all amounts discussed are denominated in U.S.
dollars unless otherwise stated
THUNDER BAY, ON, Feb. 2, 2021 /CNW/ - Premier Gold Mines
Limited ("Premier") (TSX: PG) (OTCPK: PIRGF) is
pleased to announce that it has filed technical reports ( the
"Report" individually or collectively the "Reports") prepared for
the South Arturo Mine and the McCoy-Cove Project. The Reports may
be found on the Company website or under the Company's profile at
www.sedar.com.
South Arturo
The independent technical report dated January 25, 2021 (effective date December 1, 2020), titled "Preliminary
Feasibility Study for the South Arturo Mine, Elko County, NV" was completed by Practical
Mining LLC. and provides updates to processed tons, strip ratio,
cash costs, AISC, NPV, IRR and payback contained in the Company's
news release issued on January 19,
2021. The finalized highlight financial statistics for the
PFS can be found in Table 1 below as contained in the South Arturo
technical report. Qualified persons for the South Arturo technical
report are Dagny Odell, P.E. Laura
Symmes, SME, and Robert
Raponi, P. Eng.
The PFS was based on the current mineral reserves, utilizing
drilling to November 2019 with a life
of mine plan that includes the underground El Nino Mine and the
proposed Phase 1 Open Pit. Mineral Reserves are reported only for
material amenable to roasting from the Phase 1 pit and El Niño
underground.
Table 1: PFS
Financial Statistics (*Attributable to Premier)
|
Parameter
|
El Niño UG
|
Phase 1
Pit
|
Combined
|
Gold price - base
case ($/oz)
|
$1,400
|
$1,400
|
$1,400
|
Silver price - base
case ($/oz)
|
$15
|
$15
|
$15
|
Mine life
(years)
|
2.0
|
18
|
18
|
Mining Rate
(tons/day)
|
600
|
135,000
|
NA
|
Strip Ratio (tons
waste:ton ore)
|
NA
|
11.4
|
NA
|
Processed tons
(ktons)
|
364
|
10,338
|
10,702
|
Average grade (oz/t
Au)
|
0.180
|
0.081
|
0.084
|
Average gold
recovery (roaster %)
|
88.5%
|
80.8%
|
81.4%
|
Average annual gold
production (koz)*
|
12
|
15
|
16
|
Total recovered
gold (koz)*
|
23.5
|
265.6
|
289.1
|
Capital
(m$)*
|
NA
|
$29.7
|
NA
|
Cash cost
($/oz)1
|
$1,028
|
$622
|
$655
|
Processing Costs
($/ton)
|
19.66
|
20.22
|
20.20
|
All-in sustaining
cost ($/oz)1
|
$1,066
|
$845
|
$863
|
Project after-tax
NPV5% (m$)*
|
$7.2
|
$76.4
|
$83.7
|
Project after-tax
IRR
|
NA
|
54%
|
NA
|
Payback
Period
|
NA
|
7.0
|
NA
|
1. Net of
by-product sales
|
McCoy-Cove
The independent technical report dated January 25, 2021 (effective date
January 1, 2021), titled "Preliminary
Economic Assessment for the Cove Project, Lander County, Nevada" was completed by
Practical Mining LLC. and provides detail to the disclosure
contained in the Company's news release issued on January 18, 2021. The qualified persons for the
McCoy-Cove Report are Dagny Odell, P.E. Laura Symmes, SME, and Robert Raponi, P. Eng.
The McCoy-Cove property, located near Battle Mountain, Nevada, is 100% owned by
Premier and includes the Cove Project.
Highlights of the updated PEA results include:
- After-tax NPV5 of $178.0
million, and an after-tax internal rate of return ("IRR") of
36% based on a gold price of $1,400/oz – increasing to NPV5 of $306 million and IRR of 53% at a gold price of
$1,680/oz
- Average operating costs of $215/ton, Cash Cost of $859/oz Au and All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) of
$948/oz Au
- Indicated mineral resources of 1,110,000 tons at 0.316 oz/t
Au and 0.850 oz/t Ag for 351,000 ounces of gold and 943,000 ounces
of silver
- Inferred mineral resources of 4,262,000 tons at 0.317 oz/t
Au and 0.602 oz/t Ag for 1,353,000 ounces of gold and 2,565,000
ounces of silver1
- Metallurgical recoveries of 82.5% for gold and 67.1% for
silver
- Gold production of 743,000 ounces during 8-year life of mine
(LOM)
- Average LOM annual gold production of 102,000
ounces
- LOM capital cost of $107.2
million after pre-development costs of $23.9 million
- Mine construction capital of $81.9
million
- After-tax payback period of 4.5 years
1 Based on a gold equivalent cut-off
grade of 0.141 oz/t or 4.83 g/t Au.
|
About Premier & i-80
Premier is a gold producer and respected exploration and
development company with a high-quality portfolio of precious
metals projects in proven, accessible and safe mining jurisdictions
in Canada, the United States and Mexico. On December 16,
2020, Equinox Gold Corp. (TSX: EQX, NYSE American: EQX) and
Premier Gold Mines Limited (TSX: PG, OTCPK: PIRGF) announced that
the companies have entered into a definitive agreement whereby
Equinox Gold will acquire all the outstanding shares of Premier.
Concurrently, Premier will spin-out to its shareholders shares of a
newly created US-focused gold production and development company to
be called i-80 Gold Corp.
Premier remains focused on creating i-80 as a Nevada-focused mining company with an organic
pipeline of assets to achieve mid-tier gold producer status. In
addition to its producing mine, El Nino at South Arturo, Premier is
beginning to plan for future production growth through the
potential addition of the Phases 1 & 3 open pits at South
Arturo, advancing the Pinson underground and open pit opportunities
at the Getchell Project (following completion of the acquisition),
and completing permitting and the underground development plan for
the 100%-owned McCoy-Cove Property.
Qualified Person
Stephen McGibbon, P. Geo.,
Executive Vice President, Corporate and Project Development, for
Premier, is the Qualified Person for the information contained in
this news release, is a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI
43-101 and has approved the technical content of this document.
All abbreviations used in this press release are available by
following this link (click here).
Non-IFRS Measures
The Company has included certain terms and performance measures
commonly used in the mining industry that are not defined under
International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") within this
document. These Non-IFRS measures include but are not limited to
cash cost per ounce sold, all in sustaining cost ("AISC") per ounce
sold. Non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning
prescribed under IFRS, and therefore, they may not be comparable to
similar measures employed by other companies. The data presented is
intended to provide additional information and should not be
considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in
accordance with IFRS. Readers should refer to the Company's
Management Discussion and Analysis under the heading "Non-IFRS
Measures" for a more detailed discussion of how such measures are
calculated.
Certain statements in this release constitute "forward-looking
statements" or "forward-looking information" within the meaning of
applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the
company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or
information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words
such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "expect",
"believe", "plan", "anticipate", "estimate", "scheduled",
"forecast", "predict" and other similar terminology, or state that
certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might"
or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect
the Company's current expectations regarding future events,
performance and results and speak only as of the date of this
release.
Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to
the updated results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment,
Preliminary Feasibility Study and Mineral Resource Estimates on the
Projects, such as future estimates of internal rates of return, net
present value, future production, estimates of cash cost, proposed
mining plans and methods, mine life estimates, cash flow forecasts,
metal recoveries, estimates of capital and operating costs, timing
for permitting and environmental assessments and the size and
timing of phased development of the Project. Furthermore, with
respect to this specific forward-looking information concerning the
development of the Project, the company has based its assumptions
and analysis on certain factors that are inherently uncertain.
Uncertainties include: (i) the adequacy of infrastructure; (ii)
geological characteristics; (iii) metallurgical characteristics of
the mineralization; (iv) the ability to develop adequate processing
capacity; (v) the price of gold and silver; (vi) the availability
of equipment and facilities necessary to complete development;
(vii) the cost of consumables and mining and processing equipment;
(viii) unforeseen technological and engineering problems; (ix)
accidents; * currency fluctuations; (xi) changes in regulations;
(xii) the compliance by joint venture partners with terms of
agreements; (xiii) the availability and productivity of skilled
labour; (xiv) the regulation of the mining industry by various
governmental agencies; (xv) the ability to raise sufficient capital
to develop such projects; (xiv) changes in project scope or design;
and (xv) political factors.
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant
risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future
performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate
indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A
number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially
from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or
information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed
below and elsewhere in this release, as well as unexpected changes
in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable
authorities; the failure of parties to contracts with the company
to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity
prices; and the failure of exploration programs or studies to
deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and
support continued exploration, studies, development or
operations.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this
release are based upon what management of the company believes are
reasonable assumptions, the company cannot assure investors that
actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the
date of this release and are expressly qualified in their entirety
by this cautionary statement. Except as required under applicable
securities laws, the company does not assume any obligation to
update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to
reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this
release.
The Company's actual results could differ materially from those
anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the
factors described herein and set out in the "Risks and Risk
Management" section in the company's Q3 2020 MD&A and under the
heading "Risk Factors" in its current annual information form.
SOURCE Premier Gold Mines Limited