In these days of covid tyranny, it is hard to find a free place. Latin America has been my refuge. But what looks pleasant in the immediate does not have to have a bright future. Given that the USA is increasingly going woke, the future of Latin America does not look too good to me. That does not affect my investments, but I will increasingly look for higher upsides. Here is a speech that I gave last week at the MoneyShow:
On Investments
Signature Resources (SGU; C$0.09) has a very interesting project in Ontario. Be careful not to chase it, but linked here are my thoughts about it in a discussion with Cory Fleck and Shad Marquitz.
Disclaimer: All information found here, including any ideas, opinions, views, predictions, forecasts, commentaries, suggestions, or stock picks, expressed or implied herein, are for informational, entertainment, or educational purposes only and should not be construed as personal investment advice. While the information provided is believed to be accurate, it may include errors or inaccuracies. The sole purpose of these musings is to show my thinking process when analyzing a stock, not to provide any recommendation. I will not and cannot be held liable for any actions you take as a result of anything you read here. Conduct your own due diligence, or consult a licensed financial advisor or broker before making any and all investment decisions. Any investments, trades, speculations, or decisions made on the basis of any information found on this site, expressed or implied herein, are committed at your own risk, financial or otherwise.
Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – August 30, 2021) – EMX Royalty Corporation (NYSE American: EMX) (TSXV: EMX) (FSE: 6E9) (the “Company” or “EMX”) is pleased to announce the execution of an option agreement (the “Agreement“) to sell five battery metals projects in Sweden (the “Projects“) to Swedish Nickel Pty. Ltd. (“Swedish Nickel“), a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayrock Resources Limited (“Bayrock“). Bayrock is an Australian unlisted public company and has a pre-existing nickel mining asset in Sweden. In return for the Projects, the Agreement provides EMX with up to a 6% equity interest in Bayrock, annual advance royalty payments, 3% Net Smelter Return (“NSR“) royalty interests, work commitments and other considerations.
The nickel-copper Projects are located in northeastern Sweden in the Fennoscandian Shield (see Figure 1), which is host to numerous nickel deposits in Sweden, Finland and western Russia. The Projects each contain drill-defined zones of nickel-copper sulfide mineralization developed in and around mafic to ultramafic intrusions (magmatic sulfide-style mineralization). These zones of mineralization are also variably enriched in cobalt and platinum-group-elements (PGE), key metals used in current battery technologies. Most of the Projects’ occurrences and deposits were discovered in the 1970’s and 1980’s, with only limited and incomplete histories of follow-up exploration. See www.EMXroyalty.com for further information.
The Agreement with Swedish Nickel/Bayrock represents another example of EMX’s execution of the royalty generation aspect of its business model. EMX began exploration programs for nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE deposits in the Nordic countries in 2016, at a time of lower battery metal prices and when there was little commercial interest in these types of projects. Improvements in the battery metals markets in recent years have led to a resurgence in interest in battery metals projects, especially in stable political jurisdictions such as the Nordic countries.
Commercial Terms Overview. In accordance with the Agreement, Swedish Nickel can acquire 100% interests in any or all of the Projects through the issuance of cash or shares to EMX and performance of work on individual projects during a 36 month (3 year) option period, subject to the following terms (all dollar amounts in AUD):
Upon execution of the Agreement, EMX will receive $62,184 in cash.
Bayrock will raise a minimum of $6 million by the first anniversary of the Agreement and issue EMX between 5 and 6% of Bayrock shares on a fully diluted basis, subject to certain conditions. Alternatively, Swedish Nickel can make a one-time cash payment of $600,000 in lieu of the obligation for issuance of Bayrock shares to EMX.
Swedish Nickel will expend a minimum of $250,000 per project in the first 18 months of the Agreement, and another $250,000 per project in the second 18 months of the Agreement; for a total of $500,000 per project by the 3rd anniversary of the Agreement.
After satisfying the work commitments and exercising the option on any or all of the Projects, Swedish Nickel will grant EMX royalty interests with annual advance royalty (“AAR“) payments and other considerations on each of the Projects for which an option is exercised:
EMX will receive a 3% NSR royalty interest in each optioned project. On or before the earlier of the sixth anniversary of the Agreement or delivery of a Feasibility Study, Swedish Nickel has the option to repurchase 1% of the EMX NSR royalty on any Project by paying EMX $1,500,000.
EMX will receive AAR payments of $25,000 on each optioned project commencing on the third anniversary of the Agreement, with the AAR payment increasing by 10% each year.
Payments of $600,000 payable in cash or shares, will be made to EMX upon the delivery of a Feasibility Study on any of the Projects.
Closing is subject to approval by the ASX Stock Exchange.
Overview of the Projects. The Projects are situated within a belt of mafic-ultramafic intrusive complexes that straddle the Sweden-Finland border. This belt of intrusions is host to multiple nickel-sulfide deposits such as the Kevitsa and Sakatti deposits in Finland. Each of the EMX Projects included in the Agreement contain historical drill defined zones of nickel copper mineralization that also show variable enrichments in cobalt and PGE.
Kukasjarvi Project. Kukasjarvi has a geologic setting typical of many magmatic sulfide deposits, where sill-like mafic to ultramafic rocks have intruded graphitic and sulfide bearing sedimentary rocks. Magmatic sulfides at Kukasjarvi were discovered by Boliden AB in the 1970’s while tracing mineralized boulders found in the area. Twelve historical diamond holes were drilled for a total of 2,400 meters, and a historical mineral resource for Kukasjarvi was defined[1]. The deposit is believed to be hosted within a metamorphosed ultramafic cumulate rock related to larger volumes of mafic gabbros mapped in the area. The deposit remains poorly delineated (i.e. incompletely drilled), and high Cu:Ni ratios suggest that the currently defined mineralization is distal in the system(s).
Notträsk Project. Notträsk is a layered mafic intrusion of gabbro-norite-peridotite with nickel copper mineralization that was discovered in the 1970’s when road construction exposed an 80 meter thick section of sulfide rich breccias and massive sulfide accumulations. The sulfide mineralization occurs near the base of the intrusive complex, but subsequent exploration programs focussed on mineralization at higher levels within the intrusive complex. Only a few of the historical holes penetrated the basal contact, which represents the primary exploration target and remains largely untested. EMX also sees considerable exploration upside in the apophyses and offshoots of the main intrusive complex which could contain “conduit” type sulfide targets.
Vuostok Project. The Vuostok project is the westernmost of the Projects, located in the Skelleftea mining region of Sweden. Nickel-copper mineralization at Vuostok was discovered in the 1940’s after prospectors followed a trail of mineralized boulders that were carried by glaciers up to 55 kilometers to the southeast[2]. Mineralization at Vuostok mainly occurs along the basal contact of a gabbro sill intruded into granitic country rocks. After discovery, several campaigns of drilling delineated shallow bodies of nickel-copper sulfide mineralization. Many step-out drill holes also intersected masses of nickel-rich sulfide mineralization which appears to be widespread in the gabbroic intrusive complexes. Multiple conductive geophysical anomalies remain untested.
Fiskelträsk Project. Similar to Kukasjarvi, Fiskelträsk is a gabrroic to gabbronorite intrusion emplaced into sulfide-bearing sedimentary rocks. The Fiskelträsk deposit was discovered by Boliden AB during the 1970’s, which drilled eleven holes for a total of 1,600 meters. The drill data were utilized by Wiking Minerals AB to estimate a historical resource in 2014 that has been cited in multiple publications on nickel-copper deposits in the region. The mineralization at Fiskelträsk is enriched in cobalt, and although not analyzed during the 1970’s exploration programs, subsequent studies showed anomalous PGE values which need follow-up work.
Skogträsk Project. Nickel-copper mineralization at Skogträsk was identified and drilled by the Swedish Geological Survey (“SGU“) in 1969-1973. Eleven shallow diamond drill holes by the SGU intersected disseminated and “net-textured” styles of sulfide mineralization at the basal contact of a gabbro-norite-pyroxenite-peridotite intrusion. As was the case at Kukasjarvi and Fiskelträsk, the mafic-ultramafic intrusions at Skogträsk were emplaced into graphitic and sulfide-rich sediments. In 2014 Boss Resources Ltd. conducted electromagnetic geophysical surveys at Skogträsk and drilled two holes totalling 491 meters. One of the holes intersected a significant thickness (~20 meters) of nickel-copper-bearing sulfide mineralization at the basal contact of the intrusive complex, and electromagnetic geophysical data show that the mineralization may extend for several hundred meters along strike. There was no follow-up to the 2014 drill program and multiple geophysical anomalies remain untested on the property.
Comments on References to Historical Drill Results and Resource Estimates, and Nearby Mines and Deposits. EMX has not performed sufficient work to verify the Projects’ historical drill results or the published historical resource estimates. The Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources but considers them as reliable and relevant based upon independent field reviews, including inspections of historical drill core. Additional work to verify or upgrade the historical estimates as current mineral resources would include a) check assaying of historical assay results, b) confirmation drilling, and c) review/updating of the geologic interpretations under the supervision of a Qualified Person. However, there is no guarantee that the historical resource estimates will be updated as current mineral resources with further work.
The nearby mines and deposits discussed in this news release provide context for EMX’s Projects, which occur in similar geologic settings, but this is not necessarily indicative that the Projects host similar tonnages or grades of mineralization.
Dr. Eric P. Jensen, CPG, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and 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”; 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.
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”, “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.
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 year ended June 30, 2021 (the “MD&A”), and the most recently filed 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.
Figure 1. Location map for the Projects and Prospective Mineral Belts.
[1] Papunen, Heikki, and Gorbunov, eds., 1985, Nickel-Copper Deposits of the Baltic Shield and Scandinavian Caledonides, Geological Survey of Finland, Bulletin 333.
[2] Grip, E., 1955, Tracing of glacial boulders as an aid to ore prospecting in Sweden, Economic Geology, v. 48, p. 715-725.
Sign up for Alerts
Sign up to receive news releases by email for EMX Royalty Corp. or all companies belonging to the Mining and Metals, Precious Metals industries.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Irving Resources Inc. (CSE:IRV; OTCQX: IRVRF) (“Irving” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its Annual General Meeting of shareholders was held in Vancouver, British Columbia on August 25, 2021 at which:
the incumbent directors of the Company standing for re-election, being Akiko Levinson, Quinton Hennigh, Kevin Box, Douglas Buchanan and Haruo Harada, were all re-elected as directors of Irving for the coming year; and
Davidson & Company, the incumbent auditors of the Company, were re-appointed auditors of Irving for the coming year.
About Irving Resources Inc.:
Irving is a junior exploration company with a focus on gold in Japan. Irving also holds, through a subsidiary, a Joint Exploration Agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC). JOGMEC is a government organization established under the law of Japan, administrated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and is responsible for stable supply of various resources to Japan through the discovery of sizable economic deposits of base, precious and rare metals.
Additional information can be found on the Company’s website: www.IRVresources.com.
Akiko Levinson, President, CEO & Director
THE CSE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.
CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Tel: (604) 682-3234 Toll free: 1 (888) 242-3234 Fax: (604) 971-0209 info@IRVresources.com
Hot Chili Limited (ASX: HCH) (OTCQB: HHLKF) (“Hot Chili” or “Company”) advises due to overwhelming support of the Company’s Share Purchase Plan (SPP) it has decided to close the SPP at 5.00pm today Thursday, 26 August 2021. The Company will apply the scale-back conditions accordingly as per the terms set out in the SPP prospectus dated 13 August 2021.
Applications for over $5 million have been received from eligible shareholders under the SPP.
Mr Christian Easterday, Managing Director of Hot Chili, said
“The Board of Hot Chili would like to thank all shareholders for participating in the SPP, which was oversubscribed in five days.
We look forward to delivering on our copper-gold resource growth pipeline in Chile to build long term shareholder value as we transition Hot Chili into a premier global copper developer”.
To access the announcement please click on the link below.
Cortadera’s maiden Mineral Resource positions Hot Chili with the largest copper Mineral Resource and one of the largest gold Mineral Resources for an ASX-listed emerging company.
The Cortadera maiden Mineral Resource of 451Mt at 0.46% copper equivalent (CuEq) takes the total Mineral Resource estimate for Costa Fuego (Cortadera, Productora & El Fuego) to 724Mt at 0.48% CuEq for 2.9Mt copper, 2.7Moz gold, 9.9Moz Silver and 64kt molybdenum. Cortadera also contains a higher grade component of 104Mt at 0.74% CuEq, and this has strong potential to continue growing rapidly with further drilling.
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.
Silverton area map including other mines in the area.
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lakewood Exploration Inc. (CSE: LWD) (the “Company” or “Lakewood”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a share purchase agreement dated effective August 9, 2021 between the Company, 1304562 B.C. Ltd. (“BCCO”) and the sole shareholder of BCCO (the “Definitive Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of BCCO (the “Proposed Transaction”). BCCO owns a 100% interest in the Eliza Silver Project and the Silverton Silver Mine.
The Eliza Silver Project
The Eliza Silver Project is located along strike of the Hamilton Mining District, Nevada’s highest-grade silver district, which produced 40 million (M) ounces (oz) silver with grades up to 25,000 grams per tonne (g/t) between 1876-1890.
Surface samples collected at the nearby California Mine grading 24,956 g/t silver (Ag)* and information gained from a detailed geologic map, indicate that Eliza and the Hamilton District contain high-grade Ag mineralization hosted by the same formation; however, no significant work or drilling has been done on the project in over half a century.
The Lakewood team plans to deploy a new geologic model, which will explore the down-thrown side of the Eberhardt Fault, which separates the Hamilton District from the Eliza Property. The California Mine, which mined ore grading between 5,621 to 18,737 g/t silver equivalent (AgEq)* in the 1870s is also located south of the Eberhardt Fault, indicating that very high-grade mineralization can be found within the Eliza fault block.
The Silverton Silver Mine
The past-producing Silverton Silver Mine is located in East Nevada’s “Silver Alley” with high-grade historic production of up to 933 g/t silver. Despite significant surface exposures and grab samples grading up to 499 g/t Ag and 1.99 g/t Au, no modern-day drilling or subsurface exploration techniques have been conducted on the project since the 1920s. The first modern work is currently underway, including satellite imaging which has shown similar colour anomalies to Kinross’ 15M oz Au Round Mountain mine (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Longwave infrared Aster image of central Nevada, showing same thermal response as Round Mountain mine (left) and Silverton project area (right).
Numerous large deposits are located in the “Silver Alley,” including the 174 Moz Tonopah silver project and the Tybo project, which produced 100 Moz AgEq (see Figure 2).
“The geology of the Eliza project suggests that it could be a down-dropped extension of the 40 Moz Hamilton Silver project,” stated President, Morgan Lekstrom. “The addition of Eliza and Silverton, two highly prospective silver projects in two of the most prolific silver districts in the USA, complement our growing portfolio of western US focused silver assets, which includes the past producing Silver Strand mine in Idaho. The acquisition of these projects reaffirms our strategy of adding shareholder value by acquiring silver assets that have both large exploration upside and near-term production potential.”
The Transaction
Pursuant to the terms of the Definitive Agreement, upon the closing of the Proposed Transaction, Lakewood will acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding securities of BCCO in consideration for: (i) the issuance of 3,370,000 common shares of the Company (the “Payment Shares”) to the sole shareholder of BCCO, and (ii) a cash payment of $20,000. In addition, the Company will issue 300,000 common shares to certain arm’s length third party finders in connection with the Proposed Transaction (the “Finders’ Shares”). The Payment Shares and Finders’ Shares will be subject to voluntary hold periods, with 25% of the shares released on the date that is 3 months following the Closing Date and an additional 25% released every 3 months thereafter until all shares have been released.
The Proposed Transaction remains subject to certain closing conditions including, without limitation, (a) the receipt by the Company of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals; and (b) each party’s representations and warranties in the Definitive Agreement being true and correct in all aspects as of the Closing Date, and each party meeting its terms and conditions and completing its covenants and obligations as contained therein. There can be no guarantees that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as contemplated or at all. The Proposed Transaction is anticipated to close on or before October 31, 2021.
About Lakewood Exploration Inc.
Lakewood Exploration Inc. is a junior resource company that controls the Lacy Gold Project in British Columbia, Canada, the past-producing Silver Strand Mine in the Coeur d’Alene Mining District in Idaho, USA, and both the Eliza Silver project and the Silverton Silver mine in one of the world’s most prolific mining jurisdictions in Nevada. The Company is rapidly advancing towards an initial drill program at Silver Strand with the aim of defining a large silver resource within a belt that has produced more than 1.2 billion ounces of silver to-date. Geologic studies indicate that the Silver Strand Mine is hosted by the Revett formation, suggesting the potential for significant down dip extensions as demonstrated by other major mines in the district. Previous operators were solely interested in developing the known shallow mineralization, with the mine’s lowest level extending only 90 metres below surface. Lakewood strives to become a multi-mine silver producer. Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company’s property.
On Behalf of the Board of Lakewood Exploration Inc.
Morgan Lekstrom, President
Corporate Office: 551 Howe Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 2C2, Canada Contact: Kristina Pillon, President, High Tide Consulting Corp. 604.908.1695 / investors@silverhammermining.com The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
The securities to be issued in connection with the Proposed Transaction have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), or under any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, or delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the 1933 Act) absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy such securities in the United States.
This press release includes “forward-looking information” that is subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements may include but are not limited to, statements relating to the Company’s ability to complete the Proposed Transaction on the terms announced or at all. Such statements are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to such events. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future events and that actual events or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent management’s best judgment based on information currently available.
Notes: *Nevada Bureau Mines Report 52900017 **Humphry (1960)
Joining us for a conversation is Roger Moss, the CEO of Labrador Gold (TSX.V: LAB | OTCQX: INOKF). It’s a pleasure to be speaking with you sir, as you have some very encouraging news coming from the Kingsway Gold Project, this time in the form of pristine gold grains. Before we begin, Dr. Moss, who is Labrador Gold, and what is the opportunity the company presents to shareholders?
Dr. Roger Moss:
Labrador Gold is a junior mining company based in Canada, and we’re currently exploring in Newfoundland on our flagship Kingsway Gold Project. We’ve done quite a bit of work on there over the last year, and this Spring we embarked on a 50,000-meter drill program. We made a discovery late last year of visible gold in quartz grain boulders. And we’ve been drilling for a few months with some nice high-grade hits. We are quite excited about the potential before us, and our recent press releases seem to indicate that we may be onto something. And today’s news adds even more to the story.
Maurice Jackson:
Dr. Moss take us to the Kingsway Gold Project, which is along a structure highway known for gold-bearing fluids, please acquaint us with the primary structures.
Dr. Roger Moss:
One of the things that interested me about Kingsway when I first heard about it and we moved to acquire it, was the fact that we had these major crustal structures running through it. And we know that the kinds of gold deposits that we’re looking at here, orogenic and epigenetic gold deposits, they are associated with these major crustal structures. If you have them, it’s great, you can find gold along them. And we are fortunate enough to have two, the Appleton Fault Zone and Dog Bay Line. Most of our work to date has been along the Appleton Fault Zone, and it’s almost a no brainer because down to the south of us where New Found Gold are exploring, they’ve been having incredible success exploring along the Appleton Fault Zone with their great intersections at Keats and Lotto, and most recently at the Golden Joint, so they have three occurrences down there along the Appleton Fault Zone, and ours is just starting, and our Big Vein target is also located along the Appleton Fault Zone. It seems to be a pretty prospective structure that’s running through the property.
Maurice Jackson:
Speaking of the Big Vein in the Appleton Fault Zone, at the conclusion of our last interview, you stated that, “the Big Vein may be the first of many occurrences and that the ideal situation is finding a string of pearls along the Appleton Fault Zone.” Let’s see if the ideal has the potential to come to fruition. Let’s visit the Appleton Fault Zone as earlier today, Labrador Gold announced till results of pristine gold grains. Dr. Moss, what can you share with us?
Dr. Roger Moss:
Labrador recently conducted a pretty big till sampling survey over the lowermost, southernmost two licenses of the Kingsway Project. And I think there was 57 till samples in total, and we got some nice results and the key here, and I think you said it twice, I’m going to say it again, is pristine. Pristine gold grains and that means that these grains haven’t traveled very far from their source, and that’s what we see here in these results.
Dr. Roger Moss:
If I may just digress a little bit so that I can explain why these pristine grains are so important. We’re looking at rocks and grains that have been dumped out of glaciers as they melt and recede, so when the glaciers move across the rock, they scrape and scour the bedrock and they entrain all the material that they’re scouring and they carry it with them, and when they recede and melt, they start dropping that material all the way back to the source, so the more pristine the gold grains are, the closer to the source they would have been because you can’t transport these very flaky gold grains very far without completely modifying their shape.
Dr. Roger Moss:
And so, in terms of gold grain morphology for till sampling, we talk about pristine, closest to the source. Modified, further away, maybe around half a kilometer or more, and then reshaped where the gold grains are totally bent onto themselves and more rounded, and that’s furthest away from the source and probably up to over a kilometer away from the source. So, the pristine grains that we have, they indicate that those grains are very close to the source of mineralization that they came from.
Maurice Jackson:
Identifying the source, mode of transportation, along with pristine gold is a huge success. Does today’s release bode well on the ideal of having a string of pearls along the Appleton Fault Zone?
Dr. Roger Moss:
Oh, absolutely! To give you an example, and this is where it gets really exciting because we had a till sample that was taken right next to Big Vein, and it had something like 165 grains of gold in total and something like 80% of them were pristine. That’s great. So, it hadn’t come very far from the source, but we know that Big Vein has visible gold in there. We found a big boulder last year of quartz vein with visible gold in it, so it’s not a big jump to say that, “Well yeah, sure. That till sample came from Big Vein.” It seems to be a reasonable idea, but the results that we announced today, there are two samples, another one with 165 grains of gold, somewhere just over 90% of them pristine, very close to the source and the other one, 311 grains of gold, just over 80% pristine.
Dr. Roger Moss:
311 grains of gold is almost double the number of grains of gold that we found in the sample next to Big Vein and that occurs 700 to 800 meters northeast of Big Vein, so that means that the gold grains in those samples did not come from Big Vein. They came from somewhere much closer to the sample locations, so this goes back to my pearls on a string story, and we’re just adding pearls to the string with these till samples. It’s very exciting. It means that Big Vein is likely not the only occurrence that we’re going to be drilling, and there’s definitely more to be found along this Appleton Fault Zone.
Maurice Jackson:
Speaking of extending the string, Labrador Gold has embarked on a 50,000-meter drill program this spring. What work is currently being conducted on-site, and do you have any updates on when we may expect more assays?
Dr. Roger Moss:
Oh, that’s what everybody asks, of course. You got to ask it at some point and the answer is always the same. The labs are backed up, we’re getting results, but they’re much slower, and it seems like as every week goes by the turnaround time gets longer. One of our guys was at the lab yesterday and he came back, and he said, “Roger, you won’t believe the number of samples that are in that lab waiting to be assayed.” He said, “There are bags and bags and bags, just waiting to be assayed.”
Dr. Roger Moss:
I said, “Man, you should have taken a photograph, and that could be my answer when I get asked that question. ‘Look, folks this is what it’s like, the labs are jampacked”. We are getting results in, we will be putting out more results from the drilling. It’s going well, and yeah, I know patience is not the biggest trait of some investors, but you know what? I think that we’re going to be there. When these results come in, it’s going to be good, and I think we’ve got a long way to go yet, so yeah, I think patience is definitely required here.
Maurice Jackson:
Leaving the Kingsway Gold Project, let’s get into some numbers. Sir, please provide the capital structure for Labrador Gold.
Dr. Roger Moss:
Right now, we have around 150 million shares outstanding, and probably another 50 million warrants and options, so just over 200 million are fully diluted. We have 35 million in the bank. We don’t have any debt. So yeah, I think we’re in a pretty good position to keep on with this exploration that we’re doing and to keep going.
Maurice Jackson:
In closing, Dr. Moss, what would you like to convey to shareholders?
Dr. Roger Moss:
Well, earlier in the season when we were drilling, and it can be frustrating sometimes when we’re not hitting as often as we would like or we don’t see the results that we would like, but of course not every hole is going to hit, but I just tell myself, “Don’t stop believing,” and that’s the name of the game here. You have to believe as a geologist in this industry, you got to believe that you’re going to find the deposit that you’re looking for. And I think all indications right now are that we’re on the right track, and it’s a matter of time before we see something significant.
Maurice Jackson:
Dr. Moss for readers that wants to get more information about Labrador Gold, please share the contact details.
Dr. Roger Moss:
Yeah, you can email info@labradorgold.com, www.labradorgold.com is our web address. And I would recommend people look at our Twitter feed @LabGoldCorp. We post a lot of information on Twitter. YouTube is another channel, our YouTube channel, lots of videos there, so there’s a lot of information out there besides what’s on the website, but yeah, Twitter and YouTube both are channels that we use fairly extensively.
Maurice Jackson:
Dr. Moss, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you. Wishing you and Labrador 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.
Hot Chili Limited (ASX: HCH) (OTCQB: HHLKF) (“Hot Chili” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has successfully arranged a $40 million funding through the issue of new shares at 3.2 cent per share (the “Placement”).
Highlights:
Fully underwritten A$5M share purchase plan, and A$35M private placement corner-stoned by mining major Glencore and underpinned by several domestic and overseas institutional investors, as well as some of Hot Chili’s largest shareholders
Glencore will emerge as Hot Chili’s largest shareholder with a 9.99% interest
New funds secure the final acquisition payment of US$15M for a 100% interest in the Company’s world-class Cortadera copper-gold discovery in Chile – payment to be made immediately
Fully funded to deliver a major resource upgrade and Pre-feasibility study for Costa Fuego, current resource standing at 2.9Mt copper, 2.7Moz gold and 9.9Moz silver and 64kt molybdenum (as announced to ASX on 12th October 2020)
Further updates expected as the Company advances its drilling, development studies and expected TSXV dual-listing later this year
Ownership of Cortadera, strong cash position, rapid resource growth and backing by Glencore provide a compelling foundation ahead for the Company’s plans to dual list on the TSXV in Canada later this year.
Hot Chili’s Managing Director Christian Easterday said “the $40 million funding secures ownership of Cortadera, and Glencore’s investment and involvement is a strong endorsement of our future”
Cortadera’s maiden Mineral Resource positions Hot Chili with the largest copper Mineral Resource and one of the largest gold Mineral Resources for an ASX-listed emerging company.
The Cortadera maiden Mineral Resource of 451Mt at 0.46% copper equivalent (CuEq) takes the total Mineral Resource estimate for Costa Fuego (Cortadera, Productora & El Fuego) to 724Mt at 0.48% CuEq for 2.9Mt copper, 2.7Moz gold, 9.9Moz Silver and 64kt molybdenum. Cortadera also contains a higher grade component of 104Mt at 0.74% CuEq, and this has strong potential to continue growing rapidly with further drilling.View the Cortadera Project
Hot Chili Limited Head Office (Perth) First Floor, 768 Canning Highway, Applecross, Western Australia 6153
Continuing excellent safety record with no LTIs recorded at the Company’s Beatons Creek conglomerate gold project (the “ Nullagine Gold Project ”)
Record monthly gold production of 8,589 oz Au in July , a 46% increase over June
7,899 ounces of gold sold in July, generating revenue of C$17.8 million 1 (A$19.2 million) , a 50% increase over June
Record number of grade control assays processed in July (> 68,000 PhotonAssays) , expecting to clear the assay backlog by October 2021
Exploration drilling ongoing at near-mine and East Pilbara conglomerate and orogenic basement targets
July month-end cash balance of C$49 million , representing 6% growth since June
Fair value of Novo’s investments of approximately C$170 million 2
“I’m delighted with the continuing positive trajectory of the Nullagine Gold Project as the team adjusts to mining and processing this completely new style of conglomerate gold mineralization,” commented Rob Humphryson, CEO and a director of the Company. “The site team is functioning cohesively as they perfect the geological and mining methods required to underpin a sustained and successful operation.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 05, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Novo Resources Corp. ( “Novo” or the “Company” ) (TSX: NVO, NVO.WT & NVO.WT.A) (OTCQX: NSRPF) is pleased to provide an operations update from the Nullagine Gold Project after another record month of growth. Subsequent updates will be provided on a quarterly basis.
NULLAGINE GOLD PROJECT
Gold Production
Gold production at the Nullagine Gold Project for July 2021 was a record month of 8,589 ounces produced during July 2021 ( Figure 1 ).
Mill throughput continued to increase month-on-month. As anticipated in the Company’s news release dated June 8, 2021 , the processing plant’s annualized rate is increasing towards 1.8 mtpa ( Figure 2 ). A total of 148 kt of gold-bearing conglomerate material was processed in July. Recovery rates are also stabilizing around 95%. July’s processing head grade was 1.94 g/t Au.
Mining
Mined mineralized and waste material was lower in July with some of the Company’s contract mining fleet allocated to assist with initial preparatory works for an upcoming tailings storage facility expansion.
Intertek Testing Services (Australia) Pty Ltd (“ Intertek ”) has now fully commissioned two Chrysos PhotonAssay machines at its Maddington (Perth) facility ( Figure 3 ) ( refer to the Company’s news release dated May 18, 2021 ) and processed a total of 68,235 PhotonAssays (including QA/QC samples) in July. This compares favourably against average sample returns per month over the past six months. Assuming that July’s processing rates continue, the Company expects that its backlog of grade control samples will be cleared by the end of October 2021 which will significantly improve the Company’s ability to optimize recovery of mineralized material at the Nullagine Gold Project.
Intertek have also been selected to design and manage a site-based sample preparation laboratory at the Nullagine Gold Project. The lab setup is proceeding rapidly, with commissioning expected to be completed by mid-August. To date the crusher/dryer facility, ducting refurbishment, and pad extensions have all been completed, with lab personnel expected to arrive on site early next week.
Exploration
Exploration works at the Nullagine Gold Project accelerated during June as reverse circulation (“ RC ”) drilling was completed at several conglomerate (Beatons Extended and Skyfall) and orogenic basement (Margies, Cutlass and AU81 north) targets, all located within a 50 km radius of the Company’s Golden Eagle processing facility. A series of additional high priority targets more recently delineated within the Nullagine Gold Project area by detailed geological mapping, rock chip sampling and soil sampling are also scheduled for drill testing in the latter half of 2021 (Daisy Central, Red Ensign, GENNE, Parnell, Vulture).
Further afield, RC drilling commenced in July at one of Novo’s high priority orogenic vein targets at the Talga Project ( Figure 4 ), testing strike and depth potential, and grade continuity of the mineralised lode systems at McPhees and NW Australian. Rock samples collected by Novo combined with detailed mapping define a mineralized corridor approximately three kilometres long and include assay results with best grades of 81.4 g/t Au, 46.9 g/t Au, 35.1 g/t Au and 30.0 g/t Au (refer to the Company’s news release dated June 3, 2021 ). These results are not necessarily representative of mineralization at Talga Talga. This prospect is located some 30 km to the north of the town of Marble Bar (150km north of Nullagine) and is suitable for haulage to the Company’s Golden Eagle processing facility at the Nullagine Gold Project.
Novo’s cash position and working capital remains robust, with cash reserves of C$49 million as at July 31, 2021 as compared to cash reserves of C$46.3 million as at June 30, 2021. Operational cash inflows accounted for most of this increase, with only approximately C$0.6 million attributable to stock option exercises and asset dispositions.
In addition to its cash reserves, the Company’s portfolio of investments held a fair value of approximately C$170 million 2 as at July 31, 2021. Volatility in the value of the Company’s portfolio is mostly attributable to the Company’s 9.83% holdings in New Found Gold Corp. (TSXV: NFG).
Dr. Quinton Hennigh (P.Geo.) is the qualified person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, responsible for, and having reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Hennigh is a director of Novo and its president and chairman.
Cautionary Statement
The decision by the Company to produce at the Nullagine Gold Project was not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and, as a result, there is an increased uncertainty of achieving any particular level of recovery of minerals or the cost of such recovery, including increased risks associated with developing a commercially mineable deposit. Historically, such projects have a much higher risk of economic and technical failure. There is no guarantee that that anticipated production costs will be achieved. Failure to achieve the anticipated production costs would have a material adverse impact on the Company’s cash flow and future profitability.
About Novo
Novo is commissioning its flagship Beatons Creek gold project while exploring and developing its prospective land package covering approximately 14,000 square kilometres in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. In addition to the Company’s primary focus, Novo seeks to leverage its internal geological expertise to deliver value-accretive opportunities to its shareholders. For more information, please contact Leo Karabelas at (416) 543-3120 or e-mail leo@novoresources.com .
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
Novo Resources Corp.
“ Quinton Hennigh ”
Quinton Hennigh
Chairman and President
Forward-looking information
Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including, without limitation, planned mining and processing activities; that the backlog of PhotonAssays is expected to be cleared by October 2021; and that the processing plant’s annualized rate is expected to reach 1.8 mtpa. 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. Such factors include, without limitation, customary risks of the resource industry and the risk factors identified in Novo’s annual information form for the 11-month fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which is available under Novo’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. Except as required by applicable law, Novo assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If Novo updates any forward-looking statement(s), no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.
1 Converted to Canadian dollars using the July 1 – 31, 2021 average foreign exchange rate of 0.9294.
2 This value excludes the fair value of warrants held in GBM Resources Ltd. and Kalamazoo Resources Limited. Novo’s ability to dispose of its investments is subject to certain thresholds pursuant to its senior secured credit facility with Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP. Please refer to the Company’s management’s discussion and analysis for the 11-month fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, which is available under Novo’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Novo’s investment in New Found Gold Corp. is subject to escrow requirements pursuant to National Instrument 46-201 Escrow for Initial Public Offerings . The value of Novo’s holdings in Elementum 3D, Inc. (“ E3D ”) is based on E3D’s most recent financing price of US$2.50 per share. Except for its investment in E3D, the fair value of Novo’s investments is based on closing prices of its investments and relevant foreign exchanges rates as at July 31, 2021.
