ACQUISITION TRIPLES THE NUMBER OF ROYALTIES
IN MAVERIX'S PORTFOLIO
VANCOUVER, May 29, 2018 /CNW/ - Maverix Metals Inc. (the
"Company" or "Maverix") (TSX-V: MMX, OTC: MACIF) is
pleased to announce it has entered into a Purchase and Sale
Agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire a significant
portfolio of 54 royalties (the "Royalty Portfolio") from
Newmont Mining Corporation and its affiliates (collectively,
"Newmont").
As consideration for the Royalty Portfolio, Maverix will issue
to Newmont a total of 60,000,000 common shares (the "Common
Shares"), 10,000,000 common share purchase warrants (the
"Warrants"), and make a cash payment of US$17,000,000 upon closing of the transaction
(the "Transaction"). The Warrants will be exercisable for
five years from the date the Transaction closes at a price of
US$1.64 (C$2.10) per common share.
Certain royalties in the Royalty Portfolio are subject to rights
of first offer and first refusal as well as the requirement for
various transfer consents. Any proceeds from an exercise of a right
of first offer or first refusal will be paid to Maverix.
Transaction Highlights
- Materially Increased Scale and Asset Diversification:
Royalty Portfolio consists of assets located in 11 different
countries globally, ranging from production to exploration stage.
The Transaction is expected to triple Maverix's portfolio size by
adding 54 royalties to Maverix's existing portfolio of 27 royalties
and streams;
- Immediate Cash Flow with Significant Cash Flow Growth
Potential: Estimated cash flow in 2019 of C$6 million to C$8
million from the Royalty Portfolio, with the potential to
grow to over C$20 million in cash
flow per year (1);
- Provides Substantial Leverage to Gold and More than
Doubles Attributable Gold Resources: Royalty Portfolio is
predominantly gold and will add over 340,000 ounces of attributable
gold in measured and indicated resources to the Maverix portfolio,
an increase of over 100% to Maverix's current portfolio
(2);
- Expanded Footprint in Nevada: Royalty Portfolio contains
royalties on a number of assets in Nevada, a world-class mining
jurisdiction;
- Strong Counterparties: Royalty counterparties include
Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick
Gold"), Premier Gold Mines Limited ("Premier
Gold"), TMAC Resources Inc. ("TMAC Resources"), SSR
Mining Inc., Yamana Gold Inc., and Waterton Global Resource
Management, Inc. ("Waterton");
- Future Optionality: A number of royalties are on
exploration stage properties, several of which are being advanced
through various stages of development; and
- Adds New Major Shareholder: Newmont, one of the world's
leading gold mining companies with a market capitalization of more
than US$20 billion, will own
approximately 28% of the issued and outstanding shares of Maverix
upon closing of the Transaction. Newmont to join Pan American
Silver Corp. ("Pan American Silver") and Gold Fields Limited
("Gold Fields") as major shareholders. Pan American Silver
and Gold Fields will own approximately 26% and 20%, respectively,
post closing of the Transaction. Both Pan American Silver and Gold
Fields have approved this Transaction.
Dan O'Flaherty, President and CEO
of Maverix, commented, "This transaction is another historic growth
step for Maverix. We would like to thank Newmont for entrusting us
to deliver superior value for their royalty portfolio in this
strategic partnership. Newmont is the third globally recognized
mining company to become a shareholder of Maverix, along with Pan
American Silver and Gold Fields. This transaction further validates
our business model and strategy, and we will judiciously steward
our expanded asset base as we continue to look for new
opportunities to grow our portfolio further and create value for
all of our shareholders."
Randy Engel, Executive Vice
President, Strategic Development of Newmont, commented, "This
transaction provides Newmont with a very attractive opportunity to
surface significant value for our non-core royalties through the
exposure to an emerging gold royalty company. As a shareholder,
Newmont is pleased to retain upside to the royalty portfolio, as
Maverix utilizes its strengthened and enlarged platform to
facilitate future value enhancing growth."
Royalty Portfolio: Key Assets
Hope Bay Royalty – a 1.0%
net smelter return ("NSR") royalty on the high-grade, long
life, Hope Bay underground mine located in Nunavut, Canada. The mine consists of three
main deposits (Doris, Madrid, and
Boston) across a 1,101 square
kilometer land package. The mine is owned and operated by TMAC
Resources and is currently ramping up operations after beginning
production in early 2017. A pre-feasibility study in 2015 outlined
a 2,000 tpd operation producing an average of 185,000 ounces of
gold per year in the first five years and an average of 160,000
ounces per year over the initial 20 year life. As of June 30th, 2017, Hope Bay had proven
and probable reserves of 14.5 million tonnes at 7.7 g/t containing
3.6 million ounces of gold. (3)
For more information on the Hope Bay mine, please visit
www.tmacresources.com.
Hemlo Royalty – a 2.5% gross revenue royalty on certain
claims of the Hemlo gold mine
located in Ontario, Canada
operated by Barrick Gold.
Hemlo has been operating
continuously for over 30 years and has produced more than 21
million ounces of gold in its history, including 196,000 ounces in
2017. Hemlo consists of the
Williams mine, which is both an underground and open pit operation.
The royalty includes certain claims that host areas of the west
extension of the Williams deposit, which Barrick Gold has indicated is a high priority
for near term exploration plans. Barrick
Gold holds a right of first refusal on the sale of the
Hemlo royalty. (4)
For more information on the Hemlo mine, please visit www.barrick.com.
McCoy-Cove Royalty – a
1.5% NSR royalty on the development stage McCoy-Cove project
located along the highly prospective Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend
in Nevada, USA. The Cove property
hosts one of the highest grade undeveloped gold deposits in
Nevada. Cove was mined by Echo Bay
Mines Ltd. between 1987 and 2001, and produced 2.6 million ounces
of gold and 100 million ounces of silver. McCoy was mined between
1986 and 2001, and produced approximately 0.9 million ounces of
gold and 3.0 million ounces of silver. On January 10th, 2018, Premier Gold and
Barrick Gold entered into an
exploration and development agreement whereby Barrick Gold will have an option to earn a 60%
interest in the exploration portion of the McCoy-Cove property by
spending US$22.5 million in
exploration before June 30, 2022. On
May 15th, 2018, Premier
Gold announced the results of a preliminary economic assessment of
the Cove project that outlined an eight year mine life producing an
average of 92,400 ounces of gold per year. Premier Gold has
allocated a budget of US$19 million
towards development and exploration at the Cove project in 2018
with more than 8,000 metres of drilling planned. As of March 31st, 2018, the Cove project had
indicated resources of 0.9 million tonnes at 11.2 g/t containing
342,000 ounces of gold and inferred resources of 3.7 million tonnes
at 11.2 g/t containing 1.3 million ounces of gold. The royalty is
subject to a right of first refusal on the sale. (5)
For more information on the McCoy-Cove project, please visit
www.premiergoldmines.com.
Gemfield Royalty – a 5.0% NSR royalty on the development
stage Gemfield deposit at the Goldfield property located in central
Nevada. The project is owned by
Waterton, a leading mining-focused private equity firm active in
the mining sector. An updated feasibility study completed in 2013
outlined a 7,500 tpd open-pit heap leach operation that would
produce an average of 76,000 ounces of gold per year over an
initial 6.3 year mine life. As of June
2013, Gemfield had proven and probable reserves of 17.3
million tonnes at 1.0 g/t containing 567,000 ounces of gold.
(6)
Converse Royalty – a 5.0% NSR royalty on a significant
portion of the development stage Converse project located in
northern Nevada, owned by
Waterton. A preliminary economic assessment completed in 2011
outlined a 45,000 tpd open-pit operation that would produce an
average of 160,000 ounces of gold and 638,000 ounces of silver per
year over an initial 13.5 year mine life. As of March 2014, Converse had measured and indicated
resources of 363 million tonnes at 0.5 g/t gold and 3.3 g/t silver
containing 6.1 million ounces of gold and 38.1 million ounces of
silver. (7)
Amulsar Royalty Quarterly Payments – Lydian International
Ltd. ("Lydian") has provided notice that it intends to
exercise its option to terminate its royalty agreement with Newmont
on the Amulsar gold project in Armenia in exchange for US$20 million to be paid in quarterly
installments of US$1.0 million. The
quarterly payments begin after commercial production is achieved
which Lydian is currently expecting to achieve in 2019.
(8)
Royalty Portfolio: Other Notable Assets
Below is a list of the other notable development stage assets
that make up the Royalty Portfolio.
|
|
|
|
|
Asset
|
Operator
|
Country
|
Stage
|
Terms
|
Pike River
|
McEwen Mining
Inc.
|
Canada
|
Development
|
2.5% NSR
|
Golden
Arrow
|
Emgold Mining
Corporation
|
USA
|
Development
|
3.0% NSR
|
Hasbrouck-Three
Hills
|
West Kirkland Mining
Inc.
|
USA
|
Development
|
1.25% NSR
|
Maverick
Springs
|
SSR Mining Inc. /
Waterton
|
USA
|
Development
|
1.5% NSR
|
Relief
Canyon
|
Pershing Gold
Corporation
|
USA
|
Development
|
2.0% NSR
|
Agua Rica
|
Yamana Gold
Inc.
|
Argentina
|
Development
|
2.5% NSR
|
Additional 42 earlier
stage royalties
|
In addition to the royalties listed above, the Royalty Portfolio
includes a number of industrial mineral and power royalties and
land lease payments, located primarily in Nevada, that have historically generated
approximately US$500,000 in total
revenue per year. These industrial mineral and power royalties and
land lease payments are expected to continue generating similar
revenue for the foreseeable future.
Terms of the Transaction
Closing of the Transaction is expected to occur in the second
quarter of 2018 (the "Closing Date"). In addition to
conditions customary for similar transactions, closing of the
Transaction is conditional upon (i) Maverix receiving TSX Venture
Exchange ("TSX-V") approval, (ii) Maverix receiving
shareholder approval, (iii) Maverix and Newmont entering into a
shareholder agreement in a form to be agreed upon between the
parties on or before the Closing Date (the "Shareholder
Agreement"), and (iv) entry by Maverix and Newmont into
assignment agreements pursuant to which the royalties forming the
Royalty Portfolio will be transferred from Newmont to Maverix.
Pursuant to the rules of the TSX-V, a majority of Maverix
shareholders have approved the Transaction by way of a written
consent resolution, including Pan American Silver Corporation, Gold
Fields Limited, and the Board of Directors and management of
Maverix.
The Agreement was negotiated at arm's length between Maverix and
Newmont.
Maverix Post Closing Capital Structure
Post the completion of the Transaction, Newmont will hold
approximately 28% of the issued and outstanding common shares of
Maverix on an undiluted basis and approximately 27% on a
fully-diluted basis. It is expected that Maverix will have a total
of approximately 214.1 million common shares issued and outstanding
following the closing of the Transaction. Pan American Silver and
Gold Fields will hold approximately 26% and 20%, respectively, of
the issued and outstanding common shares of Maverix on an undiluted
basis.
Newmont Shareholder Agreement
Pursuant to the Transaction, Newmont and Maverix will enter into
the Shareholder Agreement in substantially similar form to the
Shareholder Agreements that currently exist between Maverix and Pan
American Silver Corporation and Gold Fields Limited, pursuant to
which Newmont and Maverix will agree that, among other things:
- provided that Newmont's share interest is equal to or exceeds
10% of Maverix's issued and outstanding common shares, Newmont will
be entitled to one nominee for election to the Maverix Board of
Directors;
- Newmont will receive certain rights in respect of equity
financings of Maverix, including certain anti-dilution rights;
and
- Newmont will provide Maverix with an opportunity to make an
offer to acquire certain metal streams or metal royalties which
Newmont contemplates selling in the future.
Conference Call Information
Maverix will host a conference call on May 29th, 2018 at 8:00 am PT, where senior management will discuss
the details of the Transaction. To participate in the conference
call, please use the following dial-in numbers or join the webcast
using the link below:
International Toll: +1 604-638-5340
North American Toll-Free: 1 800-319-4610
Webcast URL: Maverix Metals Conference Call - May 29, 2018
The conference call replay will be available from 10:00 am PT on May
29th, 2018 until June
12th, 2018 with the following dial in numbers: 1
800-319-6413 (North American toll-free), or +1 604-638-9010
(international), access code 2366. An archived webcast will be
available on the Company's website at www.maverixmetals.com until
August 28th, 2018.
Annual General Meeting of Shareholders
Maverix's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will take place
today beginning at 2:00 pm PT
(5:00 pm ET) at the Metropolitan
Vancouver Hotel, Pacific Room, 645 Howe Street, Vancouver, British Columbia. The Information
Circular, Notice of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, and
Form of Proxy for the meeting have been mailed to shareholders of
record as of April 20th,
2018 and are also available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
(1)
Revenue projections are estimated using $1,300/oz Au and $17/oz Ag
and management estimates using production information provided in
the following publicly available disclosure: Hope Bay 2015
technical report titled "Technical Report on the Hope Bay Project,
Nunavut, Canada" dated May 28, 2015, available on TMAC Resources'
SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com; Relief Canyon 2017 technical report
titled "Technical Report and Preliminary Feasibility Study for the
Relief Canyon Project, Pershing County, Nevada, U.S.A." dated June
2, 2017, available on Pershing Gold Corporation's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com; Hasbrouck and Three Hills 2016 technical report
titled "Technical Report and Updated Preliminary Feasibility Study:
Hasbrouck and Three Hills Gold-Silver Project Esmeralda County,
Nevada" dated September 14, 2016, available on West Kirkland Mining
Inc.'s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com; Premier Gold's news release
titled "Premier Announces PEA Results on the Cove Project" dated
May 15, 2018 available at www.premiergoldmines.com; Converse 2012
technical report titled "Technical Report, Preliminary Economic
Assessment, Converse Gold Project, Nevada, USA" dated February 2,
2012, available on International Minerals Corporation's SEDAR
profile at www.sedar.com; Gemfield technical report titled "NI
43-101 Technical Report, Update to Feasibility Study on the
Goldfield Property, Nevada, USA" dated July 25, 2013, available on
International Minerals Corporation's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com.
|
(2)
Attributable gold mineral reserves and resources are calculated by
taking gold mineral reserves and resources and multiplying the
total ounces by the royalty or stream percentage (inclusive of
management's estimates for any allowable deductions). Attributable
gold measured resources total approximately 178,000 ounces at an
average grade of 0.93 g/t gold, and attributable gold indicated
resources total approximately 165,000 ounces at an average grade of
3.2 g/t gold. Mineral reserves and resources for the Royalty
Portfolio obtained from the following publicly available
disclosure: TMAC Resources news release titled "TMAC Resources
Provides Operations Update and Reports 2017 Mineral Reserve &
Mineral Resources Estimate, Hope Bay, Nunavut" dated July 14, 2017,
available at www.tmacresources.com; Premier Gold's news release
titled "Premier Announces PEA Results on the Cove Project" dated
May 15, 2018, available at www.premiergoldmines.com; Black Fox 2018
technical report titled "Technical Report for the Black Fox
Complex, Canada" dated April 6, 2018, available on McEwen Mining
Inc.'s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com; Relief Canyon 2017 technical
report titled "Technical Report and Preliminary Feasibility Study
for the Relief Canyon Project, Pershing County, Nevada, U.S.A."
dated June 2, 2017, available on Pershing Gold Corporation's SEDAR
profile at www.sedar.com; Gemfield technical report titled "NI
43-101 Technical Report, Update to Feasibility Study on the
Goldfield Property, Nevada, USA" dated July 25, 2013, available on
International Minerals Corporation's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com; Chaparral Gold Corp. news release titled "Chaparral
Gold Increases Resource Estimate at Converse Gold Project, Nevada"
dated March 18, 2014, available on Chaparral Gold Corp.'s SEDAR
profile at www.sedar.com; Golden Arrow 2018 technical report titled
"2018 Updated Technical Report on the Golden Arrow Project, Nye
County, Nevada, U.S.A." dated March 2, 2018, available on Emgold
Mining Corporation's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com; Hasbrouck and
Three Hills 2016 technical report titled "Technical Report and
Updated Preliminary Feasibility Study: Hasbrouck and Three Hills
Gold-Silver Project Esmeralda County, Nevada" dated September 14,
2016, available on West Kirkland Mining Inc.'s SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com; Maverick Springs 2004 technical report titled
"Technical Report, Maverick Springs Project, Nevada, USA" dated
April 13, 2014, available on Vista Gold Corp.'s SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com.
|
(3) For
more information, please visit www.tmacresources.com and refer to
the Hope Bay description page and news releases dated July 14, 2017
and April 24, 2015.
|
(4) For
more information, please visit www.barrick.com and refer to the
Hemlo description page and the 2017 Annual Report.
|
(5) For
more information, please visit www.premiergoldmines.com and refer
to the Cove description page and news releases dated May 15, 2018
and January 10, 2018.
|
(6) For
more information regarding the feasibility study and mineral
reserve estimate for the Gemfield project, please refer to the
Gemfield technical report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report,
Update to Feasibility Study on the Goldfield Property, Nevada, USA"
dated July 25, 2013, available on International Minerals
Corporation's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
|
(7) For
more information regarding the preliminary economic assessment for
the Converse project, please refer to the International Minerals
Corporation news release dated December 19, 2011, available on
International Minerals Corporation's SEDAR profile at
www.sedar.com. For more information regarding the mineral resource
estimate for the Converse project, please refer to the Chaparral
Gold Corp. news release dated March 18, 2014, available on
Chaparral Gold Corp.'s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
|
(8) For
more information, please visit www.lydianinternational.co.uk and
refer to the news release dated April 9, 2018.
|
Qualified Person
Doug Ward, B.Sc., Mining
Engineering, MMSA, is Vice President Technical Services for the
Company, and a "Qualified Person" under NI 43-101, has reviewed and
approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this
press release.
About Maverix
Maverix Metals Inc. is a gold royalty and streaming company.
Maverix's mission is to provide its shareholders with significant
low risk leverage to the gold price and to increase underlying per
share value by expanding its portfolio with acquisitions of
high-quality royalties and streams that offer robust returns.
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE ("TSX-V") NOR ITS REGULATION
SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE
TSX-V) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS
RELEASE.
Technical and third party information
The disclosure herein and relating to properties and operations
on the properties in which the Company holds royalty, stream or
other interests is based on information publicly disclosed by the
owners or operators of these properties and information/data
available in the public domain as at the date hereof, and none of
this information has been independently verified by the Company.
Specifically, as a royalty or stream holder, the Company has
limited, if any, access to properties included in its asset
portfolio. Additionally, the Company may from time to time receive
operating information from the owners and operators of the
properties, which it is not permitted to disclose to the public.
The Company is dependent on, (i) the operators of the properties
and their qualified persons to provide information to the Company,
or (ii) on publicly available information to prepare disclosure
pertaining to properties and operations on the properties on which
the Company holds royalty, stream or other interests, and generally
has limited or no ability to independently verify such information.
Although the Company does not have any knowledge that such
information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that
such third party information is complete or accurate. Some
information publicly reported by operators may relate to a larger
property than the area covered by the Company's royalty, stream or
other interest. The Company's royalty, stream or other interests
often cover less than 100% and sometimes only a portion of the
publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral resources and
production of a property.
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements
This release contains certain "forward looking statements" and
certain "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable
Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements and
information can generally be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "should",
"expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe",
"continue", "plans" or similar terminology. The forward-looking
information contained herein is provided for the purpose of
assisting readers in understanding management's current
expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are
cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other
purposes.
Forward-looking statements and information include, but are not
limited to, statements with respect to timing and completion of the
Transaction, anticipated cash flows upon completion of the
Transaction, future financial reporting by Maverix, the receipt of
payments from Maverix's mining royalty and streaming portfolio, the
requirement for regulatory approvals and third party consents, the
Company's financial guidance, outlook, proposed plans for acquiring
additional stream and royalty interests and the potential of such
streams and royalty interests to provide returns and the completion
of mine expansion under construction phases at the mines or
properties that the Company holds an interest in. Forward-looking
statements and information are based on forecasts of future
results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions
that, while believed by management to be reasonable, are inherently
subject to significant business, economic and competitive
uncertainties and contingencies.
Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual
actions, events or results to be materially different from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including
but not limited to: the requirement for regulatory approvals and
third party consents; the impact of general business and economic
conditions; the absence of control over mining operations from
which Maverix will purchase gold and other metals or from which it
will receive royalty payments and risks related to those mining
operations, including risks related to international operations,
government and environmental regulation, delays in mine
construction and operations, actual results of mining and current
exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations and
changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined;
accidents, equipment breakdowns, title matters, labor disputes or
other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions in operations;
problems inherent to the marketability of gold and other metals;
the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the
potential for unexpected costs and expenses; industry conditions,
including fluctuations in the price of the primary commodities
mined at such operations, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates
and fluctuations in interest rates; government entities
interpreting existing tax legislation or enacting new tax
legislation in a way which adversely affects Maverix; stock market
volatility; regulatory restrictions; liability, competition, loss
of key employees and other related risks and uncertainties.
Maverix undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking
information except as required by applicable law. Such
forward-looking information represents management's best judgment
based on information currently available. No forward-looking
statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary
materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue
reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
SOURCE Maverix Metals Inc.