Empress Royalty Provides Investment Portfolio Update
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NEWS RELEASE | MAY 2, 202 3 | VANCOUVER , BC
EMPRESS ROYALTY PROVIDES INVESTMENT
PORTFOLIO UPDATE
Empress Royalty Corp. (TSXV:EMPR | OTCQX:EMPYF) (“Empress Royalty” or the “Company”) is
pleased to provide an update on its investment portfolio, pipeline advancements and 2023
catalysts.
“2022 was a pivotal year for Empress , with our two key development projects, Manica and
Tahuehueto, becoming producers, and Sierra Antapite continuing to expand production capacity.
These producing assets are building the foundation for a well -established, revenue-generating
royalty and streaming company, forecasting significant cash -flow and growth in the next five
years, and beyond,” stated Alexandra Woodyer Sherron, CEO and President of Empress Royalty.
“Empress is looking forward to further advancements in 2023, and I am pleased to offer our
investors an update on our pipeline advancements, which include exclusivity on one p otential
opportunity and advancing two other prospective investments. Over the past two years, we have
proven our expertise in providing financing solutions for mining companies, and we will continue
to deploy our capital into viable precious metal projects that will further grow our portfolio, cash
flow and shareholder value.”
SIERRA ANTAPITE GOLD STREAM – Production Expansion in Progress
The Sierra Antapite mine (“ Sierra Antapite”), located in Peru and owned by Sierra Sun Group ,
has delivered over 1,000 oz in gold credits to Empress since the closing of the gold stream in July
2021. Empress owns a US$10M gold stream on 4.5% of the payable gold production at 20% of
the gold spot price , up to 11,000 oz and then continues at 1% of gold production for the life of
the mine. Reports provided by Sierra Sun show that gross mine production, before the Empress
stream, averaged 1,050 oz per month during the first half of 2021 and since the full stream has
been in place, they have increased their production by 32% to an average of ~1,450 oz per month.
This increase from July 2021 to March 2023 is in large part due to the stream proceeds to optimize
the plant and increased underground mine development. Since the investment in July 2021, the
ore tonnes per month have increased by 13%, the gold grades by 12% and metallurgical recovery
by 1% as reported by Sierra Sun.
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Image 1. Photos from Sierra Antapite Mine site visit.
TAHUEHUETO SILVER STREAM – Ramping up Production
Progress continues to be made at the Tahuehueto mine (“Tahuehueto”), owned by Luca Mining
Corp. (“Luca”) (formerly Altaley Mining), with pre-production announced in May 2022 and first
revenue from silver to Empress in July 2022. Empress owns a US$5M silver stream on 100% of
the silver production at 20% of the silver spot price, up to 1.25M oz, and then continues at 20%
of silver production for 10 years. Luca has delivered guidance that Tahuehueto is expected to
reach 500 tpd capacity in the second quarter of 2023 and will be ramping up to 1,000 tpd by the
end of 2023. Luca also reports that the mine is currently producing at 300 tpd and is selling good
quality zinc and lead concentrates (see Luca news release dated January 31, 2023). Luca has
announced the appointment of new management including Mike Struthers as Chief Executive
Officer. A new Construction Manager has also been appointed and the company is looking to
strengthen its operating team further with the appointment of a new site General Manager. On
May 1, 2023, Empress signed an amendment to the agreement that allowed Luca to defer stream
payments until June 2023 to support the construction at Tahuehueto. The Company's 2023
revenue projections remain as forecasted as Luca's restructuring has been disclosed in their press
releases and the potential for delays has been taken into account by the Company's
management.
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Image 2. Photos from Tahuehueto.
MANICA GOLD ROYALTY – Construction Complet e
The Manica gold mine (“Manica” or the “Mine”) has successfully completed its first gold pour in
Q3 2022, and Empress received its first revenue in that same quarter. Empress owns a 3.375%
gold royalty on the Manica gold mine located in Mozambique and operated by Mutapa Mining &
Processing LDA (“ MMP”). Based on reports provided by MMP, Management has continued to
de-risk the mine and plant with production increasing month over month, including through the
rainy season in the fourth quarter of 2022 and first quarter of 2023. Gross mine production has
grown from 460 oz in July 2022 to 1,670 oz in March 2023, an increase of ~260%. MMP reports
the plant is largely considered completed and the open pit operation continues to be de -risked.
Grade control efforts are leading to a stable feed grade and the plant is averaging a metallurgical
recovery of 88% in March 2023 as compared to 85% in the second half of 2022 as reported by
MMP. Current throughput and grade provide further room for material growth in production for
the longer-term, and as such, management expects continued increases in production, revenue,
and revenue attributable to the royalty.
Image 3. Photos from Manica mine site visit.
INVESTMENT PIPELINE ADVANCEMENTS
The Company is in advanced discussions on three potential investments in its pipeline, with
executed exclusivity agreements on one of those investments. Third party due diligence is being
conducted and Empress looks forward to providing shareholders with further updates as
discussions advance.
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QUALIFIED PERSON
Technical information in this news release originates in the public disclosure set out above and has
been reviewed and approved by Richard Mazur, P.Geo. , a Qualified Person as defined in National
Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
ABOUT EMPRESS ROYALTY CORP.
Empress is a global royalty and streaming creation company providing investors with a diversified
portfolio of gold and silver investments. Since listing in December 2020, Empress has built a
portfolio of precious metal investments and is actively investi ng in mining companies with
development and production stage projects who require additional non -dilutive capital. The
Company has strategic partnerships with Endeavour Financial and Terra Capital which allow
Empress to not only access global investment opportunities but also bring unique mining finance
expertise, deal structuring and access to capital markets. Empress is looking forward to
continuously creating value for its shareholders through the proven royalty and streaming
models.
ON BEHALF OF EMPR ESS ROYALTY CORP.
Per: Alexandra Woodyer Sherron, CEO and President
For further information, please visit our website at www.empressroyalty.com or contact Kaitlin
Taylor, Investor Communications, by email at [email protected] or by phone at
+1.604.331.2080.
The information contained herein includes “forward -looking statements” and “forward looking information” as
defined under applicable Canadian securities laws (“forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements and
information can generally be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", “should”, "expect", "intend",
“estimate” ,”continue”, "believe", "plans", "anticipate" or similar terms.
Forward-looking information and statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the activities,
events or developments that Empress Royalty Corp. ("Empress" or the "Company") expects or anticipates will or may
occur in the future, including those regarding future growth and ability to create new streams or royalties, the
development and focus of the Company , its acquisition strategy, the plans and expectations of the operators of the
projects underlying its intere sts, including the proposed advancement and expansion of such projects; the results of
exploration, development and production activities of the operators of such projects; and the Company's expectations
regarding future revenues.
Forward-looking informati on and statements are based on the then current expectations, beliefs, assumptions,
estimates and forecasts about Empress’s business and the industry and markets in which it operates. Forward-
looking information and statements are made based upon numerous assumptions and although the assumptions
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made by the Company in providing forward -looking information and statements are considered reasonable by
management at the time, there can be no assurance that such assumptions will prove to be accurate. Forward-
looking information and statements also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, which
may cause actual results, performances and achievements of Empress to differ materially from any projections of
results, performances and achi evements of Empress including, without limitation, any inability of the operators of
the properties underlying the Company’s royalty and stream interests to execute proposed plans for such properties
or to achieve planned development and production estimates and goals, risks related to the operators of the projects
in which the Company holds interests, including the successful continuation of operations at such projects by those
operators, risks related to exploration, development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on
any such projects, risks related to international operations, government relations and environmental regulation,
uncertainty relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future and the Company’s ability to carry
out its growth plans as well as the impact of the COVID -19 pandemic and other related risks and uncertainties. For
a discussion of important factors which could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements, refer to
the annual information form of Empress Royalty Corp. for the year ended December 31, 2021 and its other publicly
filed documents under its profile at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward -looking information
and statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There
can be no assurance that forward -looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should
not place undue reliance on forward-looking information and statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to
update or reissue forward -looking information as a result of new information or events except as required by
applicable securities laws. Disclosur e relating to properties in which Empress holds royalty or stream interests is
based on information publicly disclosed by the owners or operators of such properties. The Company generally has
limited or no access to the properties underlying its interests and is largely dependent on the disclosure of the
operators of its interests and other publicly available information. The Company generally has limited or no ability
to 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. In addition, certain
information publicly reported by operators may relate to a larger property than the area covered by the Company’s
interest, which often may only apply to a portion of the overall project area or applicable mineral resources or
reserves.