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Gold Shore Resources Junior Mining Precious Metals

Goldshore Resources Announces That Drilling Has Commenced at Coldstream

  • GSHRF+4.18%

Newsfile Corp.Mon, June 13, 2022, 8:00 AMIn this article:

  • GSHRF+4.18%

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – June 13, 2022) – Goldshore Resources Inc. (TSXV: GSHR) (OTCQB: GSHRF) (FSE: 8X00) (“Goldshore” or the “Company“), is pleased to announce that drilling has commenced in the Coldstream region at the Moss Lake Project with two drill rigs mobilized in this area, of the seven drill rigs currently operating on the Company’s land package.

Highlights:

  • Two rigs mobilized to evaluate gold mineralization at East Coldstream and copper-gold-cobalt mineralization at North Coldstream
  • Company to issue a drill plan for the next several months, indicating the locations of step out drilling and infill drilling at the Moss Lake Project; as well as the key targets identified at East Coldstream, North Coldstream, Iris Lake and Hamlin

President and CEO Brett Richards stated: “We are pleased to announce commencement of drilling in the Coldstream Region. In the coming weeks, we will lay out the drill plan for the market to follow with our progress as we step out and infill at Moss Lake, and illustrate our progress in the Coldstream region, as well as commencing drilling in the other key targets within our land package.”

Vice President Exploration, Pete Flindell commented: “Drilling has commenced at East and North Coldstream to evaluate historic drill holes, understand the controls on mineralization, test for higher grade shoots within the two deposits and explore for strike extensions to the known mineralized zones. We look forward to seeing the results in the coming months.”



Figure 1 – Moss Lake Project Inc. Map of Targets

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8051/127414_1679bdb5c43f8ad2_002full.jpg

About Goldshore

Goldshore is an emerging junior gold development company, and owns the Moss Lake Gold Project located in Ontario. Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd. (“Wesdome“) is currently a strategic shareholder of Goldshore with an approximate 27% equity position in the Company. Well-financed and supported by an industry-leading management group, board of directors and advisory board, Goldshore is positioned to advance the Moss Lake Gold Project through the next stages of exploration and development.

About the Moss Lake Gold Project

The Moss Lake Gold Project is located approximately 100 km west of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario. It is accessed via Highway 11 which passes within 1 km of the property boundary to the north. The Moss Lake Gold Project covers 14,292 hectares and consists of 282 unpatented and patented mining claims.

Moss Lake hosts a number of gold and base metal rich deposits including the Moss Lake Deposit, the East Coldstream Deposit (Table 1), the historically producing North Coldstream Mine (Table 2), and the Hamlin Zone, all of which occur over a mineralized trend exceeding 20 km in length. A historical preliminary economic assessment was completed on Moss Lake in 2013 and published by Moss Lake Gold1. A historical mineral resource estimate was completed on the East Coldstream Deposit in 2011 by Foundation Resources Inc2,3. In addition to these zones, the Moss Lake Gold Project also hosts a number of under-explored mineral occurrences which are reported to exist both at surface and in historically drilled holes. The Moss Lake Deposit is a shear-hosted disseminated-style gold deposit which outcrops at surface. It has been drilled over a 2.5 km length and to depths of 300 m with 376 holes completed between 1983 and 2017. The last drilling program conducted in 2016 and 2017 by Wesdome, which consisted of widely spaced holes along the strike extension of the deposit was successful in expanding the mineralized footprint and hydrothermal system 1.6 km to the northeast. Additionally, the deposit remains largely open to depth. In 2017, Wesdome completed an induced polarization survey which traced the potential extensions of pyrite mineralization associated with the Moss Lake Deposit over a total strike length of 8 km and spanning the entire extent of the survey grids.

The East Coldstream Deposit is a shear-hosted disseminated-style gold deposit which locally outcrops at surface. It has been drilled over a 1.3 km length and to depths of 200 m with 138 holes completed between 1988 and 2017. The deposit remains largely open at depth and may have the potential for expansion along strike. Historic drill hole highlights from the East Coldstream Deposit include 4.86 g/t Au over 27.3 m in C-10-15.

The historically producing North Coldstream Mine is reported to have produced significant amounts of copper, gold and silver4 from mineralization with potential iron-oxide-copper-gold deposit style affinity. The exploration potential immediately surrounding the historic mining area is not currently well understood and historic data compilation is required.

The Hamlin Zone is a significant occurrence of copper and gold mineralization, and also of potential iron-oxide-copper-gold deposit style affinity. Between 2008 and 2011, Glencore tested Hamlin with 24 drill holes which successfully outlined a broad and intermittently mineralized zone over a strike length of 900 m. Historic drill hole highlights from the Hamlin Zone include 0.9 g/t Au and 0.35% Cu over 150.7 m in HAM-11-75.

The Moss Lake, East Coldstream and North Coldstream deposits sit on a mineral trend marked by a regionally significant deformation zone locally referred to as the Wawiag Fault Zone in the area of the Moss Lake Deposit. This deformation zone occurs over a length of approximately 20 km on the Moss Lake Gold Project and there is an area spanning approximately 7 km between the Moss Lake and East Coldstream deposits that is significantly underexplored.

Table 1: Historical Mineral Resources1,2,3

INDICATEDINFERRED
DepositTonnesAu g/tAu ozTonnesAu g/tAu oz
Moss Lake Deposit1 (2013 resource estimate)
Open Pit Potential39,795,0001.11,377,30048,904,0001.01,616,300

Underground Potential
1,461,1002.9135,400
Moss Lake Total39,795,0001.11,377,30050,364,0001.11,751,600
East Coldstream Deposit2 (2011 resource estimate)
East Coldstream Total3,516,7000.8596,40030,533,0000.78763,276
Combined Total43,311,7001.081,473,70080,897,0000.982,514,876

Notes:
(1)Source: Poirier, S., Patrick, G.A., Richard, P.L., and Palich, J., 2013. Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Moss Lake Project, 43-101 technical report prepared for Moss Lake Gold Mines Ltd. Moss Lake Deposit resource estimate is based on 0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade for open pit and 2.0 g/t Au cut-off grade for underground resources.


(2)Source: McCracken, T., 2011. Technical Report and Resource Estimate on the Osmani Gold Deposit, Coldstream Property, Northwestern Ontario, 43-101 technical report prepared for Foundation Resources Inc. and Alto Ventures Ltd. East Coldstream Deposit resource estimate is based on a 0.4 g/t Au cut-off grade.

(3)The reader is cautioned that the above referenced “historical mineral resource” estimates are considered historical in nature and as such is based on prior data and reports prepared by previous property owners. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current resources and Goldshore is not treating the historical estimates as current resources. Significant data compilation, re-drilling, re-sampling and data verification may be required by a qualified person before the historical estimate on the Moss Lake Gold Project can be classified as a current resource. There can be no assurance that any of the historical mineral resources, in whole or in part, will ever become economically viable. In addition, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Even if classified as a current resource, there is no certainty as to whether further exploration will result in any inferred mineral resources being upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource category.

Table 2: Reported Historical Production from the North Coldstream Deposit4

Deposit
TonnesCu %Au g/tAgCu lbsAu ozAg oz
Historical Production2,700,00001.890.565.59102,000,00044,000440,000

Note:
(4) Source: Schlanka, R., 1969. Copper, Nickel, Lead and Zinc Deposits of Ontario, Mineral Resources Circular No. 12, Ontario Geological Survey, pp. 314-316.

Peter Flindell, MAusIMM, MAIG, Vice President – Exploration of the Company, a qualified person under NI 43-101 has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

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.

For More Information – Please Contact:

Brett A. Richards
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
Goldshore Resources Inc.

P. +1 604 288 4416
M. +1 905 449 1500
E. brichards@goldshoreresources.com
W. www.goldshoreresources.com

Facebook: GoldShoreRes | Twitter: GoldShoreRes | LinkedIn: goldshoreres

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements.” Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements, or developments to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “projects,” “potential” and similar expressions, or that events or conditions “will,” “would,” “may,” “could” or “should” occur.

Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements relating to expectations regarding the exploration and development of the Moss Lake Gold Project and other statements that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, among others: the Company may require additional financing from time to time in order to continue its operations which may not be available when needed or on acceptable terms and conditions acceptable; compliance with extensive government regulation; domestic and foreign laws and regulations could adversely affect the Company’s business and results of operations; the stock markets have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the performance of companies and these fluctuations may adversely affect the price of the Company’s securities, regardless of its operating performance; and the impact of COVID-19.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release represents the expectations of the Company as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Categories
Base Metals Energy Junior Mining Precious Metals

Eloro Resources Provides Update on the Preliminary Metallurgical Testwork Program for the Iska Iska Silver-Tin Polymetallic Project, Potosi Department, Bolivia

Eloro Resources, Proven and Probable

TORONTO, June 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: ELO; OTCQX: ELRRF; FSE: P2QM) (“Eloro”, or the “Company”) is pleased to provide an update on its preliminary metallurgical testwork program for the Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project in the Potosi Department, southern Bolivia. The work program including testwork for development of a preliminary metallurgical flowsheet and preliminary mineralogical characterization, is being carried out by Blue Coast Research Ltd. (“Blue Coast”) based in Parksville, BC. The objective is to develop the preliminary flotation flowsheet to maximize lead, zinc and precious metals into saleable concentrates in the Santa Barbara polymetallic deposit and to develop a preliminary flowsheet for tin in both the Santa Barbara and the deeper tin-dominant mineralization.

Blue Coast has world-class metallurgical testing, analytical services, flowsheet development, consulting, and operational support. Their excellent team has been augmented with the addition of Mr. Mike Hallewell, C.Eng., a senior independent mineral processing consultant based in Cornwall, England, who has extensive specialist knowledge in the recovery of tin at mining operations and exploration projects worldwide.

The metallurgical testing is being directed by Richard Gowans, P.Eng., Principal Metallurgist for Micon International Limited, who is an independent Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101.

Tom Larsen, CEO of Eloro, commented: “The metallurgical testing program at Blue Coast is progressing well. The initial focus of their work was on the Santa Barbara polymetallic mineralization for Ag, Zn and Pb recovery based on samples from discovery hole DHK15 and hole DHK-18. The tin-rich zone in hole DSB-06 was also selected for testing but at that time it was uncertain how this mineralization was connected to the Santa Barbara polymetallic deposit. However, with further drilling and solid work by our geological and geophysical team, we now know that there is extensive tin mineralization at depth beneath the polymetallic mineralization. Once testing is completed on DSB-06, we will be adding additional samples from tin-rich holes to enable further development of an appropriate flow sheet for tin. While arsenic and other potentially deleterious elements are being tracked during the testwork program, these are not anticipated to be a material issue at the levels in current tests.”

Metallurgical Samples

The samples used for the preliminary program completed to date comprise three representative metallurgical samples from existing drill core. The initial three composites are:

  • Composite drill hole DHK-15, from 131 m to 198 m, mineralized breccia.
  • Composite drill hole DHK-18, from 76 m to 140 m, mineralized dacitic envelope.
  • Composite drill hole DSB-06, from 413 m to 477 m, tin-rich mineralized zone.

Approximately 60 m of quarter-core from each drill hole was selected for these three metallurgical composite samples. The head analyses for these three composites are presented in Table 1. It is noted that the arsenic (As) grade is relatively low, being less than = 0.03% for all the three composite samples. Although not anticipated to be a material issue at these levels, the As and other potentially deleterious elements will be tracked during the testwork program.

Table 1: – Metallurgical Sample Head Analyses

Sample IDAuAgBiCdCuInPbZnSnAsFeSS-
ppmppmppmppmppmppm%%%ppm%%%
DHK-150.0229.634120114301.212.480.122892.373.513.07
DHK-180.0232.114185370241.012.890.121783.034.494.37
DSB-060.035.80250.6103<200.010.010.491694.894.104.23

Note: ppm = grams per tonne (g/t)

The initial testwork completed by Blue Coast at the end of May 2022 included preliminary mineralogical characterization studies, open circuit sulphide flotation scoping tests and locked cycle flotation tests using composites DHK-15 and 18. The work conducted on DHK-15 and 18 factored into consideration the preliminary test work conducted by the Universidad Técnica de Oruro on different samples.

The DSB-06 sample is extracted from deeper higher-grade tin mineralization that is seen to replace the polymetallic lead-zinc-silver-tin mineralization type at depth and this sample has become the subsequent focus of the ongoing tin studies at Blue Coast. Additional tin-rich samples will be added for further testing after the initial test program is completed.

Mineralogical Characterization of Metallurgical Composites

The Iska Iska composites DHK-15, DHK-18 and DSB-06 were analyzed using the TESCAN Integrated Mineral Analyzer (TIMA), a fully automated analytical scanning electron microscope, to measure bulk mineralogy, sulphide grain size and liberation to support the metallurgical test program. In addition, a suite of electron microprobe analyses was completed on various sulphide and oxide species to better understand overall mineral chemistry and tin deportment.

Sulphide minerals in base metal composites DHK-15 and DHK-18 consisted of mainly sphalerite, galena and pyrite. Sulphide mineral liberation was very good at the test grind of 80% passing (P80) 70 microns and flotation testwork, described below, was able to achieve good lead-zinc separation. Non-sulphide gangue minerals in all composites consisted of quartz, various phyllosilicate minerals including micas, chlorite and kaolinite, and minor Fe oxides.

Cassiterite (a tin oxide mineral) was the dominant tin mineral identified in tin composite DSB-06. Cassiterite was moderately liberated (69% of grains had liberation of 80% or better at the test grind of P80 70 microns). Cassiterite formed middling particles with pyrite, rutile, quartz and iron oxides. Pyrite in DBS-06 was well liberated. Initial flotation testwork, described below, focused on separating pyrite from the cassiterite.

Microprobe analyses were completed on a group of pyrite, sphalerite, galena and cassiterite grains in the metallurgical composites. Tin was identified in trace amounts within the structure of galena and sphalerite in the base metal composites, suggesting that the sulphide concentrates will contain a small amount of tin.

Geometallurgical Characterization

Separate to the testing of the metallurgical composites, a program of integrated mineralogical analysis is underway on a series of core slabs from Hole DSBU-03. This hole (see press release dated March 1, 2022) intersects both base metal and tin mineralization and is being used to develop a strong mineral reference library for the resource. The slabs have received hyperspectral (SWIR/VNIR), XRF and RGB scanning by GeologicAI and are now being prepared for petrographic analysis using TIMA and microXRF mapping. The combined data set will be used as a reference library to support the on-site automated core scanning program.

Lead-Zinc-Silver Flotation

Following a series of batch rougher and cleaner tests where the preliminary flotation circuit was developed, locked cycle tests (LCT) were completed using DHK-15 and DHK-18. A locked cycle flotation test is a series of identical batch flotation tests where recycled material from the previous cycle is added to the appropriate location in the flowsheet in the current cycle. The LCT is a standard method used to simulate continuous operating conditions.

The lead-zinc sequential flowsheet used for the LCTs included primary grinding followed by lead rougher flotation, lead rougher concentrate regrinding and 3 stages of lead cleaner. The lead rougher tailings and lead first cleaner tailings fed the zinc rougher stage, and similar to the lead circuit, the flowsheet included regrinding of zinc rougher concentrate followed by three zinc cleaner stages. The final residue streams were the zinc rougher tailings and zinc first cleaner tailings.

Each LCT comprised 6 cycles where the final cycles were deemed to be relatively stable and the circuit appeared to reach equilibrium. Summaries of the average results from the last 3 cycles for both tests are presented in Tables 2 and 3.

Table 2: Summary of Locked Cycle Test Average Results for Sample DHK-15

ProductWt. %Assays% Distribution
Ag
(g/t)
Pb
(%)
Zn
(%)
Fe
(%)
S
(%)
AgPbZnFeS
Pb Cl.3 Conc.2.0104756.77.378.8422.668.186.95.96.113.1
Zn Cl.3 Conc.4.31861.5849.610.934.326.55.387.116.643.4
Zn Cl.1 Tail5.2230.581.1619.821.74.02.32.436.333.0
Zn Ro. Tail88.600.080.131.300.401.45.54.540.910.5
Calc. Head100.0301.282.452.833.39100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

The LCT DHK-15 lead recovery into the final lead concentrate grading 56.7% Pb was 86.9% while the silver grade was 1,047 g/t. The zinc recovery into a final zinc concentrate containing 49.6% Zn was 87.1%. The total silver recovery was 94.6%, including 68.1% and 26.5% into the lead and zinc concentrates, respectively.

Table 3: Summary of Locked Cycle Test Average Results for Sample DHK-18

ProductWt. %Assays% Distribution
Ag
(g/t)
Pb
(%)
Zn
(%)
Fe
(%)
S
(%)
AgPbZnFeS
Pb Cl.3 Conc.1.4105756.27.105.4018.943.572.23.42.25.9
Zn Cl.3 Conc.5.02581.4051.48.2732.037.66.486.912.035.2
Zn Cl.1 Tail9.6391.001.3611.711.910.98.74.432.425.1
Zn Ro. Tail84.030.170.192.211.848.112.65.253.433.8
Calc. Head100.0341.102.963.474.56100.0100.0100.0100.0100.0

The lead recovery for LCT DHK-18 into the final lead concentrate grading 56.2% Pb was 72.2% while the silver grade was 1,057 g/t. The zinc recovery into a final zinc concentrate containing 51.4% zinc was 86.9%. The silver recovery totalled 81.0%, including 43.5% and 37.6% into the lead and zinc concentrates, respectively.

Samples of final concentrate products from each LCT have been submitted for multi-element analyses to assess the distribution of other potential valuable or deleterious components.

The preliminary flotation test results are very encouraging. The results received so far for drill hole sample DHK-15 are considered very good with high lead, zinc and silver recoveries, and although sample DHK-18 results were not quite as good for lead, zinc recovery was high and overall silver distribution into the final products was good.

Acceptable separate lead and zinc concentrates containing significant payable silver that adds considerable value to these products have been produced from both samples. Work will continue at Blue Coast and other metallurgical laboratories to fine tune the flotation conditions to maximize metal recoveries and quality of concentrates produced.

Tin Metallurgy

DSB-06 tin-rich sample contains low levels of lead, zinc and silver-bearing sulphides, the main sulphide mineral present in this sample being pyrite. No stannite (a tin sulphide mineral) is present in this sample; the tin mineralisation consists entirely of cassiterite.

The pyrite to cassiterite ratio in DSB-06 is circa 5:1. The Blue Coast approach has been initially focused on removing the pyrite prior to traditional beneficiation methods of cassiterite that are employed, using gravity followed by tin flotation. The pyrite is well liberated across all size fractions tested and therefore, the preliminary bulk sulphide flotation sulphur recoveries were good.

A preliminary study has identified that grinding the sample generates predominantly fine cassiterite grains that are more amenable to tin flotation technology. Staged comminution options will be considered to minimise fine cassiterite production in conjunction with staged gravity recovery of whatever coarse grained cassiterite is present and recoverable at, as early a stage in the process as possible.

Gravity release analysis by size testwork on bulk sulphide flotation tailings is in progress to identify the amenability of the mineralization to gravity concentration.

One bulk sulphide rougher flotation test followed immediately by a rougher tin flotation test has been conducted using unoptimized conditions. The rougher tin flotation cassiterite stage recovery was encouraging suggesting that the mineralization will be amenable to tin flotation technology. Further mineralogical work is in progress on the tin flotation rougher concentrates produced to ascertain if this rougher concentrate contains predominantly free liberated cassiterite that would therefore be expected to be upgraded by cleaning. Tin flotation is a universally practised technology and used by all the major hard rock tin mines globally as a method of recovering cassiterite that is too fine grained for conventional gravity concentration.

The tin mineralogy and physical competence will be linked to geological attributes. This will become a key feature in contextualising any variances in these parameters across the deposit. The GeologicalAI scanner, which is now on site and will be operational shortly, and the geometallurgical work noted above, will be very important in characterizing the geological attributes.

The test work is too premature to quote tin recovery numbers, but the initial mineralogy shows that the tin minerals are all in the form of cassiterite with insignificant amounts of stannite. Furthermore, the preliminary testing indicates that tin flotation will be a key recovery route and the preliminary tin flotation test work results are encouraging.

Qualified Person

The metallurgical testing is being directed by Richard Gowans, P.Eng., Principal Metallurgist for Micon International Limited, who is an independent Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101. Mr. Gowans. has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P. Geo., General Manager of Eloro’s Bolivian subsidiary, Minera Tupiza, and a Qualified Person in the context of NI 43-101, supervised all exploration work at Iska Iska. Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., Executive Vice President Exploration for Eloro, and who has more than 45 years of worldwide mining exploration experience including extensive work in South America, manages the overall technical program, working closely with Dr. Osvaldo Arce, P.Geo. Dr. Quinton Hennigh, P.Geo., Senior Technical Advisor to Eloro and Independent Technical Advisor, Mr. Charley Murahwi P. Geo., FAusIMM of Micon International Limited are regularly consulted on technical aspects of the project.

Eloro is utilizing both ALS and AHK for drill core analysis, both of whom are major international accredited laboratories. Drill samples sent to ALS are prepared in both ALS Bolivia Ltda’s preparation facility in Oruro, Bolivia and the preparation facility operated by AHK in Tupiza with pulps sent to the main ALS Global laboratory in Lima for analysis. More recently Eloro has had ALS send pulps to their laboratory at Galway in Ireland. Eloro employs an industry standard QA/QC program with standards, blanks and duplicates inserted into each batch of samples analyzed with selected check samples sent to a separate accredited laboratory.

Drill core samples sent to AHK Laboratories are prepared in a preparation facility installed and managed by AHK in Tupiza with pulps sent to the AHK laboratory in Lima, Peru. Au and Sn analysis on these samples is done by ALS Bolivia Ltda in Lima. Check samples between ALS and AHK are regularly done as a QA/QC check. AHK is following the same analytical protocols used as with ALS and with the same QA/QC protocols. Turnaround time continues to improve, as laboratories return to more normal staffing levels.

Eloro Resources at the PDAC

Eloro will be participating at the PDAC 2022 convention in Toronto and invites you to visit us at Booth IE3326 (Investors Exchange) in the South Building, Metro Toronto Convention Centre from June 13-15, 2022.

About Iska Iska

Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project is a road accessible, royalty-free property, wholly controlled by the Title Holder, Empresa Minera Villegas S.R.L. and is located 48 km north of Tupiza city, in the Sud Chichas Province of the Department of Potosi in southern Bolivia. Eloro has an option to earn a 99% interest in Iska Iska.

Iska Iska is a major silver-tin polymetallic porphyry-epithermal complex associated with a Miocene possibly collapsed/resurgent caldera, emplaced on Ordovician age rocks with major breccia pipes, dacitic domes and hydrothermal breccias. The caldera is 1.6km by 1.8km in dimension with a vertical extent of at least 1km. Mineralization age is similar to Cerro Rico de Potosí and other major deposits such as San Vicente, Chorolque, Tasna and Tatasi located in the same geological trend.

Eloro began underground diamond drilling from the Huayra Kasa underground workings at Iska Iska on September 13, 2020. On November 18, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of a significant breccia pipe with extensive silver polymetallic mineralization just east of the Huayra Kasa underground workings and a high-grade gold-bismuth zone in the underground workings. On November 24, 2020, Eloro announced the discovery of the SBBP approximately 150m southwest of the Huayra Kasa underground workings.

Subsequently, on January 26, 2021, Eloro announced significant results from the first drilling at the SBBP including the discovery hole DHK-15 which returned 129.60 g Ag eq/t over 257.5m (29.53g Ag/t, 0.078g Au/t, 1.45%Zn, 0.59%Pb, 0.080%Cu, 0.056%Sn, 0.0022%In and 0.0064% Bi from 0.0m to 257.5m. Subsequent drilling has confirmed significant values of Ag-Sn polymetallic mineralization in the SBBP and the adjacent CBP. A substantive mineralized envelope which is open along strike and down-dip extends around both major breccia pipes. Continuous channel sampling of the Santa Barbara Adit located to the east of SBBP returned 442 g Ag eq/t (164.96 g Ag/t, 0.46%Sn, 3.46% Pb and 0.14% Cu) over 166m including 1,092 g Ag eq/t (446 g Ag/t, 9.03% Pb and 1.16% Sn) over 56.19m. The west end of the adit intersects the end of the SBBP.

Since the initial discovery hole, Eloro has released a number of significant drill results in the SBBP and the surrounding mineralized envelope which along with geophysical data has defined a target zone 1400m along strike, 500m wide and that extends to a depth of 600m. This zone is open along strike to the northwest and southeast as well as to the southwest. The Company’s nearer term objective is to outline a maiden NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource within this large target area. This work is advancing well with the mineral resource targeted to be completed in Q3 2022. Exploration drilling is also planned on other major targets in the Iska Iska Caldera Complex, including the Porco and Mina 2 areas.

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.

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COLLECTIVE MINING | After $2 Billion Sale, Ex-Continental Gold Team Reunites in Colombia

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Joining us for a conversation is Ari Sussman of 

Collective Mining Ltd.

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05/11/2022 – View Article

 See More Live DataCollective Mining Ltd. (CNL:TSXV), Colombia’s newest exploration company.

Maurice: Before we deep dive into company specifics, Mr. Sussman, please introduce us to Collective Mining and the exciting opportunity the company presents to shareholders.

Ari Sussman: Collective Mining was born as a result of the COVID lockdowns, so just some background, my previous company was named Continental Gold, which was responsible for discovering and constructing the largest and most modern gold mine in Colombia, which was sold one week before the global lockdowns to a large Chinese mining company named Zijin Mining in March 2020, for a total sum of approximately $2 billion.

Within a month, my core team and I were bored at home like we all were, and said, “Let’s get back to the drawing board.”

And that is how Collective Mining was born.

Just some background on Collective, the name Collective Mining represents our business model. It’s a collective mining model, meaning, yes, we’re going to build, we hope to make a big discovery, and we’re hopefully going to build a mine and, or, sell the company and then reward our shareholders for being involved. But it’s also going to reward the local stakeholders involved in this project. We want to ensure that people living in the area of influence of the project, benefit, learn and grow with us. As we advance, they advance.

Maurice: Well, quite the pedigree of success here. Let’s find out more. Mr. Sussman, take us to the mining-friendly department of Caldas and Colombia, and please acquaint us with the region, potential mineral endowment, and the mining jurisdiction.

Ari Sussman: Let’s start with Colombia and then work our way inwards.

Colombia is a mining jurisdiction, for a country in South America that has the infrastructure in place, and there is no more prospective mining environment to be in. This is the Andes Mountain chain continuation, which starts in Chile and works its way northward, and goes right through Colombia. In theory, all of the large-scale types of discoveries will be made in Colombia that countries like Peru and Chile currently enjoy.

With that said, I don’t want readers to think that Colombia is an early stage country for mining because, it is in terms of discoveries in commodities that we care about (copper, gold, silver, et cetera), but it’s quite mature in the mining of coal.

Colombia is one of the world’s top largest coal producers and most of those mines have been in production for 50 years or more. So as a result, it’s a mature destination for companies to go and make discoveries in.

What I mean by mature destination, is there’s a very strong mining code in place. Royalty rates have been stable for decades on end. There is a mining association, well established in place that represents the mining industry and will lobby the government on behalf of the industry. These are things that we expect to see in countries like the United States where I am, or Canada, but this is also in Colombia. From that perspective, it’s stable and it’s great.

Zooming in a little bit, we are in the department, which you mentioned, named Caldas. I don’t think most people have heard of Caldas. Colombia refers to states as departments, by comparison. But if any of your listeners are coffee experts or coffee aficionados, they will have heard of Caldas because it’s reputed to have the best coffee beans in the world. I, for one, am not the foremost coffee expert. I enjoy the coffee, Maurice, I do, but I don’t have a real comparison, but this is what it’s known for.

What makes Caldas so special, are two things. One is the coffee, and it’s got a large, big industrialized business in Caldas. This entire department is made up of more mom-and-pop-style coffee farms, very specialized and high end and each coffee farm competes with its neighbor to produce a better bean and that leads to excellent quality.

But secondly, there is a mine which is currently operating in Caldas, which happens to be next door to our main property, named Marmato. Why I’m mentioning this now is, that Marmato has helped to create a very mining-friendly environment in Caldas. The reason for that is that Marmato has been producing gold and silver continuously for more than 500 years, believe it or not, and is still producing today. Virtually every person that lives in the department of Caldas has or had, mining in their blood in one way, shape, or form. As a result, there’s a very strong comfort level with mining in this state and it’s an excellent place to be.

Maurice: Collective Mining currently has two projects with district-scale potential. It has identified 11 highly prospective targets in the Cauca belt. Let’s get acquainted with your flagship Guayabales project. Briefly walk us through the genetic and expiration model and share with us what has your team excited.

Ari Sussman: We are operating in the Cauca Belt. This is a well-known metal belt of Colombia, which runs along the Andes mountain chain. Just to understand how prospective it is. First off, let me back up. Colombia was not a mining destination due to security concerns in the 1980s and 90s, as everyone knows. Those were the horrible times for Colombia that have now resulted in many shows, like Narcos, et cetera, being made as a result of what happened in those times. But, the country turned around with the election of the former president Álvero Uribe in 2002. Now we’ve had 20 years of Colombia being open and prospective.

The Middle Cauca belt prospectivity. There has been somewhere in the neighborhood of three million meters of diamond drilling done since 2002, in this belt. That has resulted in the discovery of more than 100 million ounces of gold. Let me caveat that by saying that a lot of that gold is never going to come out of the ground. It’s not all economic gold, but if you look at the prospectivity, for example, in my former company, Continental Gold, we discovered and drilled off 11 million ounces of high-grade gold at around 8 grams per ton and that deposit was open to grow further.

It would be when we got taken out by Zijin, just starting to pour gold from finishing construction. AngloGold alone has drilled off more than 40 million ounces of gold over a series of projects, for an approximately 20-year period. Then there are many others. So prospectivity is remarkable and being in the Cauca belt is fantastic.

Zooming in, I mentioned this project named Marmato, which we do not own, that is in another company. Marmato is an approximate 8 million ounce resource with less than 8 million ounces of reserves, that is pushing toward production, as we speak. What we recognized that one of the best places to find a mine, is next to a mine?

Marmato is a porphyry-related vein system. I want readers to think of Chile because Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and the bulk of that copper production comes from porphyry deposits.

Porphyries are intrusions in the earth where individual fingers of porphyry rock come up, the pulse pushes them up and then you get these complexes, they are typically about, let’s say, up to four miles by four miles in circumference within which, you will have fingers of porphyries which can be very large, in the billions of tonnes. Then you have breccia’s related to the porphyry and you have vein systems related to the porphyries. A key feature of the porphyries, breccia related to porphyries, and vein systems related to porphyries, is the dimensions of these deposits can get very large.

I mentioned billions of tonnes for porphyries, vein systems, my former project Buriticá at Continental Gold contained 11 million ounces. It has been drilled off over about 2 kilometers, or call it almost 1.5 miles vertically. That is enormous, and whatever you end up having in vertical, you end up having in lateral dimensions about mile-long vein systems along with huge vertical dimensions.

Breccia’s, porphyry-related breccias are also huge. I’m sure readers are familiar with Filo Mining in Argentina, which has been a huge success. They have a porphyry deposit, but what is driving their value is a porphyry-related breccia which sits in the middle of their porphyry and that’s where those unbelievable grades we’ve seen of copper-gold and silver are coming out of this breccia.

Why is that relevant to Collective Mining? We recognize that Marmato is on the fringe of one of those four by four-mile circumference areas that have porphyry intrusion centers and they are our neighbor. We have come in with complete grassroots exploration, and I want to highlight that there are very few companies today doing grassroots exploration. Most companies are retreading old projects with new interpretations that have had lots of drilling and lots of work done. This is true grassroots exploration.

Collective Mining has generated 11 targets on two projects. Our flagship is called Guayabales. That is the one that is contiguous to the historic and current large resource the aforementioned Marmoto. And then we have another one called San Antonio. Although it’s a second project, it’s only about a mile away as the crow flies from the edge Guayabales to the concession edge of San Antonio. So, it’s part of the same geological complex. And what we have identified in those 11 targets are either porphyry targets for drilling, porphyry-related breccia targets, or porphyry-related vein systems for drilling. I mentioned grassroots, so we’ve brought all of those targets except for two of them up to the drill, ready status as we speak.

Our flagship Guayabales Project has generated eight targets. I’m going to say something that I don’t say lightly, but this is the best exploration project that I have ever seen or been involved with (period).

And I said that when my technical team identified it, and I iterate it much stronger today because I’m able to back that up with initial drilling success. Today at Guayabales, we have drilled or are currently drilling five of those eight targets.

Our Olympus Target may be on the cusp of a significant discovery, which is a vein system over-printing breccia, porphyry-related. And as a result, we’ve drilled big bulk intercepts, including the discovery hole of 302 meters at 1.1 grams per ton, gold equivalent, starting just below surface. We will find out it’s open-pitable as we do more work in the future and prove that up.

We think that Olympus has the earmarks of a multimillion-ounce gold and silver system. Looks similar to Marmato next door and similar to my previous project, Buriticá, which I previously mentioned, we drilled off 11 million total ounces.

The second target with assays is called Donut. Donut is a porphyry-related breccia. I don’t think this one is going to be huge. It doesn’t have the potential of Olympus, but it’s still significant. It starts right at surface and we have amazing intercepts in it, including up to 163 meters at 1.3 grams per ton, gold equivalent, beginning right at surface.

Why do I say modest? I don’t think this one has multimillion-ounce potential. But if it does turn into a mine, with further work, I think it’ll be a satellite operation that can feed a much larger complex for processing and it’ll be nice to have because it will add incremental ounces onto the total deposit.

The third target that we drilled was called the Box. I say ‘was’ because that one didn’t work for us. We drilled it, we published results, it doesn’t have large-scale potential like we’re looking for and therefore, we’ve concluded that Box is out.

Our fourth target, the Apollo, we are currently drilling and to say we’re over the moon on it is an understatement.

Now, I’m going to put a big caveat out there for readers. We do not have assay results for it yet. We are expecting the initial first assay results for the first drill into it in the next two to four weeks. That is a caveat. I want everyone to know that at the end of the day, the only truth in mining is the assay results. We can like what we see visually, but we need to prove it with the assay results.

With that said, we’re pretty good at identifying rocks and what we see at Apollo, visually, is a porphyry-related breccia. It has an abundance of chalcopyrite and pyrite in the breccia matrix. For those that don’t know what chalcopyrite is, that is a mineral that contains copper in it, so there’s going to be a copper component to this one.

And then we expect there to be gold related to both the chalcopyrite and the pyrite, as well as silver. But, what makes us excited about it is, that the breccia that is mineralized and then over-printing the breccia is a porphyry-related vein system.

How do we know this? We see the pathfinder minerals of porphyry-related veins.

It’s important to note, that porphyry-related veins are known for being gold and silver-rich, which they typically are, but they also have byproducts of lead-zinc and to some extent, copper. So, what we see in the minerals that bring lead-zinc into the matrix are sphalerite for zinc and galena for lead.

These are very easy to identify, sphalerite is typically a brownish color and galena is a grayish color, and you get blobs of them. Why we know it’s over-printed is, instead of being veins that are typically narrow anywhere in the world, when they get into the breccia, the metal blows out from the veins and fills up the matrix of the breccia.

Think of it like this, when you’ve tried to complete a puzzle, there’s a lot of porosity or space between the individual pieces of the puzzle when they’re put together. Metal fluids will come into a breccia structure that looks similar to that, and it will fill up those spaces. Because it’s porous, the metal will spread out into those spaces. What’s happened with the veins is they’ve come into the breccia and there’s been room for the metal to spread. These have spread out into the breccia matrix, which suggests that we may have two overlapping systems.

Why I think this is significant, with the caveat that we don’t have assays, is, in my experience, that big deposits in the world are very rarely found when there’s only one style of mineralization dumping metal into the system. You typically need to see two or more styles. And here we have two very distinct styles.

So, stay tuned on Apollo, quite excited for the results. Then the first hole will be out soon. And, I should add that we are drilling thick visual intercepts at Apollo. This is not one or two meters we’re drilling intercepts of the three holes that are completed so far, visually, between 85 meters and over 200 meters. We’re hoping for long, big intercepts, and with some luck, with the assay, if mother nature is generous to us, we’ll have some decent grade in that breccia.

Maurice: Well, speaking of visually, that was a good analogy there. Can you conclude by taking us north for a victory lap and talk to us about the Victory Targets? What are you exploring there?

Ari Sussman: The Victory is the Northern complex of targets located in copper-gold country. We have identified a series of intrusions that are outcropping at surface, particularly at the Victory East Target. That is the one that excites us the most in the victory complex.

Victory has a Victory East, a Victory West, and something called Trap, which is in the middle. Trap is called Trap because it’s trapped porphyry-related veins within a structurally controlled corridor. Victory West, I won’t spend any time on it. It’s a blind target that has interesting geophysics, there may be a porphyry below.

Regarding Victory East, we have identified multiple porphyry intrusion centers that are outcropping and continue to collect and see a significant amount of rocks that are very enriched with magnetite, which in this kind of porphyry setting will contain gold or should contain gold and some silver, as well as chalcopyrite, which is that copper mineral that I mentioned before.

Noteworthy of mention, chalcopyrite is typically about 34% copper. Therefore, when logging a core in a drill hole, indicating there’s 2% chalcopyrite, assuming your logging’s correct, you can multiply by 0.34 and that should give you an approximation of what your copper content is.

We see a mineral that will contain copper and an element that will contain gold and a little bit of silver, over a very large area. We’re working diligently to have Victory East drill-ready for Q4 of this year. I think we have another four hard months of work ahead of us. It’s very big and the dimensions of the area, we’re in the plus mile range in every direction. Our team is trying to figure out where the end of the system is, to be frank, before we zero in and decide where we’re going to drill. That’s what we’re doing right now.

Maurice: To summarize this, early days. But Collective Mining may be on the cusp of at least two potential tier-one deposits before us.

Ari Sussman: Look, mining is a very difficult business. The professionals that are smarter than me, estimate you have about a one in 1,000 chance of making a discovery that ever becomes a mine. Making a discovery is very rare in a grassroots exploration program, and a huge compliment to the geological acumen of our technical team.

We are optimistic that we have two major discoveries under our belt already at Olympus and Apollo, subject to a lot more work. And they’re going to require a lot of proving up. But we’re seeing all the right indications of two big systems and Victory is indicating an enormous, grassroots discovered outcropping porphyry complex that we’re looking forward to seeing if that offers the kind of potential that Apollo and Olympus have already shown us from initial drilling,

Maurice: Leaving the Guayabales, let’s visit Collective Mining’s secondary project, the San Antonio, which has over 4,300 meters of drilling completed along with a significant discovery. Sir, please introduce us to the San Antonio, along with the genetic and exploration model.

Ari Sussman: Our San Antonio Project is about a mile as the crow flies from the edge of its concession to Guayabales. It’s a peripheral part of this same complex of porphyry intrusions. We got into San Antonio in mid-2020. We did a lot of surface work. We did some additional geophysics and were able to generate three targets.

The northern target is called Pound, the middle target is called COP, and the southern target is called Dollar. We got busy drilling it, it was an easy one to drill. It came with water permits in place, it was ready to go. So, we put a bunch of holes into the Dollar Target and two holes into Pound. We have not drilled COP as we speak.

This was in late 2020 into early 2021, and those that follow the mining space know that there’s been a significant problem with assay delays plaguing the industry, resulting from COVID.

I think that was probably the peak of the problem at that point. To date, we have built 4,300 meters of core and had no assays and we were frustrated and shut down the program and said, “Well, we can’t drill more until we wait and get assays.” It took months and lo and behold, we got assays. I would say the results, we got a mixed bag. The mixed bag is as follows: Dollar, we drilled the most beautiful looking porphyry core you could imagine.

I urge any geologists to look at the photos of Dollar core. It is remarkable. However, we’re in the very upper portions of a porphyry system where the metal content is leached, indicating that it needs to be drilled deeper, and that is something we plan to do in 2023 to see if we find the portion that contains the metal.

The surprise for us is known as the Pound Target. At the time that we drilled Pound, I can honestly say that the two holes that we put in were more of a Hail Mary attempt. We had done very little work on Pound.

We had found a porphyry-related breccia with a very small footprint, at the time it surfaced, and said, “Let’s put two holes into it and see what happens.”

And the discovery you alluded to is as follows. We drilled two long holes, both slightly more than 700 meters in length, and both hit. They hit about a .5 gram gold equivalent in each. That’s not a grade that I think you’re going to build a mine on in the future, it’s too low. But anytime you drill a system that has two intervals with more than 700 meters of mineralization, and I should add, that both of those holes ended in mineralization, then there’s a big system somewhere there.

Subsequently went in and conducted some surface work. We have outlined a zone that’s over a mile to the north-south by about a half a mile east-west, and open in each direction. And that is worth going back and drilling one or two or three more holes.

The San Antonio is our secondary project, and it doesn’t offer the near-surface, exciting grades visually and with assays, that we’re seeing at Guayabales, but it offers big scale. So our plan is, let’s poke a few more holes into both of these targets. If we get lucky, we’re going to be talking again about it in great deal. If we don’t, I think the business plan would be to bring in a joint venture partner, which would be a major who’s excited about drilling deeper porphyry-style targets. Who’s willing to fund long drill holes and let someone spend that money and to earn a majority interest in the project and Collective Mining shareholders will get carried along for the ride and the potential upside.

Maurice: Before we leave the project sites, a multi-layered question. What is the next unanswered question for Collective Mining? When can we expect a response? What determines success? And what can we expect as far as news flow?

Ari Sussman: Anyone that invests in us wants the excitement of a drill hole. That is why you would invest in us. You are going to see a steady flow of drilling assay results beginning later this month, which would be the first hole from Apollo.

Then we will have a series roughly every month between now and year-end coming out of Apollo. Additionally, our phase two drill program at Olympus. We are going to be drilling from underground to test the high-grade center of the Olympus area. Olympus is characterized by having approximately a hundred artisanal miners that are mining very high-grade veins.

We’ve reported assay results close to 500-gram gold, and well over 1 kilo silver from these veins in channel samples. We want to drill that area because we know there’s a large vein system there. We don’t know how large, but we’re going to prove it out with drilling.

We also think that it could be a bulk tonnage target. The first results from that will start to flow in August or September. So, if you invest in us today, you’re going to see heavy news flow and particularly heavy beginning in August, and it will continue through the balance of the year.

Maurice: Leaving the project site, let’s discuss some important topics germane to your projects. Do you own your projects 100%?

Ari Sussman: So we have an option to earn 100% undivided interest in both projects by making a series of option payments over a number of years. The payments will culminate in 2031. No private royalties are underlying the property. There are no streams, et cetera. We will be clean and clear for 100% pathway to production. Colombia as a jurisdiction, as far as if you were to build a mine, is favorable from a tax perspective. If you’re in the gold business, the royalty rate is 3.2%. That’s below the Latin American average, which is in the +5 something percent range, as we speak. And taxes are in the low 30% which is kind of common for any country. We are in a good jurisdiction, favorable potential economics based on success and constructing a mine and we are excited to be there, 100% ownership is the only way to go on these things.

Maurice: Are you fully permitted?

Ari Sussman: Currently, Collective Mining is permitted for exploration. We are not permitted to build a mine. That is something that you will do once you complete a feasibility study and then follow the procedures in Colombia. Keep in mind, that I have permitted in Colombia, it’s an excellent jurisdiction to permit. We permitted a gold mine, as I mentioned, and it’s not an overbearing process in terms of timeline. It’s very detailed in terms of the workload. It is first class in terms of the government’s ability to assess permits and evaluate them, but they give you a reasonable timeline. You can permit a project in under one year to construct a mine in Colombia. You compare that to the United States where I think the average now is about 10 years. So much more favorable, but it’s a lot of work. But, as far as exploration goes, yes, we are permitted to explore for several years.

Maurice: Is the ultimate goal to build a mine or arbitrage?

Ari Sussman: Having been through this, you need to plan to build a mine. Because, what we can’t control, any of us, is the cycle itself. We all know commodities are cyclical. And so there are periods in the cycle where M&A is very active. Then there are periods where it’s slow. You must build your company as if you’re going to build a mine. But you keep the option open to be taken out. And if someone wants to acquire the cycle’s right, you do that.

That is how we’re going to proceed. If I have a choice in the matter, and I can determine my future, I don’t know if I’d want to build a mine again. I enjoyed the experience, but at its peak, we had about 5,000 people working at our former project Buriticá, between employees and contractors at the peak of construction. It’s a lot to manage, so we are willing to do it again? Yes. Would we want to do it again? I think ideally we would like to sell before we commence construction,

Maurice: We’ve discussed the good, let’s address the bad. What can go wrong and what are your action plans to mitigate that wrong?

Ari Sussman: Colombia. For good or bad, Colombia is very similar to investing in Peru. We all know Peru is one of the world’s largest producers of silver, gold, and copper. But not all projects work in Peru and the reason for that is Peru has a lot of population, similar to Colombia. virtually anywhere that you’re going to find a project that you want to explore and hopefully construct a mine on, you’re going to be dealing with populations, whether it’s villages, towns, or even larger. And what I mean by that, is why it’s like Peru is, that we see projects in Peru that succeed and then we see others that fail. The typical failure is based on having opposition from the locals that are in your area of influence on your projects. So, if you do that part well, you should succeed. If you don’t, you’re going to have problems. And that is critical.

Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG), is a big buzzword that all industries are talking about today. Having been in Colombia for more than a decade, this was critical for us more than 10 years ago when it wasn’t as popular a topic because we would not have succeeded if we didn’t have a good program.

What does a good program mean in ESG? Everyone throws it around like, “How do we do it?” But what does it mean?

It means many things. One, it’s education. People need to understand that mining can be beneficial for their communities and not a detriment.

Two, in Colombia you’re dealing in an agriculture-based economy, so it’s educating people that Colombia and mining are not competitors. They coexist well and are good for the economy because they’re cyclical but at different points in the cycle. So, it’s always nice to have one industry that’s strong while the other one has a low point in the cycle and struggling, to offset each other. That’s very good.

And three, make sure that you strengthen local businesses. I’ve seen this all over the world, a company comes and says, “Hey, we’re going to hire thousands of people locally and that’s great. And indirectly, we’re going to impact thousands more.” And of course, that’s great. But if the businesses that aren’t going to be solely focused on selling to the mine, don’t understand what mining is and how to strengthen their businesses to succeed in that environment, they’re going to fail.

Companies must be willing to spend money, help, and time. Helping small businesses evolve and mature so that they can continue to service the area for whatever goods and products they service, plus accommodate the mining company coming in there, because there’s a big change coming where there are areas of mining, in terms of the number of people. Populations grow due to the needs of a mine. Those are just some of the elements. ESG is the critical thing to focus on. If we don’t do this well, if our sustainability program isn’t strong, it doesn’t matter how many great drill holes or scales of deposit we find, we will get stopped.

Maurice: One of the virtues of Collective Mining is the pedigree of commercial success of building those relationships your team has a proven track record of, it may not make headwinds by saying that you’re permitted and you have the buy-in of the community, but it makes the difference of whether you can proceed or not. That’s one of the virtues, again, that Collective Mining brings to the table.

Switching gears, let’s discuss the people responsible for increasing shareholder value. Please introduce us to your board of directors, management team, and, technical teams, which bring along a vast amount of intellectual capital and have a track record of creating value.

Ari Sussman: Let’s start with the Board of Directors. We have one Colombian representative on our Board, an amazing woman named Maria Constanza. She brings something very strong to the table for us. Although she doesn’t work in the mining business today, she’s been very involved in mining over her career, including being the original president of the A&M, which is the Colombian mining agency that is the division of the government in charge of titling for the country from an exploration standpoint, as well as from an operating standpoint, not environmental permits, but a mining license.

So, we have a deep knowledge of both the private sector and the public sector with her and she’s been involved in numerous companies and has lots of experience.

We come out of Colombia, and on our board of directors is an individual named Ken Thomas. Ken, in the mine building business, is extremely well known, has been around a long time, won many awards over his long and illustrious career, including being one of the original engineers of Barrick Gold when it used to be known as American Barrick. He was around when Goldstrike, which is the largest mine in the Americas, in Nevada, was founded and evolved and grew. So, excellent experience.

We have another individual on our board named Paul Murphy. He’s also the chairman of Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI:TSX; AGI:NYSE), which I’m sure some of your readers are familiar with. But, importantly, he was the national mining leader of PricewaterhouseCooper for a quarter of a century. Paul’s experience in leading the audit committee team in financing projects, he’s an amazing person for that.

And lastly, we have a Swiss national named Ashwath Mehra who is a fantastic guy, and readers probably remember GT Gold, which Newmont purchased for $311 million about two years ago. Ashwath founded that company, brought it forward, and led the sale to Newmont. So, success breeds success, and we’re happy to have him involved on our management team.

We have a big management team. Allow me to begin with myself, I’m the executive chairman of the board of directors, meaning I’m involved in management. Omar Ossma is the president and CEO of the company. Omar is a Colombian, accomplished, and very smart lawyer trained and based in Colombia.

One of the things we wanted to do this time around is to make sure that the President and CEO must have boots on the ground on a full-time basis because the challenges that a company will face will be in the host country in which you operate.

We have an executive vice president named Ana Milena Vásquez, who is recognized as one of the top 100 most influential women in mining, by a prominent UK organization in 2020. And more importantly, she is a sustainability expert as well as government relations. So, ESG is synonymous with Ana and she’s a very powerful force representing our company.

Paul Begin is our chief financial officer. He was the chief financial officer for almost the entire evolution of Continental Gold, so been there, done that, and helped finance and build our former mine Buriticá.

Lastly, I’ll mention two names, two special advisors to the company from a technical perspective. David Reading, David is an internationally recognized economic geologist. Importantly, he was the founding partner of Mark Bristow for Randgold, which is now part of Barrick, to create the largest gold company. And David was instrumental in making multiple multimillion ounce discoveries in West Africa as the team leader of the exploration team of Randgold.

Then lastly, we have another special advisor named Richard Tosdal, better known as Dick. In our view, this is one of the world’s top porphyry experts. I mentioned to you that we have a porphyry complex. We always make sure we bring the best technical talent to the geology end of it to ensure we have the best chance of success and having Dick’s leadership is paramount. That oversees our Colombian team. We have a strong group of vice presidents.

Carlos Rios is our vice president of exploration. This is a geologist who thinks like a business person and has a resource modeling background, not just a pure explorationist. Rodolfo Higuera is our vice president of sustainability, he is responsible for ensuring that on the ground, where we operate, our relationship with all the area of influence communities is sound and solid, and they’re transparently educated on what we’re doing and able to speak. We want to remain in good standing with the communities, and this is key to the platform. Transparency is paramount for our success.

Maurice: Well, let’s get into some numbers. Mr. Sussman, please provide the capital structure for Collective Mining.

Ari Sussman: Collective Mining has approximately 47 million shares outstanding and slightly more than 50 million fully diluted. No warrants are outstanding from any financings. The difference between the outstanding and fully diluted is simply stock options to employees, which everyone will hold long-term.

We are well-financed, meaning we’re fully financed for the calendar year, 2022. And that’s financed for a 20,000 to 25,000-meter diamond drill program. We are going to spend $13.5 million this year, and then we will need money to advance the plans for 2023. That’s something we will look to do toward the end of the year, is to raise additional capital. And that will be done on the back of what we hope is going to be a significant success from drilling at Olympus and Apollo.

Maurice: And how much debt do you have?

Ari Sussman: We have no debt. So we’re very clean. There’s no intent to take on any debt for a very long time. The only time I would ever consider debt is if it’s part of a financing package to construct an actual mine.

Maurice: What percentage of ownership does management have and who are the major shareholders?

Ari Sussman: Management controls approximately 40% of the 47 million shares that are outstanding. We put our money where our mouth is. Management intends to do well as we have confidence that our share price will appreciate, not by drawing exorbitant salaries out of the company to maintain a lifestyle. In addition to that, we have very strong support from a group named PowerOne Capital, who was intimately involved with me at my predecessor company, as well as today.

They are long-term shareholders and they own about 25%. We don’t expect their stock to ever come out into the market and be sold. I can confidently say that the founding partner of PowerOne Capital group invested in Continental Gold previously, held his stock through our sale, to Zijin Mining, and participated in all financing rounds along the way. If you invest with us, you not only have our money where our mouth is, so to speak, because we’re very large shareholders of the company, but you will see management and strong supporters participate in subsequent financings that come as we evolve the business and advance.

Maurice: Well, that 40% ownership is very positive. That’s not common.

Ari Sussman: I would agree with you that 40% ownership is not common.

Maurice: I’m used to hearing about 10%.

Ari Sussman: Collective Mining is a tightly held stock. This is an ideal and more advantageous position for retail investors at this point, more than the institutions. Junior Mining companies, have to do a series of financings over the next number of years to get from today to a production decision. And so, the stock float will loosen up in time and that’s by design because we want to make sure we have a structure that works in the market today and can withstand downturns in the cyclical business we’re in, but will also benefit us in the future as we evolve and leave.

The whole point is to get the share price up as high as possible, and hopefully sold, based on the success of the company. And we don’t want to ever be in the position where we’re in a financing spiral where the market cap grows, but the share price doesn’t. Many mining companies seem to fit that bill, unfortunately, we don’t plan to subscribe to that business model.

Maurice: In closing, what keeps you up at night that we don’t know about?

Ari Sussman: Well, it keeps me up at night. It’s 100% making sure that we maintain the strong sustainability-based program and meaningful relationships with the local communities that we currently enjoy. It’s making sure that we apply our collective model properly so that it is collective for everyone. Everybody needs to jointly benefit together in our success, as well as take the risk with the project. If you want the upside, you have to be involved in the risk too.

Maurice: Last question. What did I forget to ask?

Ari Sussman: I just want to remind readers that Collective Mining expects strong news flow with lots of drilling activity. We are a discovery-based company with already significant results under our belt, and I hope everyone either tries to participate by buying shares, or at least watches us continue to put out news, and hopefully, we’ll end up convincing the naysayers in a short time with what we have in the ground.

Maurice: And for the record, I am a proud shareholder. Mr. Sussman, for someone who wants to learn more about Collective Mining, please share the website address.

Ari Sussman: www.collectivemining.com

Maurice: Mr. Sussman, it’s been a pleasure speaking with you today, wishing you and Collective Mining, 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.

Categories
Junior Mining Precious Metals Silver Bullet Mines

Silver Bullet Mines Corp.: Invitation to PDAC 2022 Booth 3308

Silver Bullet Mines, Proven and Probable

Burlington, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – June 10, 2022) – Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI) invites you to visit them at Booth #3308 at The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada Convention (PDAC) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) on Monday June 13 to Wednesday June 15, 2022.

About Silver Bullet Mines Corp.

Silver production is imminent at Silver Bullet’s Buckeye Silver Mine, in Arizona. Only 63M shares outstanding, with 29M in escrow. The company owns its own mill, giving it great control over its costs.

About PDAC

The World’s Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention is the leading convention for people, governments, companies and organizations connected to mineral exploration. In addition to meeting more than 1,100 exhibitors, 2,500 investors and 23,000 attendees in person in 2020, participants could also attend programming, courses and networking events.

The annual convention is held in Toronto, Canada. It has grown in size, stature and influence since it began in 1932 and today is the event of choice for the world’s mineral industry. From 2021 it is also offered as an online event.

For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention/registration.

We look forward to seeing you there.

For further information:

Silver Bullet Mines Corp.
Peter Clausi
+14168901232
pclausi@brantcapital.ca
www.silverbulletmines.com

Categories
Exclusive Interviews

India, Modi’s Police State

Gran Colombia Warrants

Dr. Amy Wax recently appeared on Tucker Carson’s show, in which she called India a shithole. In the following talk with RBM, I disagree. India is a rotting, bubbling shithole that is rapidly falling apart under the rule of a thoroughly incompetent, crooked, and venal bunch of politicians and bureaucrats, who are backed by tribal, superstitious masses:

https://www.republicbroadcastingarchives.org/beyond-the-official-narrative-with-richard-kary-april-19-2022/?fbclid=IwAR2qjWYm7PtOcIXR7NUwcfstDx6wm1_cCbiNPTgNC7uFmIHmuBoH8DZc5tkhttps://www.republicbroadcastingarchives.org/beyond-the-official-narrative-with-richard-kary-april-19-2022/?fbclid=IwAR2qjWYm7PtOcIXR7NUwcfstDx6wm1_cCbiNPTgNC7uFmIHmuBoH8DZc5tk

These days, on a daily basis people get arrested in India for posting anything negative about Modi, the PM of India. A friend, a freedom-fighter, and the National Vice President of Swatantra Bharat Party, the only libertarian party in India, Sanjay Garg, has been arrested without bail by the Indian government apparently for his social media posts. He has been deemed to be such a terrorist that the police report has not been made public.

On Investments

GCM Mining Warrant (GCM.WT.B; C$1.83) has fallen significantly over the last few weeks, perhaps because of the fear to do with the likelihood that the next president of Colombia might be a leftist. While this might happen, my view is that the market valuation of the company is sufficiently underpinned by its project in Guyana and the stock investments it has. Its investments with a marked-to-the-market value on 31st March 2022 of C$160 million have gone up by about 15%, something the market has perhaps forgotten to take note of. The Colombian project continues to make a good profit, which enables a 4.5% dividend yield.

Jayant Bhandari

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.

Categories
Breaking Energy Junior Mining Silver Bullet Mines

Commissioning of Silver Bullet Mines Corp.’s Mill Has Begun

Silver Bullet Mines, Proven and Probable

Burlington, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – June 9, 2022) – Silver Bullet Mines Corp. (TSXV: SBMI) (OTCQB: SBMCF) (“SBMI” or “the Company”) announces it has commenced commissioning of its wholly owned 125 MTPD state of the art mill located near Globe, Arizona. This is the next step to silver production.

“Commissioning is the culmination of much planning and hard work,” said A. John Carter, SBMI’s CEO. “The field team overcame global supply chain issues to create a functioning 125 MTPD mill, in a location that was an empty field only last September. We are looking forward to processing ore as quickly as possible.”



Water running through piping as part of start of mill commissioning.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/8464/127116_fcd72cd6d43ca802_001full.jpg.

Commissioning will take place over the next few weeks and will include the following steps:

  • water will be run through the mill to check for leaks;
  • each motor will be test run individually and sequentially;
  • each piece of equipment will be test run individually and sequentially to confirm technical matters such as the alignment of gears, bearing temperatures, and clearances;
  • the conveyors will be tracked for speed and consistency;
  • the crushers will be adjusted to proper settings as dictated by the conveyors;
  • the ball charge will then be put in the mill, meaning the steel balls will be inserted into the ball mill in anticipation of feedstock;
  • once all the equipment is calibrated, the mill will again be wet run with water to insure pumps and piping are correct; and
  • the installation of ancillary equipment as needed will follow.

SBMI has contracted Sepro Mineral Systems Corp., the manufacturer of the Falcon Concentrators, to provide a start-up technical team to train SBMI’s experienced mill crew, to insure optimum efficiency of each piece of the mill and the mill overall. The third-party electrical engineers will have at least one person on-site during start-up as well.

When the overall mill has been confirmed to be operating properly, test feed material will be added. As previously disclosed the Company has stockpiled at the millsite some lower grade ore from the Buckeye Silver Mine to serve as test feed. This will allow SBMI to fine tune the mill while minimizing the risk of losing valuable metals to tailings.

It is anticipated the entire commissioning process will take a few weeks, following which processing of the higher grade material can begin.

SBMI will provide further updates as it progresses through the commissioning process.

Please check the Company’s website www.silverbulletmines.com, or follow on Twitter @bulletmines or at YouTube “Silver Bullet Mines”.

For further information, please contact:

John Carter
Silver Bullet Mines Corp., CEO
cartera@sympatico.ca
+1 (905) 302-3843

Peter M. Clausi
Silver Bullet Mines Corp., VP Capital Markets
pclausi@brantcapital.ca
+1 (416) 890-1232

Cautionary and Forward-Looking Statements

Silver Bullet Mines Corp. trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SBMI and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol SBMCF. The OTCQB Venture Market is for early stage and developing U.S. and international companies. Companies listed there are current in their reporting and undergo an annual verification and management certification process. Investors can find current financial disclosure for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com and at https://money.tmx.com/en/quote/SBMI .

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements as they relate to SBMI and its subsidiaries. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but represent management’s current expectation of future events, and can be identified by words such as “believe”, “expects”, “will”, “intends”, “plans”, “projects”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “continues” and similar expressions. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct.

By their nature, forward-looking statements include assumptions, and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. If and when forward-looking statements are set out in this new release, SBMI will also set out the material risk factors or assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements. Except as expressly required by applicable securities laws, SBMI assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. The future outcomes that relate to forward-looking statements may be influenced by many factors, including but not limited to: the impact of SARS CoV-2 or any other global virus; reliance on key personnel; the availability of skilled and unskilled labour; the presence and recoverability of mineralization; ongoing availability of infrastructure such as electrical, diesel and road access; the thoroughness of its QA/QA procedures; the continuity of the global supply chain for materials for SBMI to use in the production and processing of ore; shareholder, permitting and regulatory approvals; activities and attitudes of communities local to the location of SBMI’s properties; price increases related to supply chain issues; risks of future legal proceedings; income tax matters; fires, floods and other natural phenomena; the rate of inflation; availability and terms of financing; distribution of securities; commodities pricing; currency movements, especially as between the USD and CDN; effect of market interest rates on price of securities; and, potential dilution. SARS CoV-2 and other potential global viruses create risks that at this time are immeasurable and impossible to define.

Categories
Base Metals Energy Exclusive Interviews Junior Mining Noram Lithium

Noram Receives Results for CVZ-77 & 78: High-Grade Intercepts of 240 Ft (73.2 m) Averaging 1212 PPM, & 231.3 Ft (70.5 m) Averaging 1157 PPM Respectively

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 9, 2022 / Sandy MacDougall, CEO of Noram Lithium Corp. (“Noram” or the “Company“) (TSXV:NRM | OTCQB:NRVTF | Frankfurt:N7R) is pleased to announce the successful completion of CVZ-77 (PH-04) and CVZ-78 (PH-11) and release of the final assay results. The Company completed core hole CVZ-77 at a depth of 458 feet (139.6 m). Sampling for assays began at 20 ft (6.1 m) and continued to the bottom of the hole, an interval thickness of 240 ft (73.2 m) was intersected from 48 ft (14.6 m) to 288 ft (87.8 m). The weighted average lithium values present are summarized below with a high of 2140 ppm. The Company completed core hole CVZ-78 at a depth of 451.5 feet (137.6 m). Sampling for assays began at 26.8 ft (8.2 m) and continued to the bottom of the hole, an interval thickness of 231.3 ft (70.5 m) was intersected from 26.8 ft (8.2 m) to 258 ft (78.6 m). The weighted average lithium values present are summarized below with a high of 2100 ppm present.

Noram Lithium Corp., Thursday, June 9, 2022, Press release picture
Noram Lithium Corp., Thursday, June 9, 2022, Press release picture
Noram Lithium Corp., Thursday, June 9, 2022, Press release picture
Noram Lithium Corp., Thursday, June 9, 2022, Press release picture

Figure 1 – Location of all past drill holes (Phase I to Phase V) previously completed in addition to the 12 proposed holes for Phase V1. Phase VI holes are indicated in purple.

Noram Lithium Corp., Thursday, June 9, 2022, Press release picture
Noram Lithium Corp., Thursday, June 9, 2022, Press release picture

Figure 2. Comparative stratigraphy and assay results for drill holes CVZ-77 and CVZ-78 as compared to CVZ-65 which was drilled as part of a prior program. The histogram on the sides of the holes are the composited lithium grades in ppm Li. The cross section has a 4X vertical exaggeration.

“As we continue to receive results that meet and/or surpass our expectations, our level of confidence in the resource model continues to increase. This program is providing us with vital information that will allow us to upgrade a significant portion of the resource from the Inferred Category to the Indicated Category. We could not be more proud of the team we have diligently advancing the Project. Noram management is focused on enhancing shareholder value as we continue to develop the resource” comments Brad Peek, VP of Exploration and geologist on all six phases of Noram’s Clayton Valley exploration drilling.

Hole IDSample No.From (ft)To (ft)From (m)To (m)Li (ppm)
CVZ-77174845920286.18.5610
CVZ-77174846028388.511.6850
CVZ-771748461384811.614.6870
CVZ-771748462485814.617.71010
CVZ-771748463586817.720.7840
CVZ-771748464687820.723.8910
CVZ-771748465788823.826.8840
CVZ-771748466889826.829.9940
CVZ-7717484679810829.932.9600
CVZ-77174846810811832.936.01160
CVZ-77174846911812836.039.0980
CVZ-77174847112813839.042.11540
CVZ-77174847213814842.145.11340
CVZ-77174847314815845.148.21400
CVZ-77174847415816848.251.21510
CVZ-77174847516817851.254.31860
CVZ-77174847617818854.357.32140
CVZ-77174847718819857.360.41300
CVZ-77174847819820860.463.41290
CVZ-77174847920821863.466.41450
CVZ-77174848021822866.469.51630
CVZ-77174848122823869.572.51250
CVZ-77174848223824872.575.61060
CVZ-77174848324825875.678.61080
CVZ-77174848425826878.681.7950
CVZ-77174848526827881.784.71020
CVZ-77174848627828884.787.8990
CVZ-77174848728829887.890.8790
CVZ-77174848829830890.893.9620
CVZ-77174848930831893.996.9870
CVZ-77174849031832896.9100.0760
CVZ-771748491328338100.0103.0430
CVZ-771748492338348103.0106.1610
CVZ-771748493348358106.1109.1550
CVZ-771748494358368109.1112.2550
CVZ-771748495368378112.2115.2720
CVZ-771748496378388115.2118.3540
CVZ-771748497388398118.3121.3790
CVZ-771748498398408121.3124.4780
CVZ-771748499408418124.4127.4600
CVZ-771748500418428127.4130.5550
CVZ-771748501428438130.5133.5500
CVZ-771748502438448133.5136.6379

Table 1 – Sample results from CVZ-77 from 20 ft (6.1 m) to depth of 448 ft (136.6 m).

Hole IDSample No.From (ft)To (ft)From (m)To (m)Li (ppm)
CVZ-78174850826.7537.258.211.4920
CVZ-78174850937.254811.414.61090
CVZ-781748510485814.617.7910
CVZ-781748511586817.720.7910
CVZ-781748512687820.723.8980
CVZ-781748513788823.826.82100
CVZ-781748514889826.829.91160
CVZ-7817485159810829.932.91190
CVZ-78174851610811832.936.01640
CVZ-78174851711812836.039.01830
CVZ-78174851812813839.042.11240
CVZ-78174851913814842.145.11180
CVZ-78174852014815845.148.21380
CVZ-78174852115816848.251.21350
CVZ-78174852216817851.254.31280
CVZ-78174852317818854.357.31000
CVZ-78174852418819857.360.41060
CVZ-78174852519820860.463.4910
CVZ-78174852720821863.466.4960
CVZ-78174852821822866.469.51020
CVZ-78174852922823869.572.5830
CVZ-78174853023824872.575.6580
CVZ-78174853124825875.678.61110
CVZ-78174853225826878.681.7790
CVZ-78174853326827881.784.7650
CVZ-78174853427828884.787.8750
CVZ-78174853528829887.890.8890
CVZ-78174853629830890.893.9680
CVZ-78174853730831893.996.9730
CVZ-78174853831832896.9100.0930
CVZ-781748539328338100.0103.0740
CVZ-781748540338348103.0106.1720
CVZ-781748541348358106.1109.1560
CVZ-781748542358368109.1112.2490
CVZ-781748543368378112.2115.2560
CVZ-781748544378388115.2118.3560
CVZ-781748545388398118.3121.3670
CVZ-781748546398408121.3124.4660
CVZ-781748547408418124.4127.4460
CVZ-781748548418428127.4130.5460
CVZ-781748549428438130.5133.5530
CVZ-781748550438447133.5136.2388
CVZ-781748551447451.5136.2137.6399

Table 2 – Sample results from CVZ-78 from 26.8 ft (8.2 m) to depth of 451.5 ft (137.6 m).

All samples were analyzed by the ALS laboratory in Reno, Nevada. QA/QC samples were included in the sample batch and returned values that were within their expected ranges.

The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Brad Peek., M.Sc., CPG, who is a Qualified Person with respect to Noram’s Clayton Valley Lithium Project as defined under National Instrument 43-101.

About Noram Lithium Corp.

Noram Lithium Corp. (TSXV:NRM | OTCQB:NRVTF | Frankfurt:N7R) is a well-financed Canadian based advanced Lithium development stage company with less than 90 million shares issued and a fully funded treasury. Noram is aggressively advancing its Zeus Lithium Project in Nevada from the development-stage level through the completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study in 2022.

The Company’s flagship asset is the Zeus Lithium Project (“Zeus”), located in Clayton Valley, Nevada. The Zeus Project contains a current 43-101 measured and indicated resource estimate* of 363 million tonnes grading 923 ppm lithium, and an inferred resource of 827 million tonnes grading 884 ppm lithium utilizing a 400 ppm Li cut-off. In December 2021, a robust PEA** indicated an After-Tax NPV(8) of US$1.3 Billion and IRR of 31% using US$9,500/tonne Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE). Using the LCE long term forecast of US$14,000/tonne, the PEA indicates an NPV (8%) of approximately US$2.6 Billion and an IRR of 52% at US$14,250/tonne LCE.

Please visit our web site for further information: www.noramlithiumcorp.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Sandy MacDougall
Chief Executive Officer and Director
C: 778.999.2159

For additional information please contact:
Peter A. Ball
President and Chief Operating Officer
peter@noramlithiumcorp.com
C: 778.344.4653

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking information which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding, among other things, the completion transactions completed in the Agreement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, regulatory approval processes. Although Noram believes that the assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, including that all necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained in a timely manner, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Noram disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. *Updated Lithium Mineral Resource Estimate, Zeus Project, Clayton Valley, Esmeralda County, Nevada, USA (August 2021) **Preliminary Economic Assessment Zeus Project, ABH Engineering (December 2021).

SOURCE: Noram Lithium Corp.

Categories
Base Metals Emx Royalty Energy Exclusive Interviews Junior Mining

EMX Royalty Announces Q1 Royalty Distribution from the Caserones Copper-Molybdenum Mine in Chile

Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – June 9, 2022) – EMX Royalty Corporation (NYSE American: EMX) (TSXV: EMX) (FSE: 6E9) (the “Company” or “EMX“) is pleased to announce that it will receive a royalty payment of approximately US$2.7 million (pre-tax) from the Company’s effective 0.7335% net smelter return royalty (“NSR“) interest covering the Caserones Copper-Molybdenum Mine (“Caserones“) in Chile. This royalty payment distribution to EMX, anticipated later this month, is based upon first quarter (“Q1”) (i.e., January-March, 2022) copper and molybdenum production.

EMX initially acquired a 0.418% NSR royalty interest on Caserones in 2021 and acquired an additional 0.3155% NSR royalty interest in April of this year, bringing the Company’s total (effective) NSR royalty interest to 0.7335% (see EMX news release dated April 14, 2022). Although the recent royalty purchase was completed after the end of Q1, the agreement contained provisions for EMX to receive the Q1 distributions for the newly acquired interest. This new royalty interest (0.3155% NSR) accounted for US$1.2 million of the US$2.7 million (pre-tax) Q1 total. The higher-than-expected Q1 royalty distributions reflect strong copper prices and robust production throughput at higher grades.

In addition to Caserones, EMX receives production royalty payments from its Leeville royalty in Nevada, and expects addition cash flow in 2022 from the Cukaru Peki Mine in the Bor Mining District in Serbia, as well as the Gediktepe and Bayla royalty properties in Turkey. Together, these interests provide commodity diversity that includes base metals (i.e., copper, molybdenum, lead, and zinc) and precious metals (i.e., gold and silver) in key mining districts of Chile, the U.S., Serbia, and Turkey.

Since the acquisition of the initial royalty interest at Caserones, royalty distributions to EMX total US$6.3 million (pre-tax). This has provided meaningful positive cash flow in a very short time (four quarters). This performance reflects the quality of Caserones as a cornerstone Company asset that resulted from EMX’s royalty acquisition initiatives.

EMX has a unique approach to the royalty business which is based upon a combination of royalty purchases, sustainable organic royalty growth, and strategic investments. Royalties are financial instruments that grow in value via ongoing investments by operators, and at no expense to royalty holders. This upside optionality occurs throughout the life cycle of a royalty as further exploration leads to resource and reserve growth, while technological and engineering advancements lead to more efficient mining, all to the benefit of royalty holders. As inflation fears have roiled global financial markets in 2022, this is a time when royalties stand out the most, with no exposure to exploration, production, and development cost increases yet full exposure to commodity price inflation. As a result, royalties are a key hedge that will become increasingly important as the current inflationary cycle plays out.

Caserones Overview. The Caserones open pit mine is developed on a significant porphyry copper-molybdenum deposit in the Atacama Region of northern Chile’s Andean Cordillera, 162 kilometers southeast of the city of Copiapó. The mine has been in operation since 2014, and is owned and operated by SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile SpA (“Minera Lumina”), which is 100% indirectly owned by JX Nippon Mining & Metals Corporation of Japan.

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. The mine produced 94,846 tonnes of fine copper in concentrate, 2,287 tonnes of fine molybdenum in concentrate, and 14,829 tonnes of fine copper in cathodes in 20211.

In addition to currently defined zones of mineralization, considerable exploration upside exists on the Caserones property, and exploration for additional resources has been ongoing and continues at present.

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”, and also trade on the Frankfurt Stock 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) 973-8585
Dave@EMXroyalty.com

Scott Close
Director of Investor Relations
Phone: (303) 973-8585
SClose@EMXroyalty.com

Isabel Belger
Investor Relations (Europe)
Phone: +49 178 4909039
Ibelger@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 March 31, 2022 (the “MD&A”), and the most recently filed Annual Information Form (the “AIF”) for the year ended December 31, 2021, 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.

1 SCM Minera Lumina Copper Chile 2021 Annual Report dated May 30, 2022.

Categories
Base Metals Energy Exclusive Interviews Junior Mining Metallic Group Metallic Minerals Precious Metals

Metallic Minerals Closes $4 Million Private Placement Financing

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 9, 2022 / Metallic Minerals (TSX.V:MMG)(OTCQB:MMNGF) (“Metallic Minerals“, or the “Company“) is pleased to report that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement financing for aggregate proceeds of $4,032,000 through the issuance of 9,600,000 units at a price of $0.42 per flow-through unit (the “Private Placement”). Each Unit consists of one flow-through common share and one-half purchase warrant where each whole warrant is exercisable into a flow-through common share for 30 months at a price of $0.50 on the TSX Venture Exchange (“TSX-V”).

Greg Johnson, CEO and Chairman, noted, “We are pleased to complete this premium-to-market Private Placement and to strengthen our shareholder base with new institutional investors. These new funds will be primarily directed toward the ongoing exploration and development of our Keno Silver Project in the high-grade, Keno silver district of Canada’s Yukon Territory. Final planning is underway for the initiation of our 2022 exploration programs at Keno Silver, as well as at our La Plata silver-gold-copper project in Colorado, USA. We look forward to meeting with existing and potential shareholders during PDAC 2022 in Toronto June 13-15, as well as during the Yukon Property Tours and Conference June 20-24 in Dawson City.”

Proceeds from the Private Placement will be used toward eligible Canadian Exploration Expenses, within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada). The Private Placement is subject to the final approval of the TSX-V. The flow-through shares will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from their date of issuance under applicable Canadian securities law.

The flow-through shares have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

An officer of the Company participated in the private placement for an aggregate of 4,400 FT Units. The participation by the insider in the private placement is considered to be a related-party transaction as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101. The transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of the securities being issued, nor the consideration being paid exceeds 25% of the Company’s market capitalization.

Upcoming Events

PDAC 2022 – Metallic will join fellow Metallic Group members, Stillwater Critical Minerals (formerly Group Ten Metals) and Granite Creek Copper, at PDAC in Toronto, June 13-15 (Booth IE2851).

Yukon Property Tours & Conference – Metallic will be in Dawson City June 20-24 for the 2022 Yukon Property Tours, with President, Scott Petsel, and CEO, Greg Johnson, both visiting the Keno Silver Project for exploration planning.

About Metallic Minerals

Metallic Minerals Corp. is an exploration and development stage company, focused on silver, gold and copper in the high-grade Keno Hill and La Plata mining districts of North America. Our objective is to create shareholder value through a systematic, entrepreneurial approach to making exploration discoveries, growing resources and advancing projects toward development. Metallic Minerals has consolidated the second-largest land position in the historic Keno Hill silver district of Canada’s Yukon Territory, directly adjacent to Alexco Resource Corp’s operations, with more than 300 million ounces of high-grade silver in past production and current M&I resources. In addition, the Company recently announced the inaugural resource estimate for the La Plata silver-gold-copper project in southwestern Colorado. All of the districts in which the Company works have seen significant mineral production and have existing infrastructure, including power and road access. Metallic Minerals is led by a team with a track record of discovery and exploration success on several major precious and base metal deposits, as well as having large-scale development, permitting and project financing expertise.

About the Metallic Group of Companies

The Metallic Group is a collaboration of leading precious and base metals exploration and development companies, with a portfolio of large, brownfields assets in established mining districts adjacent to some of the industry’s highest-grade producers of silver and gold, platinum and palladium, and copper. Member companies include Metallic Minerals in the Yukon’s high-grade Keno Hill silver district and La Plata silver-gold-copper district of Colorado, Granite Creek Copper in the Yukon’s Minto copper district, and Stillwater Critical Minerals (formerly Group Ten Metals) in the Stillwater PGM-nickel-copper district of Montana, USA and Kluane district in the Yukon. The founders and team members of the Metallic Group include highly successful explorationists formerly with some of the industry’s leading explorer/developers and major producers. With this expertise, the companies are undertaking a systematic approach to exploration and development using new models and technologies to facilitate discoveries in these proven, but under-explored, mining districts. Members of the Metallic Group have been recognized as recipients of awards for excellence in environmental stewardship demonstrating commitment to responsible resource development and appropriate ESG practices. The Metallic Group is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and its member companies are listed on the Toronto Venture, US OTCQB and Frankfurt stock exchanges.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Website: mmgsilver.com
Phone: 604-629-7800
Email: cackerman@mmgsilver.com
Toll Free: 1-888-570-4420

Forward-Looking Statements

Forward Looking Statements: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts including, without limitation, statements regarding potential mineralization, historic production, estimation of mineral resources, the realization of mineral resource estimates, interpretation of prior exploration and potential exploration results, the timing and success of exploration activities generally, the timing and results of future resource estimates, permitting time lines, metal prices and currency exchange rates, availability of capital, government regulation of exploration operations, environmental risks, reclamation, title, and future plans and objectives of the company are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although Metallic Minerals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include failure to obtain necessary approvals, unsuccessful exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, risks associated with regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, uninsured risks, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the companies with securities regulators. Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on Metallic Minerals and the risks and challenges of their businesses, investors should review their annual filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Metallic Minerals Corp.

Categories
Energy Exclusive Interviews Junior Mining Oil & Gas

Andy Hecht – Oil & Gas, Supply-Side Inflation Q&A

Integrous- Oil & Gas- Drilling & Exploration- The Answer to Supply-Side Inflation

  • Crude oil at the highest price since 2008- Inventories and product prices support higher highs
  • Natural gas is also at a fourteen-year high- Inventories, and European prices support the continuation of a very volatile bull market
  • The four reasons for higher fossil fuel prices- SPR releases are a temporary band-aid
  • Drilling and exploration are the answer to supply-side economic woes
  • XOP outperforming the stock market in 2022- The trend is your best friend

Throughout most of 2021, the US Federal Reserve called the rising inflationary pressures “transitory.” Late last year, increasing consumer and producer price data convinced the central bank that the economic condition was not a temporary event. The Fed told markets it was preparing to shift to a more hawkish approach to monetary policy to address the economy’s demand-side pressures. The artificially low interest rates, liquidity, and government stimulus in 2020 and 2021 planted the inflationary seeds which sprouted during the second half of 2020, throughout 2021, and into early 2022.

In early 2022, the geopolitical landscape threw a curveball at the central bank when Russia invaded Ukraine, launching the first major war in Europe since WW II. Sanctions on Russia and Russian retaliation began to cause even more upside pressure on commodity prices as Russia is a leading producer of energy and other raw materials. China and Russia’s “no-limits” support agreement complicated matters, setting the stage for the invasion.

Crude oil and natural gas prices had already been rising by the end of 2021. The leading benchmark crude oil futures are the Brent and WTI contracts. After falling to a record low below zero in April 2020, nearby WTI crude oil futures at $75.21 per barrel. Brent futures fell to $16 per barrel, the lowest price of this century in April 2020, and closed 2021 at the $77.78 level.

Meanwhile, nearby natural gas futures dropped to $1.44 per MMBtu in June 2020 and were at the $3.73 level on December 31, 2021. The oil and gas futures markets had been rising, making higher lows and higher highs throughout the second half of 2020 and in 2021. In 2022, they took off on the upside, reaching fourteen-year highs.

Increasing inflation and post-pandemic demand created a bull market in crude oil and natural gas that turned into a perfect bullish storm in 2022. The war and a dramatic geopolitical shift made dynamics shift from demand to supply-side concerns. The Fed has few if any tools to deal with supply-side economic events, and the only answer could be increasing supplies, which is a challenge in the current environment.

Just as the Fed mischaracterized inflation as “transitory,” US and European policies addressing climate change have played a role in the ascent of hydrocarbon prices. Since energy prices are inflation’s root cause, exploration and drilling could be the only answer to address the economic condition. Fossil fuels continue to power the world, and the price action is screaming that monetary policy has taken a backseat to the energy debacle.

Crude oil at the highest price since 2008- Inventories and product prices support higher highs

Nearby NYMEX WTI futures rose to $130.50 per barrel on March 7 after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and the war escalated.

Source: Barchart

The chart highlights that the WTI futures were sitting at just above the $115 level on May 27. Brent crude oil hit a high of $139.13 in early March.

Source: Barchart

The chart shows the price was at around the $119.43 per barrel level in late May 2022. The all-time 2008 peaks in WTI and Brent were at $147.27 and $147.50.

While crude oil missed an all-time high, gasoline and heating oil hit record prices in 2022.

Source: Barchart

The chart shows that gasoline futures prices reached $4.0640 per gallon wholesale in May, an all-time high. July gasoline was sitting at over the $3.90 level on May 27.

 Source: CQG

Heating oil is also a proxy for distillates like diesel and jet fuels. The chart shows the spike to a record peak in distillate in April at $4.7072 per gallon wholesale. Heating oil was also over the $3.90 per gallon level on May 27.

Inventories and US production have supported prices:

Source: US Energy Information Administration

So far, in 2022, US crude oil stockpiles rose by 1.9 million barrels, but the data includes strategic stockpile releases. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories declined by 12.9 million barrels, and distillate stocks fell by 19.9 million barrels from the beginning of 2022 through May 20. Consumers require oil products, and the data supports higher prices. While US daily output rose from 11.7 to 11.9 million barrels per day in 2022, they remain below the March 2020 13.2 mbpd record peak.  

Natural gas is also at a fourteen-year high- Inventories, and European prices support the continuation of a very volatile bull market

NYMEX natural gas futures fell to a twenty-five-year low in June 2020, reaching $1.432 per MMBtu.

Source: CQG

The long-term chart shows that natural gas futures moved over six times higher by May 2022, reaching a high of $9.447 per MMBtu and sitting at over the $8.70 level on May 27.

Natural gas inventories are at low levels, with the price at a fourteen-year high.

Source: EIA

At the 1.812 trillion cubic feet level on May 20, natural gas in storage across the US was 17.6% below last year’s level and 15.3% under the five-year average.

Over the past years, natural gas liquefication opened a burgeoning export market for the US energy commodity as it now travels worldwide via ocean vessels. Natural gas’s addressable market expanded far beyond the US pipeline network.

While US natural gas exports have sold LNG to Asian consumers under long-term contracts, the war in Europe and Russian retaliation for sanctions have sent European natural gas prices to record levels.

Source: Barchart

The chart shows that ICE UK natural gas futures rose to the 800 pounds per 1,000 thermals level in March 2022. Before 2021, the all-time high was at the 117 level, and at the 171.61 level on May 27, the price was well above the pre-2021 record peak. Russian natural gas travels by pipeline to European consumers. The Russians have demanded payment in rubles and have cut off “unfriendly” countries that support Ukraine. Moreover, Sweden and Finland’s plans to join NATO only increase Russian export bans, and European consumers are turning to the US for supplies. The bottom line is that

US natural gas has become an international energy market, and the supply shortage is lifting worldwide prices.

In the US, natural gas is heading into the volatile hurricane season. In 2005 and 2008, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc along the Louisiana coast.
The NYMEX futures delivery point is the Henry Hub in
Erath, Louisiana, along the Gulf Coast hurricane corridor. Storms in 2008 and 2005 lifted the price to $13.694, and $15.65per MMBtu, respectively. Even if the natural gas market makes it through the annual hurricane season without category four or five storms, the 2022/2023 winter season in worn-torn Europe will likely push prices higher, with $10+ NYMEX futures prices on the horizon.

The four reasons for higher fossil fuel prices- SPR releases are a temporary band-aid

At least four factors favor higher oil and gas prices in late May 2022:

  • The Biden administration’s green energy initiative favors alternative and renewable fuels while inhibiting fossil fuel production. The US energy policy since early 2021 handed the pricing power to OPEC, the international oil cartel, and Russia. After years of suffering under low prices and lower US demand because of US shale oil and gas production, OPEC+ now controls supplies and owes the US and European consumers no favors. US requests for production increases fell on deaf ears in Riyadh, Moscow, and other production capitals.
  • The February 4 “no-limits” agreement between China and Russia creates a bifurcation of the world’s nuclear powers, with the US and Europe on the other side. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to Chinese reunification attempts with Taiwan. Hostilities and geopolitical tensions make hydrocarbons a political tool for the Russians and allied world oil and gas producers.
  • The crude oil and natural gas prices have been rising despite a COVID-19 lockdown in China. When the Chinese economy reopens, the global energy demand will likely rise, putting more upside pressure on oil and gas prices. Meanwhile, a historic heatwave in India is causing increased energy demand in the world’s second-most populous country. India has not cooperated with the US and Europe with sanctions on Russia.
  • Even if the US were to shift back to a drill-baby-drill and frack-baby-frack approach to traditional energy production, labor shortages and higher input and equipment prices put upside pressure on production costs. Moreover, the Biden administration has doubled down on its green initiatives, so the potential for production increases remains low.

Instead of increasing production over the past months, President Biden released a historical level of crude oil from the strategic petroleum reserve. Past SPR releases have not weighed on the price in challenging times. Moreover, the US will eventually need to replace its resources, leading to buying in the oil market. The administration released 30 million barrels in early 2022 and has been releasing one million barrels per day from the SPY. The price remains around the $115 per barrel level as the SPR sales have been a short-term, ineffective band-aid. Meanwhile, crack spreads, a real-time demand indicator rose to new all-time highs in May. The level of refining margins are a warning sign that higher crude oil prices are on the horizon. 

Drilling and exploration are the answer to supply-side economic woes

The Fed is increasing interest rates and reducing its balance sheet to address the highest inflation in over four decades. The central bank’s toolbox contains monetary policy tools that deal with the economy’s demand-side. In 2020, slashing interest rates and government stimulus encouraged borrowing and spending and inhibited saving.

The Fed now faces supply-side economic factors caused by the war in Ukraine, sanctions, and geopolitical bifurcation. There are few, if any, tools that can deal with the supply-side issues that will continue to fuel inflation. While core inflation data excludes food and energy, food and energy are critical inflationary factors that impact individuals and businesses. Moreover, energy is a crucial cost of goods sold input in all sectors of the economy. Therefore, the only answer to dealing with supply-side inflationary pressures in the current environment is to increase supplies. Just as the Fed woke up from its “transitory” trance, the administration will likely realize that encouraging fossil fuel exploration and drilling is the only route out of the current inflationary spiral. The US is blessed with rich oil reserves in the shale regions, Alaska, and other oil-producing areas. The Marcellus and Utica shale contains quadrillions of cubic feet of natural gas. A hostile Russia and China could cause a reversal of the current path of US energy policy. Rising oil and gas prices will eventually choke all economic growth, and the administration may have no choice but to put climate change initiatives to the side while it deals with the inflationary spiral.

XOP outperforming the stock market in 2022- The trend is your best friend

The war, rising interest rates, a strong US dollar, increasing geopolitical turmoil, and other factors have weighed on the stock market in 2022.

Source: Barchart

The S&P 500 is the most diversified US stock market index. After closing at 4,766.18 on December 31, 2021, the index was 12.8% lower at 4,158.24 on May 27.

The S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production ETF product (XOP) holds many of the top US companies that explore, drill, and produce crude oil and natural gas, including:

 Source: Barchart

While the S&P 500 is 12.8% lower in 2022, the XOP performance has been impressive:

 Source: Barchart

The XOP closed at $95.87 at the end of 2021. At the $157.04 level on May 27, the ETF was over 63.8% higher this year.

Existing oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production companies have experienced a profit bonanza in 2022, but they are struggling to meet the growing worldwide hydrocarbon requirements. The bull market in oil and gas opens the door for newcomers in exploration and drilling. Dealing with inflation requires addressing the root cause, energy shortages, and high prices. An epiphany that shifts US energy policy is the path of fighting inflation. The supply-side problems are beyond the Fed’s reach, and SPR releases are only a band-aid on a worldwide gapping ax wound.

Written By: Andrew Hecht, on behalf of Maurice Jackson of Proven and Probable.

Any investment involves substantial risks, including, but not limited to, pricing volatility, inadequate liquidity, and the potential complete loss of principal. This document does not in any way constitute an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any investment, security, or commodity discussed herein, or any security in any jurisdiction in which such an offer would be unlawful under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.