TORONTO,
July 22, 2021 /CNW/ -
Vox Royalty Corp. (TSXV: VOX) ("Vox" or the
"Company"), a high growth precious metals focused royalty
company, is pleased to provide recent development and
exploration updates from royalty operating partners Karora
Resources Inc. (TSX: KRR) ("Karora"), Jangada Mines plc
(AIM: JAN) ("Jangada"), Genesis Minerals Limited (ASX: GMD)
("Genesis"), Metalicity Limited (ASX: MCT)
("Metalicity"), and Black Cat Syndicate Limited (ASX: BC8)
("Black Cat").
![Vox Royalty Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Vox Royalty Corp.) Vox Royalty Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Vox Royalty Corp.)](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1579235/Vox_Royalty_Corp__Vox_Provides_Development_and_Exploration_Updat.jpg)
Riaan Esterhuizen, Executive Vice
President – Australia stated,
"The last month has been extremely productive for our royalty
operator partners, with newsflow linked to production expansions,
key permitting approvals and continued exploration success that we
expect will unlock value for Vox shareholders. As examples, the
production expansion at Higginsville has the potential to extend
the mine life linked to Vox's Dry Creek royalty, and the key
permitting approvals at Pitombeiras and Bulong serve to de-risk
anticipated 2022 royalty revenue. The Vox team is excited that its
royalty portfolio continues to generate an increasing number of
catalysts that should benefit the Company and its
shareholders."
Summary of Development and Exploration Updates
- Processing plant expansion from 1.4Mtpa to 2.5Mtpa at the
Higginsville gold mine by Karora;
- Trial mining license granted to Jangada for the Pitombeiras
vanadium-iron ore project;
- Kookynie gold projects – continued exploration success at the
Puzzle North discovery by Genesis and bonanza drilling grades at
the McTavish deposit by Metalicity; and
- Major milestone achievements at Kal East Gold Project by Black
Cat, which include Bulong royalty-linked deposits.
Higginsville (Producing) – Significant Expansion Plans for
Processing Plant
- Vox holds a price-linked production royalty(1) that
is equal to A$0.60/gram of gold
produced at current gold prices (effective 0.85% net smelter return
royalty economics) on part of the Higginsville gold mine held by
Karora, covering part of the Hidden Secret, Mousehollow and
Paleochannels deposits; and
- On June 28, 2021, Karora
announced:
-
- Phase 1 expansion plans of the Higginsville mill from 1.4
million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa") to 1.6Mtpa, for a modest
capital expenditure of approximately A$3M;
- Phase 2 expansion plans to increase the throughput rate to
2.5Mtpa by 2024, with a total capital expenditure of A$50M; and
- Once completed, the mill expansion would provide optionality to
blend Paleochannel material with material from Karora's other
operating mines.
- Vox Management Summary: This processing plant expansion
presents volume upside for ongoing Higginsville royalty revenues
from the Hidden Secret and Mousehollow deposits and unlocks future
value through mine life extension from blending of royalty-linked
ore from the Paleochannels deposits.
Pitombeiras (PEA Stage) – Trial Mining License
Granted
- Vox holds a 1% net smelter return royalty over the Pitombeiras
vanadium-iron ore project; and
- On June 28, 2021, Jangada
announced that the Brazilian National Mining Agency has granted a
trial mining license for the Pitombeiras project. The trial mining
license allows for the extraction of up to 300,000 tonnes of
Ferrovanadium bearing material per year from Jangada's exploration
licenses with the purpose of continuing to evaluate the technical
aspects and economic benefits of the project.
- Vox Management Summary: The granting of the trial mining
license for Pitombeiras is a material pre-production permitting
milestone. An updated Pitombeiras PEA (expected in Q3 2021) will
provide guidance for potential royalty revenue that could commence
as early as Q1 2022, based on prior guidance from Jangada.
Kookynie (Pre-Feasibility) – Outstanding Exploration Results
and Expanded Drilling Program
- Vox holds a A$1/t production
royalty on part of the Kookynie gold project(2);
- On July 1, 2021, Genesis
announced that:
-
- Reverse circulation drilling continues to confirm the potential
to grow all key deposits which form the Ulysses Gold Project,
including the royalty-linked Puzzle North deposit;
- Further outstanding results received from the Puzzle North
discovery includes significant new shallow results;
-
- 69m @ 2.59g/t Au from
21m (21USRC919)
- 8m @ 6.30g/t Au from 139m (21USRC913)
- 27m @ 1.33g/t Au from
83m (21USRC922)
- A 7,500m drill program is planned
at Puzzle North and Puzzle (both royalty-linked) over the next
three months to in-fill and extend the known mineralisation;
and
- Management of Genesis commented that:
-
- "The Ulysses Project is now moving into a really exciting
phase of growth as our exploration drilling advances on multiple
fronts. The Puzzle North area in particular has emerged as an
exciting new discovery, with wide zones of shallow mineralisation
encountered over a significant strike length."
- "Drilling re-commenced at Puzzle North last week with both
RC and diamond drilling to be completed in enough detail to allow
an initial Mineral Resource Estimate as soon as possible. The
program has been substantially expanded from 3,000m to 7,500m
due to the huge upside we see at Puzzle North and in the broader
Puzzle area."
- Vox Management Summary: The consistency of the drilling
success at Puzzle North is very exciting. This exploration royalty
is being fast-tracked up the development curve towards production,
with an initial resource estimate for Puzzle North being
aggressively prioritised. These royalty-linked Puzzle North
deposits have strong potential to be included in Genesis' Ulysses
feasibility study over the coming ~12 months.
Kookynie (Advanced Exploration) – High Grade Drill
Results
- Vox holds a A$1/t ore production
royalty (with gold grade escalator(2)) on part of the
Kookynie gold project held by Metalicity;
- On July 8, 2021, Metalicity
announced that:
-
- Final assays from recent drilling at the McTavish prospect has
returned some of the best high-grade results at the project to
date, including:
-
- 5m @ 25.9 g/t from 28m (McTRC0049) including:
-
- 3m @ 41.5 g/t from 30m, and
- 1m @ 91.2g/t from 30m;
- 6m @ 20.6 g/t from 19m (McTRC0064) including 4m @ 29.1 g/t from 20m;
- 3m @ 19.1 g/t from 88m (McTRC0044) including 1m @ 52.8 g/t from 89m;
- 4m @ 3.5 g/t from 8m (McTRC0051) including 1m @ 11.4 g/t from 10m;
- Metalicity is planning to prioritise McTavish and the 2km of
untested strike between McTavish and Leipold in its next
exploration efforts and a further 38 holes remain outstanding from
Champion and Cosmopolitan; and
- Once all holes are received and reported, Metalicity intends to
release, in due course, its Maiden JORC 2012 Mineral Resource
Estimate for the Leipold, McTavish and Champion Prospects, which
are all situated on mining leases.
- Vox Management Summary: These bonanza-grade shallow
drilling results of up to 91g/t gold are some of the highest grades
drilled in Australia in 2021,
where most open pit mines are mining grades of 1g/t – 2g/t. We look
forward to the initial resource estimate being released for the
McTavish deposit, particularly since our royalty has a grade-linked
escalator clause, providing revenue upside for high
grades.
Bulong (Pre-Construction) – Major Milestones Achieved at Kal
East Gold Project (incl. Bulong deposits)
- Vox holds a 1% net smelter return royalty over part of the
Bulong gold project;
- On July 8, 2021, Black Cat
announced:
-
- Two recently acquired Outokumpu ball mills were safely
relocated to Kalgoorlie for servicing during the June 2021 quarter, ahead of installation expected
in 2022;
- Approval to develop the underground mine at Majestic has now
been received. This means that the two initial mines (Myhree open
cut and Majestic underground) are on schedule for initial
development in mid-2022;
- Approval received for the construction of the processing
facility at the Majestic Mining Centre;
- Drilling activities are continuing with two RC rigs and one
diamond drill rig on site; and
- 10,000m of drilling is planned
for the royalty-linked Myhree deposit in the second half of 2021,
as announced by Black Cat on July 14,
2021
- Vox Management Summary: These permitting approvals and the
relocation of the key processing infrastructure indicate strong
potential for first royalty revenue from Bulong in 2022. The
expanded drilling program at Myhree and regionally around Bulong
also indicate upside to the current royalty-linked resource. The
next 12 months are likely to be transformational for this Bulong
royalty asset.
Qualified Person
Timothy J. Strong, MIMMM, of
Kangari Consulting Limited and a "Qualified Person" under National
Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and
technical disclosure contained in this press release.
About Vox
Vox is a high growth precious metals royalty and streaming
company with a portfolio of over 50 royalties and streams spanning
nine jurisdictions. The Company was established in 2014 and has
since built unique intellectual property, a technically focused
transactional team and a global sourcing network which has allowed
Vox to become the fastest growing company in the royalty sector.
Since the beginning of 2019, Vox has announced over 20 separate
transactions to acquire over 45 royalties.
Further information on Vox can be found at
www.voxroyalty.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking
statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with
respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections,
objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but
not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not
expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate"
"plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions,
events or results " may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be
taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact
and may be "forward-looking statements".
The forward-looking statements and information in this press
release include, but are not limited to, summaries of
operator updates provided by management and the potential impact on
the Company of such operator updates, statements regarding
expectations for the timing of commencement of resource production
from various mining projects, expectations regarding the size,
quality and exploitability of the resources at various mining
projects, future operations and work programs of Vox's mining
operator partners and future royalty payments derived from various
royalty assets of Vox.
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 statements and information are subject to various
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond
the ability of Vox to control or predict, that may cause Vox's
actual results, performance or achievements to be materially
different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are
developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and
other factors set out herein, 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 the mining operations from which Vox will receive
royalties, including risks related to international operations,
government relations and environmental regulation, the inherent
risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral
properties; the uncertainties involved in interpreting exploration
data; the potential for delays in exploration or development
activities; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits;
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the possibility that future
exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent
with Vox's expectations; accidents, equipment breakdowns, title
matters, labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or
interruptions in operations; fluctuating metal prices;
unanticipated costs and expenses; uncertainties relating to the
availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the
inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the
potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price
fluctuations; currency fluctuations; regulatory restrictions,
including environmental regulatory restrictions; liability,
competition, loss of key employees and other related risks and
uncertainties.
Vox has assumed that the material factors referred to in the
previous paragraph will not cause such forward looking statements
and information to differ materially from actual results or events.
However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject
to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will
reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The
forward-looking information contained in this press release
represents the expectations of Vox as of the date of this press
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. While Vox may elect to, it does not undertake to update
this information at any particular time except as required in
accordance with applicable laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Technical and Third-Party Information
Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this press
release is based on information publicly disclosed by project
operators based on the information/data available in the public
domain as at the date hereof and none of this information has been
independently verified by Vox. Specifically, as a royalty investor,
Vox has limited, if any, access to the royalty operations. Although
Vox does not have any knowledge that such information may not be
accurate, there can be no assurance that such information from the
project operators is complete or accurate. Some information
publicly reported by the project operators may relate to a larger
property than the area covered by Vox's royalty interests. Vox's
royalty interests often cover less than 100% and sometimes only a
portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral
resources and production of a property.
Technical References & Notes:
(1)
|
The Dry Creek royalty
rate is A$0.12 per gram of gold per dry metric tonne of royalty
ore, which is defined as mineralised material mined from the
applicable tenements which contains an average grade greater than 1
gram of gold per dry metric tonne and not classified as waste or
low grade, and the royalty is adjusted monthly as
follows:
|
|
a.
|
Royalty rate per gram
of gold = A$0.12 x (price of gold per gram at Perth Mint /
A$14).
|
|
b.
|
At the April 2021
average gold price of A$2,277.51/ounce the effective royalty rate
for April 2021 was A$0.63/gram gold per tonne of ore treated. For
example, for royalty ore mined at a grade of 2.0g/t the effective
royalty rate would be A$1.26/tonne of ore treated. The Dry Creek
royalty economics are approximately equivalent to those of a 0.85%
net smelter return royalty.
|
(2)
|
Kookynie Royalty is
split in two separate terms:
|
|
a.
|
Kookynie (Melita)
Royalty – which covers the Puzzle Deposit: A$1/t production royalty
>650Kt cumulative ore mined and treated
|
|
b.
|
Kookynie
(Consolidated Gold) Royalty – which covers the Puzzle North
Discovery: A$1/tonne (for each Ore Reserve with a gold grade <=
5g/t Au), for grades > 5g/t Au royalty = ((Ore grade per Tonne –
5) x 0.5)+1)
|
SOURCE Vox Royalty Corp.