.50
0.50
15.55
HTC
K-21-25
13.30
14.40
1.10
1.01
Big Vein
and
18.00
20.00
2.00
1.65
and
43.00
44.00
1.00
1.19
K-21-22
12.00
13.00
1.00
1.70
Big Vein
K-21-21
33.00
36.00
3.00
2.46
Big Vein
and
43.00
44.00
1.00
1.73
**Interval contains visible gold. All intersections are downhole length as there is insufficient Information to calculate true width.
“The intersection of the near surface high grade gold mineralization in Hole K-21-39 has the highest-grade x width value of 188.66g/t Au x m obtained so far from our drilling at Kingsway. This is significantly better than the previous high of 138.28 g/t Au x m returned from Hole-21-31 and continues to demonstrate the potential for high-grade intercepts at the Big Vein target,” said Roger Moss, President and CEO of the Company. “Three drills continue to explore Big Vein with step out drilling along strike to the southwest and drilling of the high-grade HTC Zone at depth.”
The Big Vein target is an auriferous quartz vein exposed at surface that has been traced over 400 metres at surface along the Appleton Fault Zone. It lies within a larger northeast-southwest trending “quartz vein corridor” that stretches for over 7.5 kilometres as currently outlined, with potential for expansion along the 12km strike length of the Appleton Fault Zone in both directions. Gold mineralization observed at Big Vein includes visible gold in quartz veins, assays of samples from which range from 1.87 g/t to 1,065 g/t gold. The visible gold is typically hosted in annealed and vuggy gray quartz, that is locally stylolitic with vugs often containing euhedral quartz infilling features characteristic of epizonal gold deposits.
The ongoing 50,000 metre drill program has tested Big Vein over approximately 200 metres of strike length of the 400m surface exposure and to vertical depths of 175 metres. Drilling has produced visible gold in 11 drill holes giving high grade intercepts as well as wide areas of gold mineralization associated with significant quartz veining and sulphide mineralization including arsenopyrite, pyrite and possible boulangerite noted along vein margins and as strong disseminations in the surrounding wall rocks.
QA/QC
True widths of the reported intersections have yet to be calculated. Assays are uncut. Samples of HQ split core are securely stored prior to shipping to Eastern Analytical Laboratory in Springdale, Newfoundland for assay. Eastern Analytical is an ISO/IEC17025 accredited laboratory. Samples are routinely analyzed for gold by standard 30g fire assay with ICP (inductively coupled plasma) finish with samples containing visible gold assayed by metallic screen/fire assay. The company submits blanks and certified reference standards at a rate of approximately 5% of the total samples in each batch.
Qualified Person
Roger Moss, PhD., P.Geo., President and CEO of LabGold, a Qualified Person in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements as set out in NI 43-101, has read and approved the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for the disclosure contained in this release.
The Company gratefully acknowledges the Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Natural Resources’ Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) Program for its financial support for exploration of the Kingsway property.
About Labrador Gold Labrador Gold is a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of prospective gold projects in Eastern Canada.
In early March 2020, Labrador Gold acquired the option to earn a 100% interest in the Kingsway project in the Gander area of Newfoundland. The three licenses comprising the Kingsway project cover approximately 16km of the Appleton fault zone which is associated with gold occurrences in the region, including the New Found Gold discovery. Infrastructure in the area is excellent located just 18km from the town of Gander with road access to the project, nearby electricity and abundant local water. LabGold recently increased its 20,000 metre diamond drill program to 50,000 metres targeting high-grade epizonal gold mineralization following encouraging early results. The Company has approximately $35 million in working capital and is well funded to carry out the planned program.
The Hopedale property covers much of the Hunt River and Florence Lake greenstone belts that stretch over 80 km. The belts are typical of greenstone belts around the world but have been underexplored by comparison. Initial work by Labrador Gold during 2017 show gold anomalies in soils and lake sediments over a 3 kilometre section of the northern portion of the Florence Lake greenstone belt in the vicinity of the known Thurber Dog gold showing where grab samples assayed up to 7.8 g/t gold. In addition, anomalous gold in soil and lake sediment samples occur over approximately 40 kilometres along the southern section of the greenstone belt (see news release dated January 25 th 2018 for more details). Labrador Gold now controls approximately 57km strike length of the Florence Lake Greenstone Belt.
The Company has 151,472,206 common shares issued and outstanding and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol LAB.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release .
Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. When used in this document, the words “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including those factors discussed in filings made by us with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties, such as actual results of current exploration programs, the general risks associated with the mining industry, the price of gold and other metals, currency and interest rate fluctuations, increased competition and general economic and market factors, occur or should assumptions underlying the forward looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, or expected. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements
To purchase the Caserones Royalty, EMX has formed a 50%-50% partnership with Altus Strategies Plc (“Altus” (AIM: ALS) (TSXV: ALTS) (OTCQX: ALTUF) to acquire an effective 0.836% NSR royalty for US$68.2 million (see below for additional acquisition details). EMX and Altus will each control an effective 0.418% royalty interest and will each be responsible for $34.1 million of the purchase price.
Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – August 17, 2021) – EMX Royalty Corporation (NYSE American: EMX) (TSX: EMX) (FSE: 6E9) (the “Company“, or “EMX“) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement dated August 16th, 2021 to acquire an effective 0.418% Net Smelter Return (“NSR“) royalty on the operating Caserones Copper-Molybdenum Mine (the “Caserones Royalty“) located in northern Chile for US$34.1 million in cash. Closing is anticipated to take place in two phases with both closings being completed by September 1st, 2021. In completing this transaction, EMX expects immediate and long term cash flow from a large porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in a top tier mining jurisdiction.
To finance its US$34.1 million portion of the US$68.2 million purchase price, the Company has entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement“) with Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP (“Sprott“). The Credit Agreement will increase the Company’s current proposed US$10 million credit facility with Sprott, in connection with the Company’s recently announced transaction with SSR Mining (see Company News Release dated July 29, 2021), to US$44 million (the “Credit Facility“) to include financing for the Caserones Royalty acquisition. Further details of the Credit Agreement are provided below.
The acquisition of the Caserones Royalty represents an important strategic development for EMX, by further enhancing the Company’s royalty cash flow and long-term exposure to copper as a key metal for the global economy. Recognition of the opportunity directly resulted from EMX’s ongoing assessment work in the region and serves as another example of how the Company leverages its regional expertise in various jurisdictions around the world to identify value enhancing business opportunities.
Caserones Mine Overview. The Caserones open pit mine is developed upon a significant porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in the Atacama Region of the northern Chilean Andean Cordillera, 162 kilometers southeast of the city of Copiapó, at an approximate elevation of 4,300 meters above sea level. The Mine is operated by SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile SpA, which is indirectly 100% owned by JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation (“JX Nippon“).
Caserones is located at the southern end of the well documented Maricunga mineral belt and comprises an Early-Miocene porphyry system associated with a cluster of dacite porphyries and breccias intruding Palaeozoic granitic, volcanic, and metamorphic rocks. Caserones has a well-developed supergene enrichment profile of oxide copper and secondary chalcocite that overlies hypogene sulfide (chalcopyrite-molybdenite) mineralization.
Caserones produces copper and molybdenum concentrates from a conventional crusher, mill and flotation plant, as well as copper cathodes from a dump leach, solvent extraction and electrowinning plant. In 2020 the mine produced 104,917 tonnes of fine copper in concentrate, 2,453 tonnes of fine molybdenum in concentrate, and 22,056 tonnes of fine copper in cathodes. The Caserones open pit has operated with an average waste: ore strip ratio of 0.47, has 17 years remaining in its current mine plan, along with excellent exploration potential. In a news release dated November 9, 2020, JX Nippon announced plans for “stepping up exploration efforts in areas around the mine” in an effort to expand production and extend the mine life.
Acquisition Details. The Caserones Mine is subject to a 2.88% NSR royalty provided for in a 2009 agreement between Minera Lumina Copper Chile S.A. as purchaser, and Compañía Minera Caserones (“CMC“) and Sociedad Legal Minera California Una de la Sierra Peña Negra (“SLM California“) as vendors. CMC and SLM California originally staked the mineral claims that overlie the Caserones deposit, and ownership of the 2.88% NSR royalty is currently divided between CMC (32.5%) and SLM California (67.5%). EMX and Altus will each be indirectly purchasing a portion of the SLM California royalty. Under the 2009 agreement, the NSR interest will be reduced to 2% and 1% if the London Metal Exchange (“LME“) quoted copper price falls below US$1.25 and US$1.00 per pound respectively.
EMX and Altus have formed a Chilean company, Minera Tercero, Spa (“Tercero“), of which the EMX and Altus each own 50%. Tercero will purchase 43% of the issued and outstanding shares of SLM California through a Share Purchase Agreement with 16 shareholders of SLM California (represented by Leonel Polgatti Goycoolea, a shareholder) for US$68.2 million. Tercero will enter into a shareholder’s agreement with the selling shareholders of SLM California, that together with Tercero hold approximately 89% of SLM Californa’s issued and outstanding shares, to govern SLM California. SLM California’s sole purpose is to administer the company, pay Chilean taxes and distribute its royalty proceeds to the shareholders, including Tercero.
Sprott Credit Agreement. In order to finance its US$34.1 million portion of the US$68.2 million purchase price under the Share Purchase Agreement, the Company has entered into the Credit Agreement, which encompasses the previously proposed financing related to EMX’s recent transaction to acquire the SSR Royalty Portfolio. The senior secured Credit Facility is in the principal amount of US$44 million, which includes up to US $10 million which will be used to finance a portion of the purchase price of the SSR Royalty Portfolio.
Under the Credit Agreement, the Credit Facility matures on July 31, 2022, bears interest at a rate of 7% per annum, and is secured by general security agreements over the assets of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries, and pledges of the shares of certain of the Company’s subsidiaries, who will, at Sprott’s election, also be guarantors of the loan. In addition to interest payable, the US$44,000,000 advanced under the Credit Facility was subject to an original issue discount equal to 4.61364% of the amount of the advance. Under the Credit Agreement, the Company will be required to maintain minimum unrestricted cash of USD $1,500,000.
In conjunction with the Credit Agreement, Sprott subscribed for US$1,235,000 of common shares of the Company (“Common Shares“) at a deemed price equal to a 10% discount to the 5-day VWAP of the Common Shares on the NYSE American exchange immediately prior to July 12, 2021 of $US 3.0450, which resulted in the issuance of 450,730 Common Shares.
Summary. The acquisition of the Caserones Royalty provides immediate enhancement to EMX’s royalty cash flow and secures long-term proceeds from copper and molybdenum production in one of the world’s top mining regions. This transaction nicely compliments the Company’s growing portfolio of royalty interests in South America, which has become a recent emphasis in the Company’s growth strategy.
Eric P. Jensen, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and an employee of the Company, has reviewed, verified, and approved the disclosure of the technical information contained in this news release.
About EMX. EMX is a precious, base and battery metals royalty company. EMX’s investors are provided with discovery, development, and commodity price optionality, while limiting exposure to risks inherent to operating companies. The Company’s common shares are listed on the NYSE American Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol EMX. Please see www.EMXroyalty.com for more information.
For further information contact:
David M. Cole President and Chief Executive Officer Phone: (303) 979-6666 Dave@EMXroyalty.com
Scott Close Director of Investor Relations Phone: (303) 973-8585 SClose@EMXroyalty.com
Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain “forward looking statements” that reflect the Company’s current expectations and projections about its future results. These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding completion of the transaction, perceived merits of properties, exploration results and budgets, mineral reserves and resource estimates, work programs, capital expenditures, timelines, strategic plans, market prices for precious and base metal, or other statements that are not statements of fact. When used in this news release, words such as “estimate,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “will”, “believe”, “potential”, “upside” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which, by their very nature, are not guarantees of the Company’s future operational or financial performance, and are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company’s actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors may include, but are not limited to: unavailability of financing, failure to identify commercially viable mineral reserves, fluctuations in the market valuation for commodities, difficulties in obtaining required approvals for the development of a mineral project, increased regulatory compliance costs, expectations of project funding by joint venture partners and other factors. It is possible EMX may not complete the transaction, as a result of failure to fulfill conditions of closing, unavailability of financing or for other reasons EMX cannot anticipate at this time.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date otherwise specifically indicated herein. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified in this news release, and other risk factors and forward-looking statements listed in the Company’s MD&A for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 and the year ended December 31, 2020 (the “MD&A”), and the most recently filed Revised Annual Information Form (the “AIF”) for the year ended December 31, 2020, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. More information about the Company, including the MD&A, the AIF and financial statements of the Company, is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the SEC’s EDGAR website at www.sec.gov.
Vancouver, British Columbia, August 16, 2021 (NYSE American: EMX; TSX Venture: EMX; Frankfurt: 6E9) – EMX Royalty Corporation (the “Company” or “EMX”) is pleased to report results for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 (“Q2-2021”). The Company’s filings for Q2-2021 are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at www.sec.gov, and on EMX’s website at www.EMXroyalty.com. Financial results were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
HIGHLIGHTS FOR Q2-2021
Financial Update
Dollar amount are in CDN unless otherwise noted.
EMX ended the three month period at June 30, 2021 with a balance sheet including cash and cash equivalents of $41,979,000, investments, strategic investments, investment in associated entities, and receivables valued at $34,777,000, and no debt.
EMX had revenue of $4,255,000 which includes royalty income, other property income including income from the sale or option of property interests and management fees, and interest and dividends earned on cash and investment balances. Included in revenues was royalty income of $284,000 and $3,801,000 for the fair value of equity positions and cash received on the sale and option of property interests. Revenues for Q2-2021 increased compared to Q2-2020 with an increase in option and other property income and interest income. Royalty income for Q2-2021 was comparable to Q2-2020.
Royalty generation costs totaled $5,378,000 of which the Company recovered $1,689,000 from partners.
General and administrative expenses totaled $979,000 which includes $177,000 in salaries and consultants, $250,000 in administrative costs, $298,000 in professional fees, $71,000 in transfer agent and filing fees, $46,000 in travel, and $137,000 in investor relations costs. General and administrative costs can fluctuate from period to period depending on activity and timing of comparable costs.
For the three months ended June 30, 2021, the Company had a net loss from operations of $2,039,000 including $260,000 in depletion, depreciation, and direct royalty taxes, and $2,845,000 in share-based compensation of which $1,479,000 was included in royalty generation costs. Other items affecting net loss and financial results in Q2-2021 include a gain from the Company’s investment in an associated entity of $158,000, a fair value loss on investments of $425,000, and a foreign exchange adjustment of $1,240,000. The foreign exchange adjustment was a direct result of holding cash and net assets denominated in US dollars.
Operational Update
EMX’s royalty and mineral property portfolio totals over 200 projects on five continents. The following summarizes the work conducted in Q2-2021, as well as subsequent events, by the Company and its partners.
As a subsequent event, EMX entered into an agreement dated July 29, 2021 with SSR Mining Inc., and certain of its subsidiaries (“SSR Mining”), to purchase a portfolio of royalty interests and deferred payments (see EMX news release dated July 29, 2021). The portfolio consists of 18 geographically diverse royalties, with four royalty assets at advanced stages of project development, and also includes US$18 million in future cash payments. The transaction is expected to provide significant near-term cash flow to the Company and establishes a pipeline of quality royalty assets in numerous well-recognized mineral belts around the world. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.
In North America, EMX received provisional payments of approximately US$198,000 from the sale of 110 gold ounces produced at the Leeville royalty property in Nevada’s Northern Carlin Trend. On the royalty generation front, EMX optioned one copper project in Utah while adding new gold and copper projects to the portfolio by staking open ground. Partner companies continued to add value to the portfolio with encouraging drill results for precious metals projects in Nevada (3) and Idaho (1), including Ridgeline Minerals at the Selena royalty property, U.S. Gold at the Maggie Greek royalty property, and Gold Lion Resources at the Robber Gulch project.
EMX’s royalty and mineral asset portfolio in key mining districts of Ontario and Quebec, including the Red Lake camp, generated $392,000 in cash and fair value equity payments.
In Fennoscandia, the Company acquired 37,500 hectares of mineral exploration permits in central Norway that cover the zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold occurrences and historical mines of the Mo-i-Rana district. The transaction with Gold Line Resources and Agnico Eagle closed, by which Gold Line can acquire a 100% interest in Agnico’s Oijärvi gold project in Finland and the Solvik gold project in Sweden for staged cash payments as well as shares of Gold Line and shares of EMX. Agnico will retain a 2% NSR royalty on the projects, 1% (half) of which may be purchased by EMX for US$1,000,000. EMX will receive additional share and cash payments from Gold Line as reimbursement for the EMX shares issued to Agnico. Subsequent to the end of Q2, EMX executed an agreement for the sale of its Svärdsjö polymetallic project in Sweden to District Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DMX) for share equity, annual advance royalty payments, and retained royalty interests to EMX’s benefit. As new acquisitions and deals were completed, partner companies continued to advance EMX’s royalty properties, which included encouraging results from District’s drill program at the Tomtebo polymetallic project in Sweden’s Bergslagen mining district.
In Australia, the Company expanded the land positions at the Yarrol and Mt Steadman gold projects through the acquisition of additional permits covering multiple historical drill defined zones of mineralization. Both projects are located in the goldfields of central-Queensland and are available for partnership.
In Serbia, Timok operator Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. continued on an accelerated development pace of the Upper Zone copper-gold project which is covered by an EMX 0.5% NSR royalty. As a subsequent event, EMX filed an amended and restated Technical Report titled “NI 43-101 Technical Report – Timok Copper-Gold Project Royalty, Serbia” on SEDAR authored by Mineral Resource Management LLC with an effective date of December 31, 2020 and report date of July 21, 2021.
CORPORATE UPDATE
EMX is diligently monitoring developments regarding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic (“COVID-19”), with a focus on the jurisdictions in which the Company operates. EMX has implemented COVID-19 prevention, monitoring and response plans following the guidelines of international agencies and the governments and regulatory agencies of each country in which it operates.
EMX’s priority is to safeguard the health and safety of its personnel and host communities, support government actions to slow the spread of COVID-19 and assess and mitigate the risks to business continuity. Although various levels of restrictions remain in place for many jurisdictions where the Company operates (e.g., travel restrictions, etc.), EMX’s field programs are up-and-running principally with in-country based staff.
OUTLOOK
EMX ended Q2-2021 with $42 million in cash, $16 million in tradable securities, $7.7 million in private company equity and warrants, and $4.7 million in strategic investments. The Company continued to complete deals while adding new properties to the royalty generation portfolio, as well as new partners. In addition to the Company’s Q2-2021 successes, as a subsequent event the announcement of the SSR agreement represents an important milestone for the Company, as it seeks to boost its royalty cash flow streams and secure additional long-term optionality in its royalty portfolio.
EMX has been diligently pursuing royalty acquisitions over the last few years in what has been a highly competitive market. EMX has evaluated a large number of royalty purchase opportunities, but has been very selective in its acquisitions, with the Timok, Kaukua, and Gold Bar South royalties being prime examples. EMX sees a similar value proposition with the SSR royalty portfolio acquisition in that it will deliver near-term benefits (i.e. cash flow) as well as long term value to EMX’s shareholders.
The SSR portfolio includes four advanced stage development projects, namely, Gediktepe oxide and sulfide (Turkey), Yenipazar (Turkey), and Diablillos (Argentina), which are complemented by 14 additional royalty interests covering both precious metal and base metal assets in South America, Mexico, the United States (Nevada) and Canada. The SSR royalty portfolio acquisition is well aligned with EMX’s corporate growth strategy, whereby the Company leverages its in-region expertise to identify opportunities in jurisdictions where EMX already has a strategic presence, and hence a competitive advantage. This approach leads to value creation for the Company, as well as synergies with existing EMX initiatives around the world.
Meanwhile the Company’s royalty generation initiatives continued moving forward. EMX’s quick actions led to the acquisition of a 37,500 hectare position covering the historical mines, deposits, and prospects of the Mo-i-Rana polymetallic district in central Norway. This consolidated district-scale package presents enough opportunities to potentially support multiple royalty generation deals. In Australia, EMX expanded its property positions in the goldfields of Queensland at the Yarrol and Mt Steadman projects to yield significantly enhanced property packages available for partnership. In the western U.S., new gold projects were staked in Idaho and Nevada. Fennoscandia, Australia, and the U.S. are stable exploration and mining jurisdictions, and EMX’s royalty generation assets provide prime opportunities for potential partners.
EMX’s established partner companies continued to add value to the portfolio with encouraging drill results. In the western U.S. this included precious metals projects in Nevada (Ridgeline Minerals at Selena and U.S. Gold at Maggie Greek) and in Idaho (Gold Lion at Robber Gulch). In Fennoscandia, most notable were District’s drill success at Tomtebo (Norway) and Norden’s at Gumsberg (Sweden). These drill programs were either conducted with EMX’s technical support, provided on a 100% reimbursed basis, or independently by the partner companies in other cases.
EMX’s value-focused and long-term approach has allowed the Company to maintain its treasury while not overbidding for assets. This strategy allows the company to patiently wait for opportunities like the SSR royalty transaction (and similar future opportunities), which nicely complement its ongoing organic royalty generation. The Company’s progress so far in 2021 signals a number of Company achievements and milestones, and we enter the second half of the year with well-founded optimism for even greater success.
QUALIFIED PERSONS
Michael P. Sheehan, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and employee of the Company, has reviewed, verified and approved the above technical disclosure on the United States, Canada, South America, and Strategic Investments. Eric P. Jensen, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and employee of the Company, has reviewed, verified, and approved the above technical disclosure on EMX Capital (SSR transaction), Serbia, Fennoscandia, Turkey, and Australia.
About EMX. EMX is a precious, base, and battery metals royalty company. EMX’s investors are provided with discovery, development, and commodity price optionality, while limiting exposure to risks inherent to operating companies. The Company’s common shares are listed on the NYSE American Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol EMX. See www.EMXroyalty.com for more information.
For further information contact:
David M. Cole President and Chief Executive Officer Phone: (303) 979-6666 Dave@EMXroyalty.com
Scott Close Director of Investor Relations Phone: (303) 973-8585 SClose@EMXroyalty.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain “forward looking statements” that reflect the Company’s current expectations and projections about its future results. These forward-looking statements may include statements regarding perceived merit of properties, exploration results and budgets, mineral reserves and resource estimates, work programs, capital expenditures, timelines, strategic plans, market prices for precious and base metal, or other statements that are not statements of fact. When used in this news release, words such as “estimate,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “will”, “believe”, “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which, by their very nature, are not guarantees of the Company’s future operational or financial performance, and are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company’s actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors may include, but are not limited to: unavailability of financing, failure to identify commercially viable mineral reserves, fluctuations in the market valuation for commodities, difficulties in obtaining required approvals for the development of a mineral project, increased regulatory compliance costs, expectations of project funding by joint venture partners and other factors.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date otherwise specifically indicated herein. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified in this news release, and other risk factors and forward-looking statements listed in the Company’s MD&A for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 (the ”MD&A”), and the most recently filed Annual Information Form (“AIF”) for the year ended December 31, 2020, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. More information about the Company, including the MD&A, the AIF and financial statements of the Company, is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the SEC’s EDGAR website at www.sec.gov.
Joining us for conversation is Shawn Khunkhun the CEO of Strikepoint Gold (TSX.V: SKP | OTC: STKXF). Glad to have you on the program to share the opportunity before us at Strikepoint Gold. Before we delve into company specifics, Mr. Khunkhun, please introduce us to Strikepoint Gold and the opportunity the company presents to shareholders.
Shawn Khunkhun:
Strikepoint is an exploration company, advancing high-grade properties in safe jurisdictions. I repurposed the company back in 2016, the gold price had been cutting out and majors were not exploring, nor developing. And the thinking was we could buy it projects for pennies on the dollar. We could advance them. And in the future, we could move those projects along to the Major that are looking to secure development pipelines.
Maurice Jackson:
You have a reputation for having astute business acumen and great use of optionality on how you establish the company. Looking at the map before Strikepoint Gold has the property bank situated in the prolific Golden Triangle, get us acquainted with the region and some of your neighbors.
Shawn Khunkhun:
Okay. So, near the Triangle, it’s an area that exploration has been going on for over a hundred years. It’s produced some of the richest gold mines in the world. If you look at the Premier Mine that Ascot is currently holding, that was one of the richest modern mines in the modern era, in terms of several ounces, in terms of grade. Eskay Creek, a strong gold and silver mine. The Golden Triangle is known for large deposits, high-grade deposits, and is one of the hottest mineral exploration hubs on the planet.. There’s just, it’s a flurry of activity with the discovery of Pretivm’s Brucejack, we’re seeing large companies like Newmont and Newcrest come into the area. Noteworthy of mention, there is also tremendous infrastructure throughout the Triangle.
Maurice Jackson:
Let’s go on-site and find out more. Sir, take us to the flagship Willoughby Project and introduce us to the value proposition before us.
Shawn Khunkhun:
The Willoughby Project is a spectacular world-class discovery that was originally explored in 1989 to 1996 time period. There were about 120 drill holes, and there were some robust grades of 20-gram gold over 20 meters thickness that were discovered. During that time the Bre-X scandal happened and you also had the gold price heading down to just under $200 an ounce in 1999. So it was a very, very difficult time for the mineral resource industry. e acquired the property in 2018.. There’s a lot of grade on the project and we are excited about the opportunity before us. We are trying to connect the dots in-between zones. So, that’s the value proposition, linking these zones to show that this is a mineable project.
Maurice Jackson:
I referenced business acumen, when and under what terms was Strikepoint Gold able to acquire the Willoughby Gold Project?
Shawn Khunkhun:
That’s an interesting story. So back in October of 2018, the gold price got sold down to about $1,100 an ounce. And at that moment, we were able to acquire Willoughby for $85,000 in cash. And by issuing three million shares of Strikepoint, which at that time was valued at about half a million dollars. Considering the amount of drilling that was done on the property, its proximity to Red Mountain, which was subsequently acquired by Ascot. It was a once-in-a-generation acquisition for the company.
Maurice Jackson:
Germane to the value proposition and exploration thesis is an important stratigraphic marker known as the Red Line. What is the Red Line and where is it in relation to the Willoughby Gold Project?
Shawn Khunkhun:
There are two BCGS geologists, Jeff Kyba and JoAnne Nelson, and as they were looking at this tremendous area that’s produced very high-grade deposits. They were trying to look at a model, a geological model to identify where to look for the next giant gold, silver, and copper deposits in the region. So Kyba and Nelson came up with this theory and it’s a theory that has been widely accepted by the scientific community and identifies a contact. The big deposits in the Golden Triangle are found within two kilometers of where two different rock types meet. So this is the Triassic to the rocks and the Jurassic Hazelton formation. These are two different rock types that meet within two kilometers of that contact, which have produced some of the biggest deposits in the region are found.
Maurice Jackson:
Thus far, we’ve been able to determine that Strikepoint Gold is in a friendly mind jurisdiction, located in the prolific Golden Triangle, neighboring some very prominent names, and the project is along the Red Line. Two prong question, can you delve a little further into historic resource and share some of the grades with us?
Shawn Khunkhun:
The Willoughby does not have a formal 43-101 compliant resource on the property, however, the historic resource has about eight different areas throughout the Willoughby property where there’s tremendous grade and there’s been a lot of drilling. So, on the back of a napkin, I don’t want to speculate in terms of ounces, but what we’re looking for here is the neighboring Red Mountain deposit, which is just under a million ounces at about 7.5 grams per ton. We think this is analogous to Red Mountain. And if you look at the footprints of the mineralization from surface, it leads us to believe that we’re onto a very, very large gold system here. So, this season is going to be crucial. We’ve done some significant work on the property to date.
Shawn Khunkhun:
We’ve got assays pending and we’re trying to accomplish two things. Number one, link different zones of mineralization. Number two, we’re looking for where we could fit a deposit into the system. And we are drilling somewhat I would describe as Wildcat holes into areas that should host a very, very large system. There are two opportunities on the property. One is for a KSM style disseminated large system. These are two systems, one’s 40 million ounces of gold and the other is 10 million ounces of gold. And then the other opportunity is for a higher-grade epithermal vein-rich system. We have seen both types of mineralization on the property. And if you look at what Ascot is doing in terms of their hub and spoke model, along Ascot you also have Yamana and Newmont. So there’s a huge appetite from a larger gold entities for consolidation and acquisition.
Maurice Jackson:
Speaking of Wildcat drilling, last month Strikepoint Gold announced the commencement of a 3000-meter drill program. How’s the program coming along and when can shareholders expect results?
Shawn Khunkhun:
The program’s going well. I was just up in Stewart, along with our technical advisor Rob McLeod. Strikepoint Gold is blessed with one of the best teams in the exploration business. These are professionals that have worked on a lot of the big projects in the Golden Triangle. Originally came out with a 3000-meter program at Willoughby where we’re halfway through that program. It’s going exceptionally well. It’s on time, it’s on budget. It’s very difficult to speculate on assays because you are dealing with third-party labs. And if 2020 taught me anything, we were exceptionally delayed in assay times, but I would suspect that we’re going to have a very results-rich autumn season, a very result-rich fall after Labor Day and that we should be reporting ongoing into Q1.
Maurice Jackson:
Sounds very intriguing. If you enjoyed the value proposition of the Willoughby, wait till you hear about the Porter. Mr. Khunkhun, please introduce us to the Porter Silver Project.
Shawn Khunkhun:
But before we get specifically into Porter, I want to share with readers this goes beyond Porter. This goes more to why silver, and my last experience in a bull market for gold, when gold prices went from hundreds of dollars up to thousands of dollars into 2011, it was the silver stocks, the silver equities that delivered the best returns for resource investors. I was very deliberate during this cycle. In 2018, the company acquired Porter, we acquired it from Skeena resources. I was very deliberate in positioning the company with a high-grade silver property. If you look at the number of pure high-grade silver properties in the world, you could count them on a couple of hands. There are very few opportunities for resource investors in the silver space and even fewer outside of Chile, Argentina, Mexico, and Peru.
Shawn Khunkhun:
The Porter is in a safe jurisdiction. It’s a past-producing silver mine and one of the highest-grade silver mines I’ve ever come across in my career. The average production grades at Porter were 2,500 grams per ton, but it’s the exploration thesis. It’s the opportunity before that really has us excited. The high-grade mineralization is on both sides of Mount Rainey overlooking the town of Stewart. The Porter two kilometers from the town. but you’ve got this high-grade mineralization that’s at either side of Mount Rainey. We can see the Petro Canada Gas Station. the Deepwater Seaport going into the Portland Canal. Highway 37A. So all the infrastructures there. So, you’ve got the Silverado Mine on one side, you’ve got Prosperity Porter Idaho on the other side. They’re separated by about two kilometers and there was a large glacier, the Silverado glacier that prohibited exploration in the past. That glacier is pulled back.
Shawn Khunkhun:
It’s opened up a new exploration corridor and we believe those two systems are going to meet. And when you have two systems meeting, you usually have exceptional grades. The opportunity there is to link up these two past-producing mines by drilling into the center of the mountain. And it’s an opportunity that previously was not accessible. And this is the season that Strikepoint test that theory. In addition to stepping out from each of the mines on either side, we’ve got step-outs where we’re trying to extend the known high-grade resources and known areas that were once in your production. But the real opportunity is a target that we call Big Flex. The Big Flex opportunity is a series of drill holes right into the center of the system where these two systems should meet. And, if we’re successful and if the assays come back anywhere in the neighborhood of where historic production grades were, this is going to be a transformational year for Strikepoint.
Maurice Jackson:
You referenced 2,500 grams per ton on the historical work. Let’s put that into perspective for readers. What kind of grade would you a need to go into production?
Shawn Khunkhun:
Not all deposits are the same. You’ve got underground mines and open-pit mines. Typically what you’d see at an open-pit silver mine is one-ounce material or 30 gram material. At an underground mine, you’re probably closer to 200 grams per tonne, which is about eight ounces roughly. So, we’re talking about a system here that is 10 times richer than most underground mines. That’s the opportunity here. And, just so you know that this isn’t the exception in the area. If you look at some of the giant silver mines in the area like Eskay Creek, they produced almost 200 million ounces of silver at better than 2000 grams per tonne. There’s a lot of precedent in this area for mines like this, Eskay is one example, at the Premier Mine there was a lot of high-grade silver recovered, at Pretivm’s Brucejack there’s a lot of high-grade silver that’s coming out. And just to the south of us is Dolly Varden Silver.
Maurice Jackson:
I see that Porter has a historic resource, is the goal to twin the holes?
Shawn Khunkhun:
No, the goal is not to twin the holes. The goal is to extend the known band. While we were drilling the Willoughby property last season in 2020, we sent a team out to do some surface work at Porter. They were looking to extend the veins at surface. This was the deep vein, the blind vein. This is on the Prosperity Porter Idaho side. We were successful. At surface, we had come up with new extensions, we’ve discovered new veins. And so the goal here is to extend and expand the known veins at both Silverado and Prosperity Porter Idaho. It’s to uncover new veins around that. But the big prize here is if we were able to come up with some structure, some mineralization in between those two zones that had never been explored.
Maurice Jackson:
You’ve also been busy doing some field mapping and grab samples, what were the results?
Shawn Khunkhun:
Recently, we’ve had up to 3,800 grams per tonne, but when we first acquired the property. At the Silverado side we’ve had up to 44,000 grams per tonne. This is one of the most exceptional specimens I’ve ever come across in my career and so up to 44,000 grams per tonne, that’s 20 times the average production grades.
Maurice Jackson:
All right. So let’s discuss some important topics that you’re main to your projects, and that is, are the projects 100% owned?
Shawn Khunkhun:
They are 100% owned.
Maurice Jackson:
And what is your relationship with the first nations?
Shawn Khunkhun:
There are two first nations groups in the area. South of Treaty Creek, we’re in Nisga’a territory. And so we’ve got a very, very strong relationship with the Nisga’a Nation. About a third of our workforce comes from Nisga’a and everyone from our team had a long history of just a very, strong relationship there. I’ve said this before, they’re our brothers, they’re sisters, they’re our friends. They’re truly our partners and it goes beyond Nisga’a, it’s everybody close to the Stewart community. These are non-first nations. These are non-indigenous peoples as well. We are truly from the north for the north and that’s our policy.
Maurice Jackson:
We’ve discussed the good, let’s address the bad, what can go wrong? And what are your action plans to mitigate that wrong?
Shawn Khunkhun:
In 2020, we had one of the worst weather years up in the Golden Triangle that we’ve seen in about a decade. And so that’s hasn’t been the case this year. But last year, if you scanned about two dozen junior resource companies and went through their financial statements, what you’d see is some companies we’re operating at a 30% production because of weather. I’m happy to report that Strikepoint last season, we combated the weather, and we were operating at about 90%, 95% productivity. So, we overcame weather, but weather can be a challenge in this part of the world. Apart from the weather, we went through the COVID pandemic in terms of more regulations and just a stronger adherence to health and safety.
Shawn Khunkhun:
We are always on high alert in terms of COVID outbreaks. And lastly, just with the scarcity of certain supplies. We started the season, we saw some trends in lumber in late 2020. We made all of our wood purchases in Q4 of 2020 and in late Q3, and thankfully so, because how do we try to secure lumbering in Q1 and Q2? We would have paid twice the price. Now, thankfully things like lumber and other costs have come down, but there is a shortage of certain goods and items. Sometimes there are some delays, but, those are the types of things that can go wrong.
Maurice Jackson:
All right. Let’s discuss the people responsible for increasing shareholder value. Mr. Khunkhun, please introduce us to your board of directors and management team, and what skill sets do they bring to Strikepoint Gold.
Shawn Khunkhun:
Strikepoint Gold has a diverse group, but, if you look at the skills and experience matrix, we’ve got a lot of boxes checked here. We’ve got a mining engineer, Ian Harris. Ian, was instrumental in the sale of Corriente Resources for about $690 million. We’ve got an exploration geologist, Adrian Fleming. I don’t think we have enough time to go through all of Adrian’s successes, but he’s just a tremendous mentor to the beyond geologists that work for the company. We’ve got a tremendous mining engineer. We’ve got a great exploration geologist. Carol Li, who is the chief financial officer for Ascot Resources and is on the board. And then beyond the board of directors, we’ve got advisors like Rob McLeod, Ryan Weymark, myself. To round things out, I come from a marketing and capital reserve background. So we’ve got all the right elements you need to move a company like Strikepoint forward.
Maurice Jackson:
Let’s get into some numbers. Please provide us with the capital structure for Strikepoint Gold.
Shawn Khunkhun:
Strikepoint has about 200 million shares issued and outstanding. Eric Sprott as the largest shareholder at close to 20%. We have a couple of corporate shareholders in Ascot, and Skeena. In terms of institutional ownership, I believe it’s around 40% and you’ve got tremendous names in the institutional leadership. You’ve got firms like Delbrook, Crescat, US Global, Gold 2000, Sprott. So, it’s all the who’s who in the resource fund space.
Maurice Jackson:
How much cash and cash equivalents do you have?
Shawn Khunkhun:
So, we’ve got about $10 million in the bank. And, we’ve got about a $4 million budget here. We should start the year with roughly $6 million. We should start January 1st, 2022 with about $6 million after all of our exploration expenditures and spending.
Maurice Jackson:
How much debt do you have?
Shawn Khunkhun:
Zero.
Maurice Jackson:
And if you can just remind us one more time, what is the float?
Shawn Khunkhun:
The float is roughly 40 million shares.
Maurice Jackson:
In closing, sir, what keeps you up at night that we don’t know about?
Shawn Khunkhun:
When our crew is in the field, they’re on my mind. I sleep like a baby come December when the crews are off the property. When you go to work with people, you start to care about them. And until everybody’s gone home to their families at Christmas, that’s the one thing in the back of my mind. And it’s part of the reason that we make our best efforts to go up and to spend time with our crews. Team morale is important.
Maurice Jackson:
Last question, what did I forget to ask?
Shawn Khunkhun:
One of the things that you should know is that I’ve personally invested about $500,000 dollars in Strikepoint, for me, that’s a material amount of money. And so my interests are aligned with shareholders’ interests, my family, and my friends. There’s a lot more in terms of reputation and then in personal a skin in the game. So, that’s one thing I’d like your viewers to know.
Maurice Jackson:
Mr. Khunkhun, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you today, wishing you and Strikepoint Gold the absolute best, sir.
And as a reminder, I am a licensed representative to buy and sell precious metals through Miles Franklin Precious Metals Investments, where we have several options to expand your precious metals portfolio, from physical delivery of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and rhodium, to offshore depositories, and precious metals IRA’s. Give me a call at 855.505.1900 or you may email: Maurice@MilesFranklin.com. Finally, please subscribe to www.provenandprobable.com, where we provide: Mining Insights and Bullion Sales, subscription is free.
Local employment showcased during Phase 2 Exploration at Cabin Gold Project
Local employment showcased during Phase 2 Exploration at Cabin Gold Project
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 10, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rover Metals Corp. (TSXV: ROVR) (OTCQB: ROVMF) (FRA:4X0) (“Rover” or the “Company”) discusses the positive impact of the Cabin Gold project on the local community: https://rovermetals.com/landingpages/aug2021corporateupdate.html
About Rover Metals Rover is a precious metals exploration company specialized in North American precious metal resources, that is currently advancing the gold potential of its existing projects in the Northwest Territories of Canada (60th parallel). The Company commenced Phase 2 Exploration at its Cabin Gold Project this summer.
Stock Option Grants The Company has re-engaged Momentum PR (“Momentum”) to provide another six months of investor relations services. Pursuant to the renewal of the Momentum contract, the Company has granted 750,000 stock options with a four year life on the following terms: 175,000 options vesting September 30, 2021 with an exercise price of $0.125; 175,000 options vesting December 31, 2021 with an exercise price of $0.150; 175,000 options vesting March 31, 2022 with an exercise price of $0.175; and 175,000 options vesting June 30, 2022 with an exercise price of $0.200. The Company has also granted 52,400 stock options to a consultant. The 52,400 options are fully vested on grant, have a life of four years, and have an exercise price of $0.15.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS “Judson Culter” Chief Executive Officer and Director
For further information, please contact: Email: info@rovermetals.com Phone: +1 (778) 754-2617
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Resolution Minerals reported that it had received assay results from a recently completed, shallow, reverse circulation drilling program conducted at prospects within the East Pogo block of the 64North Gold Project near Pogo Mine.
No significant gold intersections were realized, but Resolution Minerals reports strong gold pathfinder element signatures in a target area measuring 1,600 meters by 2000 meters.
Resolution states that pathfinder results from drill hole 21EP008 indicate potential for gold at depth and that a follow-up deeper drilling program is warranted.
Felix Gold Partnership
Major soil sampling program continues: 2,000 samples collected to date.
Drill plans are being formulated.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, August 5, 2021 – Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX-V: MRO, OTCQB: MLRKF) (“Millrock” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on its exploration activities at its Goodpaster and Fairbanks gold district projects (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Millrock gold project locations within the Tintina Gold Province, Alaska.
Goodpaster District Projects
Millrock owns a 70% interest in a very large claim block surrounding the Pogo Mine in Alaska. Pogo is a high-grade gold mine operated by Northern Star Resources Ltd. The 64North claims, which are subdivided into eight different blocks, are the subject of an option agreement with Resolution Minerals Ltd (ASX: RML, “Resolution”). Recently, a 30% interest was earned by Resolution by virtue of exploration expenditures plus cash and share payments made to Millrock in the first year of the project.
64North Gold Project – East Pogo block: Millrock partner Resolution has recently completed a drilling program at gold prospects located on the East Pogo block (Figure 2). A reverse circulation drill was used to test shallow, gently-dipping conductive zones detected in 2020 by ZTEM and CSAMT geophysical surveys. A total of 1,663 meters was drilled over 12 holes. Gently-dipping altered, graphitic zones with quartz and sulfides were reported in several holes. Assay results indicate only anomalous gold values. However, gold pathfinder elements detected indicate possible proximity to a gold-bearing vein system. At the nearby Pogo Mine, rocks close to the gold-bearing veins are enriched in the pathfinder elements bismuth, tellurium, sulfur, and arsenic. From the recent drilling at East Pogo, Resolution has identified a target area measuring 1,600 meters by 2,000 meters for follow-up, with a CSAMT conductive zone beneath. Drill hole 21EP008 intersected sericite and biotite alteration including minor quartz veining with strongly elevated geochemical pathfinder elements. The hole had a trend of increasing gold and alteration intensity over the last 50 meters drilled with sericite alteration present in the last few meters. This signifies potential for gold mineralization at greater depth, perhaps at the level of the CSAMT conductor. The hole unfortunately had to be terminated prior to reaching target depth. Resolution indicates it is considering drilling deeper with a core rig to test the CSAMT target below the geochemical anomaly detected through the shallow reverse circulation drilling program (Figure 3).
Figure 2. Reverse circulation drill rig in operation on the East Pogo block, 64North Gold Project,Figure 3. CSAMT Line 2 Cross Section on the East Pogo block, 64North Gold Project, Goodpaster District, Alaska.
Fairbanks Gold District Projects
Millrock is in a strategic alliance agreement with Felix Gold Ltd. (“Felix Gold”), a private Australian company that intends to become a public company listed on the Australia Stock Exchange (“ASX”). Millrock is assigning its existing mineral rights in return for Felix Gold shares and royalty interests. Felix Gold is funding exploration work and paying the costs of acquiring claims by staking and by agreements with claim holders. All new properties within the strategic alliance Area of Interest become subject to royalties in favor of Millrock (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Blue shading indicates Millrock / Felix Gold mineral land holdings in the Fairbanks Gold District, Alaska.
A major soil sampling program is well underway. To date, 2,000 soil samples have been collected across the claim holdings. The planned work will be completed at the end of August. Samples are being collected using a small auger Figure 5). The goal is to get uniform, modern soil sample coverage across the claims. Once the soil data is merged with all historic data which has been compiled in a database, drill targeting will be done.
Figure 5. Soil sampling team in action, Fairbanks Gold District, Alaska.
Qualified Person The scientific and technical information disclosed within this document has been prepared, reviewed, and approved by Gregory A. Beischer, President, CEO, and a director of Millrock Resources. Mr. Beischer is a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101.
About Millrock Resources Inc. Millrock Resources Inc. is a premier project generator to the mining industry. Millrock identifies, packages, and operates large-scale projects for joint venture, thereby exposing its shareholders to the benefits of mineral discovery without the usual financial risk taken on by most exploration companies. The company is recognized as the premier generative explorer in Alaska, holds royalty interests in British Columbia, Canada, and Sonora State, Mexico, is a significant shareholder of junior explorer ArcWest Exploration Inc. and owns a large shareholding in Resolution Minerals Limited. Funding for drilling at Millrock’s exploration projects is primarily provided by its joint venture partners. Business partners of Millrock have included some of the leading names in the mining industry: EMX Royalty, Centerra Gold, First Quantum, Teck, Kinross, Vale, Inmet and, Altius as well as junior explorers Resolution, Riverside, PolarX, and Felix Gold.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD “Gregory Beischer” Gregory Beischer, President & CEO
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Melanee Henderson, Investor Relations Toll-Free: 877-217-8978 | Local: 604-638-3164 Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
Some statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including without limitation the intention to mount further exploration including drilling in 2021. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements.
