Freeman Announces Post-Tax NPV5% of US$648 Million Using US$2,900 GOLD Price FOR the Lemhi GOLD Project
FREEMAN ANNOUNCES POST-TAX NPV5% of
US$648 MILLION USING US$2,900 GOLD
PRICE FOR THE LEMHI GOLD PROJECT
LOCATED IN IDAHO, USA
VANCOUVER, BC
,
April 9, 2025
/CNW/ - Freeman Gold Corp. (TSXV: FMAN) (OTCQB: FMANF)
(FSE: 3WU) ("
Freeman
" or the "
Company
") is pleased to announce the results of its updated price
sensitivity analysis using current market prices completed by Ausenco Engineering Canada ULC
("
Ausenco
") and Moose Mountain Technical Services ("
MMTS
"). Updating the pricing used in the
October 16, 2023
initial Preliminary Economic Assessment ("
PEA
") at a base case of
US$2,200
/oz
gold price, based on current long-term consensus forecasts, results in a post-tax Net Present Value
("
NPV
")
5%
of
US$329 million
, a post-tax internal rate of return ("
IRR
") of 28.2% and a payback of
2.9 years. This analysis quantifies the strong leverage to gold and is a marked improvement over the
original base case of
US$1,750
/oz gold price resulting in a post-tax NPV
5%
of
US$212 million
, a
post-tax IRR of 22.8% and a payback of 3.6 years. The updated price analysis demonstrates that
the Lemhi Gold Project's economics remain strong with significant leverage to the current spot price
of
US$2,900
/oz which results in a post-tax NPV
5%
of
US$648 million
, post-tax IRR of 45.9% and a
payback of 2.1 years. Figure 1 summarizes the various post-tax NPV
5%
for gold prices ranging from
US$1,750
/oz to
US$3,400
/oz.
Figure 1: Post-Tax NPV5% at Various Gold Prices (CNW Group/Freeman Gold Corp.)
"Significant changes in gold prices over the last 18 months motivated Freeman's reassessment of its
initial PEA model over a more fulsome range of scenarios. Using the current spot gold price,
the Lemhi Gold Project will have an approximate
US$1,871
/oz cash margin using the updated all in
sustaining cost ("
AISC
") of
US$1,105
/oz with significant additional upside at higher prices. The Lemhi
Gold Project remains a low capital expenditure ("
CAPEX
"), low-cost project that is profitable across
a range of prices and development options," commented Bassam Moubarak, the Company's Chief
Executive Officer. "Furthermore, this updated economic analysis using a
US$2,200
/oz gold base
case further solidifies the after-tax NPV (5%) at
US$329 million
, a post-tax IRR of 28.2% and
reduces the payback to 2.9 years."
Updated Economic Analysis
The updated Economic Analysis is based on the production and mining profile used in the 2023 PEA.
Table 1 provides a summary of the production profile along with the updated project price
economics.
Table 1: Updated Economic Analysis Summary
General
Unit
Life-of-Mine ("LOM")
Total/Avg.
Gold Price
US$/oz
2,200
Mine Life
years
11.2
Total Waste Tonnes Mined
kt
121,903
Total Mill Feed Tonnes
kt
31,128
Production
Unit
LOM Total/Avg.
Strip Ratio
waste: mineralized rock
3.9
Mill Head Grade
g/t
0.88
Mill Recovery Rate
%
96.7
Total Payable Mill Ounces Recovered
koz
851.9
Total Average Annual Payable Production
koz
75.9
Operating Costs
Unit
LOM Total/Avg.
Mining Cost (incl. rehandle)
US$/t mined
2.96
Mining Cost (incl. rehandle)
US$/t milled
13.49
Processing Cost
US$/t milled
10.91
General & Administrative Cost
US$/t milled
1.14
Total Operating Costs
US$/t milled
25.54
Treatment & Refining Cost
US$/oz
4.3
Net Smelter Royalty
%
1
Cash Costs
1
US$/oz Au
925
All-In Sustaining Costs
2
US$/oz Au
1,105
Capital Costs
Unit
LOM Total/Avg.
Initial Capital
US$M
215
Expansion Capital
3
US$M
6.5
Sustaining Capital
US$M
105
Closure Costs
US$M
33
Salvage Value
US$M
14
Financials – Pre-Tax
Unit
LOM Total/Avg.
Net Present Value (5%)
US$M
453
Internal Rate of Return
%
33.2
Payback
years
2.7
Financials – Post-Tax
Unit
LOM Total/Avg.
Net Present Value (5%)
US$M
329
Internal Rate of Return
%
28.2
Payback
years
2.9
Notes:
1. Cash costs consist of mining costs, processing costs, mine-level G&A and treatment and refining charges.
2. All-in sustaining costs include cash costs plus royalties, sustaining capital and closure costs.
3.
Expansion of mill from 2.5 million tonnes per annum ("
Mtpa
") to 3 Mtpa in year 5 of operation
Capital & Operating Costs
The updated capital cost estimate conforms to Class 5 guidelines for a PEA-level estimate accuracy
according to the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International. The capital cost
estimate was developed in Q1 2025 United States dollars based on Ausenco's in-house database of
projects and studies, as well as experience from similar operations and escalation of costs from
2023 PEA.
The updated estimate includes open pit mining, processing, on-site infrastructure, tailings and waste
rock facilities, off-site infrastructure, project indirect costs, project delivery, owner's costs, and
contingency. The updated capital cost summary is presented in Table 2. The updated total initial
capital cost for the Lemhi Project is
US$214.9 million
; and life-of-mine sustaining costs are
US$104.8 million
. The updated cost of expansion in the fifth year of production is estimated at
US$6.5 million
. Updated Closure costs are estimated at
US$32.6 million
, with salvage credits of
US$13.9 million
.
Table 2: Updated Summary of Capital Cost
Work
Breakdown
Structure
WBS Description
Initial
Capital
Cost
(US$M)
Sustaining
Capital Cost
LOM
(US$M)
Expansion
Cost
(US$M)
Total Capital
Cost LOM
(US$M)
1000
Mine
52.0
63.0
2.2
117.2
3000
Process Plant
73.5
1.7
2.7
77.9
4000
Tailings
10.7
39.9
–
50.6
5000
On-Site Infrastructure
20.2
0.2
–
20.4
6000
Off-Site Infrastructure
2.5
–
–
2.5
Total Directs
158.9
104.8
4.9
268.6
7100
Field Indirects
6.9
–
0.2
7.1
7200
Project Delivery
12.8
–
0.3
13.1
7500
Spares + First Fills
3.2
–
0.2
3.4
8000
Owner's Cost
4.2
–
–
4.2
Total Indirects
27.1
–
0.7
27.8
9000
Contingency
28.9
–
0.9
29.8
Project Total
214.9
104.8
6.5
326.2
Sensitivity Analysis
A sensitivity analysis was conducted on the base case post-tax NPV
5%
and IRR of the project using
the following variables: gold price, operating costs, and initial capital costs. Table 3 summarizes the
post-tax sensitivity analysis results.
Table 3: Post-Tax Sensitivity Analysis
Post-Tax NPV
5%
Sensitivity To Opex
Post-Tax IRR Sensitivity To Opex
Gold Price (US$/oz)
Gold Price (US$/oz)
#VALUE!
$1,600
$1,750
$2,200
$2,600
$3,400
Opex
#VALUE!
$1,600
$1,750
$2,200
$2,600
$3,400
(20.0 %)
141
210
415
597
962
(20.0 %)
16.0 %
20.7 %
33.3 %
43.3 %
61.7 %
(10.0 %)
97
166
372
554
919
(10.0 %)
12.8 %
17.8 %
30.8 %
40.9 %
59.6 %
--
53
123
329
511
876
--
9.4 %
14.7 %
28.2 %
38.6 %
57.4 %
10.0 %
9
79
286
468
833
10.0 %
5.7 %
11.4 %
25.5 %
36.2 %
55.3 %
20.0 %
-36
35
242
425
790
20.0 %
1.9 %
7.9 %
22.7 %
33.7 %
53.1 %
Post-Tax NPV Sensitivity To Initial Capex
Post-Tax IRR Sensitivity To Initial Capex
Gold Price (US$/oz)
Gold Price (US$/oz)
#VALUE!
$1,600
$1,750
$2,200
$2,600
$3,400
Initial Capex
#VALUE!
$1,600
$1,750
$2,200
$2,600
$3,400
(20.0 %)
97
166
373
555
919
(20.0 %)
14.2 %
20.3 %
36.1 %
48.3 %
70.9 %
(10.0 %)
75
145
351
533
898
(10.0 %)
11.6 %
17.3 %
31.8 %
43.0 %
63.5 %
--
53
123
329
511
876
--
9.4 %
14.7 %
28.2 %
38.6 %
57.4 %
10.0 %
31
101
307
490
854
10.0 %
7.4 %
12.5 %
25.2 %
34.9 %
52.4 %
20.0 %
10
79
285
468
832
20.0 %
5.7 %
10.5 %
22.6 %
31.7 %
48.2 %
Qualified Persons and Technical Disclosure
A team of Independent Qualified Persons (as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101
("
NI 43-101
)) at Ausenco and MMTS led the price sensitivity analysis and has reviewed and verified
the technical disclosure in this press release. The team of Independent Qualified Persons, includes:
Kevin Murray
, P.Eng., an independent Qualified Person at Ausenco, reviewed and verified the
process and infrastructure capital and operating cost estimation, and project financials; and
Marc Schulte
, P.Eng., an independent Qualified Person at MMTS, reviewed and verified the
mine planning and cost estimation.
The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and verified by
Dean
Besserer
, P.Geo., Vice-President of Exploration of the Company and Qualified Person as defined in
NI 43-101.
The updated sensitivity analysis in respect of the PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred
mineral resources considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations
applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no
certainty that the PEA will be realized. For a discussion on the basis and the qualifications and
assumptions of the sensitivity analysis, please see the PEA entitled "Lemhi Gold Project, NI 43-101
Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment" dated with an effective date of
October
13, 2023
, and available on SEDAR+ (
www.sedarplus.ca
) and the Company's website (
www.freemangoldcorp.com
).
About the Company and Project
Freeman Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the development of its 100%
owned Lemhi Gold property. The Lemhi Gold Project comprises 30 square kilometres of highly
prospective land, hosting a near-surface oxide gold resource. The pit constrained NI 43-101
compliant mineral resource estimate is comprised of 988,100 ounces gold ("
oz Au
") at 1.0 gram per
tonne ("
g/t
") in 30.02 million tonnes (Measured & Indicated) and 256,000 oz Au at 1.04 g/t Au in
7.63 million tonnes (Inferred). The Company is focused on growing and advancing the Lemhi Gold
Project towards a production decision. To date, 525 drill holes and
92,696 m
of drilling has
historically been completed.
The recently updated price sensitivity analysis shows a PEA with an after-tax net present value (5%)
of
US$329 million
and an internal rate of return of 28.2% using a base case gold price of
US$2,200
/oz; Average annual gold production of 75,900 oz Au for a total life-of-mine of 11.2 years
payable output of 851,900 oz Au; life-of-mine cash costs of
US$925
/oz Au; and, all-in sustaining
costs of
US$1,105
/oz Au using an initial capital expenditure of
US$215 million
.
On Behalf of the Company
Bassam Moubarak
Chief Executive Officer
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.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains "forward
looking information or
statements" within the
meaning of Canadian securities laws, which may include, but are not limited
to, all statements related to the PEA, statements relating to exploration, results therefrom, and the
Company's future business plans, and statements regarding the price sensitivity analysis and
impact thereof on the evaluation of the Project's economic potential. All statements in this release,
other than statements of historical facts that address events or developments that the Company
expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that
are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans",
"anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or
that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company
believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may
differ from those in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking information reflects the
Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties, and
assumptions. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the
Canadian Securities Administrators' web-based disclosure system, SEDAR+, at
www.sedarplus.ca
for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. The Company does
not undertake to update forward
looking statements or forward
looking information, except as
required by law.
SOURCE
Freeman Gold Corp.
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For further information:
For further information, please visit the Company's website at
www.freemangoldcorp.com or contact Mr. Bassam Moubarak at by email at
CO: Freeman Gold Corp.
CNW 07:30e 09-APR-25