True North Gems Awarded 30-Year Mining Licence for the Aappaluttoq Ruby Deposit
04 March 2014 - 1:00AM
Marketwired
True North Gems Awarded 30-Year Mining Licence for the Aappaluttoq
Ruby Deposit
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Mar 3, 2014) - True
North Gems Inc. (TSX-VENTURE:TGX) ("True North" or the "Company")
is extremely pleased to announce that the Government of Greenland
has awarded the Company an exclusive 30-year exploitation (mining)
licence (the "Exploitation Licence") for the Aappaluttoq Ruby
Deposit, SW Greenland.
"Today marks the culmination of our exploration, delineation
and major permitting activity. Since 2004 we have worked hard to
plan a sustainable mining operation that showcases the economic
opportunities for our shareholders and the people of
Greenland," said Nicholas Houghton, President and Chief
Executive Officer. "This also heralds the beginning of our
transformation from an exploration company to a producer. It will
enable us to showcase and deliver a new supply of rubies and pink
sapphires to the worldwide gemstone industry. I would like to take
this opportunity to publically thank all who have worked with us
and helped to achieve this major milestone."
The Aappaluttoq Ruby Deposit will be an open pit development,
and over its initial 9-year mine life it will directly create up to
80 new jobs in Greenland; these will range from mining operations
at the Aappaluttoq site to gemstone grading in the Nuuk Processing
Facility. The project will also act as a stimulus for other
investment in both secondary and supporting industries.
History:
Significant geological exploration and engineering has taken
place over the last decade. Throughout this process, the Company
has endeavored to engage with the local communities and utilize
local support companies. The approximate US$23 million investment
by LNS-Greenland ("LNS-G") announced on August 13, 2013 forms a
strategic partnership that significantly reduces the Company's
financial requirements in exchange for 20% of the project. Final
technical work was subsequently completed, and the Company entered
the formal Exploitation Permitting process in mid-2011,
successfully completing public hearings in the fall of 2013.
Continued
Development:
The granting of the Exploitation Licence is the catalyst for
future development; as previously announced, the Company has been
engaged in initial Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA) negotiations and
continues to finalise the mine environmental monitoring and
subsequent closure plan. The advanced process engineering design is
also currently being finalised and will be completed in due
course.
Under the Exploitation Licence, which will become officially
effective on March 10, 2014, True North has agreed to pay a gross
revenue royalty (the "Gross Royalty") to the Government of
Greenland of 5.5% on all sales of rubies and pink sapphires
exploited from the Aappaluttoq Ruby Deposit. The Gross Royalty will
be payable in each calendar year when the total aggregate paid by
True North in corporate taxes, withholding taxes and "Surplus
Royalty" are less than the calculated Gross Royalty in that
calendar year, such that the Government receives a minimum amount.
The Surplus Royalty is calculated at a rate of 15% on earnings
before financial items and tax on any profit in any calendar year
to the extent the annual profit exceeds the profit margin
percentage of 40%. The new fiscal agreement will have no adverse
impact on the net present value of the project.
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 document contains "forward-looking information" and
"forward-looking statements" (together, "forward-looking
statements") within the meaning of applicable securities
legislation, which are made as of the date of this document or the
document(s) referred to herein. Statements that express
predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always,
using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans",
"projects", "estimates", "intends", "strategy", "goals",
"objectives" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions,
events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be
taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms
and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and
may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
include, without limitation, statements with respect to: the amount
of mineral reserves and mineral resources; the amount of future
production over any period; net present value and internal rates of
return of the proposed mining operation; capital costs; operating
costs; strip ratios and mining rates; and mine life.
The forward-looking statements are made based upon certain
assumptions which, if untrue, could cause the actual results,
performances or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from future results, performances or achievements
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These
assumptions include, without limitation: the price of gemstone
products produced; anticipated costs; the presence of and
continuity of gemstones at modeled grades and values; the
capacities of various machinery and equipment; the availability of
personnel, machinery and equipment at estimated prices; exchange
rates; appropriate discount rates; tax rates applicable to the
proposed mining operation; financing structure and costs;
anticipated mining losses and dilution; gemstone recovery rates;
reasonable contingency requirements; and receipt of regulatory
approvals on acceptable terms. By their very nature,
forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to
differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements.
These include, without limitation: price volatility, discrepancies
between actual and estimated production, mineral reserves and
resources and metallurgical recoveries, mining operational and
development risks, regulatory restrictions (including environmental
regulatory restrictions and liability), activities by governmental
authorities (including changes in taxation), currency fluctuations,
the speculative nature of gemstone exploration, the global economic
climate, dilution, share price volatility, competition, loss of key
employees; additional funding requirements and defective title to
mineral claims or property]. This list is not exhaustive. See also,
for example, the risks disclosed in the Company's other disclosure
documents filed at www.sedar.com, including, without limitation,
those disclosed in the Company's management's discussion &
analysis. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
except as otherwise required by applicable securities
legislation.
True North Gems Inc.Nicholas HoughtonPresident and
CEO604-687-8055True North Gems Inc.Joanna HallCorporate
Coordinator604-687-8055info@truenorthgems.comwww.truenorthgems.com
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