Mako Mining Provides Operating Results for August
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595 Burrard Street, Suite 2833
Vancouver, BC V7X 1K8
Tel: (604) 646-1580
www.makominingcorp.com
TSX-V: MKO | OTCQX: MAKOF
September 14, 2021
TSX-V: MKO; OTCQX: MAKOF
Mako Mining Provides Operating Results for August
Mako Mining Corp. (TSX-V: MKO; OTCQX: MAKOF) (“Mako” or the “Company” ) is pleased to provide an
operating update from its San Albino gold mine (“San Albino”) in northern Nicaragua.
All components of the 500 tonne s per day (“tpd”) gravity and carbon-in-leach processing plant have been fully
operational since the beginning of May 2021 . Since May 12 th, when the processing of high-grade mineralization
began, the plant has been averaging 432 tpd at 80% availability (see Table 2). Since this time, the plant has been
processing 71% high-grade diluted vein material and 29% historical dump and other mineralized material with a
blended average grade of 9.81 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold and recovering an average of 94.9% (see Table 2).
Since May 12th, an average of 578 tpd of diluted vein, historical dump material and other mineralized material above
cutoff grade have been mined, with a strip ratio of 15.4 (see Table 2). The stockpile is now approximately 123,000
tonnes and is comprised of 3,522 tonnes of diluted vein material at 5.88 g/t gold and 119,478 tonnes of historical
dump and other mineralized material at 2.45 g/t gold for a total of 10,087 ounces of gold (see Table 3).
Since May 12th, 11,577 ounces of gold have been recovered and 8,603 ounces of gold have been shipped (see Table
2). The variance of approximately 3,000 ounces of gold is a combination of unprocessed gravity concentrates, gold
in process throughout the plant, and timing of gold pours. The buildup of inventory is typical during startup and
inventory levels have started stabilizing since July.
For accounting purposes, Mako declared commercial production effective July 1, 2021.
The Company’s cash balance materially improved since the start of May and commencement of debt repayment has
begun, including the refinancing of US$8 million (see press release dated August 30, 2021). The Company has also
begun to increase its exploration expenditures with the addition of three rigs, bringing the total to five rigs for a
60,000-meter drilling program over the next twelve months . Importantly, all of Mako’s exploration activities are
being funded through operating cash flow (see Table 1).
Towards the end of August, more than 50% of the diluted vein material has been coming from the Porcelana Zone
and the Company has continued to blend diluted vein material with historical dump material and other mineralized
material above cutoff grade . Looking forward, the Porcelana Zone, which has the highest grade-thickness profile
encountered at San Albino, is expected to make up the majority of the diluted vein tonnes for the foreseeable future.
August plant throughput of 426 tpd (see Table 2) continues to be impacted by labor availability issues that have
persisted over the past three months. The Company has implemented an aggressive recruitment campaign and
adjusted salaries where appropriate to mitigate these issues and expects to reach nameplate capacity of 500 tpd as
newly hired employees gain additional training and experience.
Plant adjustments to mitigate timber from historical underground workings making its way into the plant appear to
be working and recoveries do not appear to have been affected.
Up until now, the gravity circuit was only operational for short periods of time to reduce the need for additional fresh
water coming into the plant. The Knelson concentrator requires a significant amount of clean water to run properly,
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and the Company wanted to maintain a neutral water balance during the current rainy season, which ends in October.
Adjustments were made to the filter press and various pumps throughout the plant such that reliably clean process
water is now available from the tailings filter press. The gravity circuit can now be operated continuously and is
expected to improve recoveries and reduce processing costs of the high -grade mineralization coming from the
Porcelana Zone.
Akiba Leisman, Chief Executive Officer of Mako states that, “this operating update continues to highlight the high
grades being mined and processed at San Albino , especially the increase in both tonnes and grade of diluted vein
material mined in August as the Porcelana Zone is opened up. Furthermore, the consistent cash flow being generated
at San Albino is allowing the Company to continue repaying debt, fund an aggressive exploration program and
accelerate plans for the return of capital to shareholders.”
Table 1 – Monthly Financial Snapshot of Operations
The table below is being furnished by management to provide investors with a useful snapshot of the revenue and
Adjusted Operating Expenses at San Albino . Adjusted Operating Expenses is a non-IFRS financial measure that
excludes depletion and depreciation that will be included in the next comparable financial measure disclosed in the
Company’s financial statements. Revenue also represents pre-production revenue in the months of May and June of
2021 that were capitalized as mineral property, plant and equi pment in the most comparable set of financial
statements. The non-IFRS financial measures are not a standardized financial measure under IFRS and might not be
comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers.
(amounts in millions) Units May* June July August
Revenue US$ $1.6 $3.2 $5.3 $5.2
Adjusted Operating Expenses US$ $1.3 $1.6 $2.0 $1.9
* Represents the period from May 12-31, 2021.
Table 2 – Monthly Operating Statistics
Units May* June July August Since May 12th
Mined
Diluted Vein
Tonnes t 1,701 2,856 3,060 4,709 12,326
Gold Grade g/t 12.54 11.28 14.10 15.53 13.78
Contained Gold oz 686 1,036 1,387 2,351 5,459
Historical Dump + Other**
Tonnes t 11,235 14,028 12,476 14,685 52,424
Gold Grade g/t 2.57 2.57 2.82 2.74 2.68
Contained Gold oz 929 1,159 1,130 1,295 4,514
Waste
Tonnes t 171,150 273,357 295,535 258,744 998,786
Strip Ratio w:o 13.2 16.2 19.0 13.3 15.4
Milled
Tonnes t 4,644 11,602 10,914 11,517 38,677
Gold Grade g/t 18.29 10.21 8.51 7.21 9.81
Contained Gold oz 2,731 3,808 2,986 2,670 12,196
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Availability % 50% 86% 86% 87% 80%
Days d 20 30 31 31 112
Average Tonnes per Day t 469 451 407 426 432
Diluted Vein % 100% 100% 76% 36% 71%
Historical Dump + Other** % 0% 0% 24% 64% 29%
Recovered
Recoveries % 97.8% 95.3% 94.3% 92.2% 94.9%
Gold Recovered oz 2,671 3,629 2,816 2,461 11,577
Gold to Tailings oz 60 179 170 209 619
Gold Shipped oz 899 2,607 2,884 2,213 8,603
Gold Sold oz 842 1,744 2,958 2,921 8,465
* Represents the period from May 12-31, 2021.
** Includes historical dump, hanging wall, foot wall, historical muck and all other non-vein mineralized material above cutoff grade.
Table 3 – Month End Stockpile Statistics
Units May June July August
Diluted Vein*
Tonnes t 17,120 10,354 5,139 3,522
Gold Grade g/t 11.94 11.41 9.23 5.88
Contained Gold oz 6,572 3,799 1,526 666
Historical Dump + Other**
Tonnes t 92,366 106,394 116,028 119,478
Gold Grade g/t 2.48 2.49 2.51 2.45
Contained Gold oz 7,368 8,528 9,372 9,422
Stockpile Total
Tonnes t 109,486 116,748 121,167 123,000
Gold Grade g/t 3.96 3.29 2.80 2.55
Contained Gold oz 13,940 12,327 10,898 10,087
* Includes stockpiles of mineralized material at the crusher.
** Includes historical dump, hanging wall, foot wall, historical muck and all other non-vein mineralized material
above cutoff grade.
Qualified Person
John Rust, a metallurgical engineer and qualified person (as defined under NI 43 -101) has read and approved the
technical information contained in this press release. Mr. Rust is a senior metallurgist and a consultant to the
Company.
On behalf of the Board,
Akiba Leisman
Chief Executive Officer
About Mako
Mako Mining Corp. is a publicly listed gold mining, development and exploration company. The Company operates
the high-grade San Albino gold mine in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua, which ranks as one of the highest-grade open pit
gold mines globally . Mako’s pr imary objective is to ope rate San Albino profitably and fund exploration of
prospective targets on its district-scale land package.
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For further information: Mako Mining Corp., Akiba Leisman, Chief Executive Officer, Telephone: 203-862-7059,
E-mail: [email protected] or visit our website at www.makominingcorp.com and SEDAR
www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking Information: Some of the statements contained herein may be considered “forward -looking information”
within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information can be identified by words such as, without
limitation, “estimate", "project", "bel ieve", "anticipate", "intend", "expect", "plan", "predict", "may" or "should" or variations
thereon or comparable terminology. The forward-looking information contained herein reflects the Company’s current beliefs
and expectations, based on management’s reasonable assumptions, and includes, without limitation, that the Porcelana Zone, is
expected to make up the majority of the diluted vein tonnes for the foreseeable future that the Company expects to reach
nameplate capacity of 500 tpd as newly hired employees gain additional training and experience; that the gravity circuit, which
can now be operated continuously, is expected to improve recoveries and reduce processing costs of the high -grade
mineralization coming from the Porcelana Zone; the expected return of capital to shareholders; the Company’s drill program
over the next 12 months; that Mako will meet its objective to operate San Albino profitably and fund exploration of prospective
targets on its district -scale land package . Such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including,
without limitation, changes in the Company’s exploration and development plans and parameters; unanticipated costs; that the
Company’s cash flow generation is weaker than expected and inhibits the Company’s ability to repay its debts or pursue its
increased exploration program; and other risks and uncertainties as disclosed in the Company’s public disclosure filings on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Such information contained herein represents management’s best judgment as of the date hereof,
based on information currently available and is included for the purposes of providing investors with information regarding the
Company’s operational results for August and its plans and expectations for its San Albino mine, and may not be appropriate
for other purposes. Mako does not undertake to update any forward -looking information, except in accordance with applicable
securities laws.
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.