MONETA DELIVERS POSITIVE PEA FOR TOWER GOLD 261,014 oz Au Average Annual Production for First 11 Years After-Tax $1,066 Million NPV(5%) and 31.7% IRR at US$1,600/oz Au with 24 Year Mine Life $159 Million Average Annual After-Tax Free Cash Flow for First 11 Years of Full Production
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NEWS RELEASE – 20/2022 Symbol: TSX: ME FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONETA DELIVERS POSITIVE PEA FOR TOWER GOLD
261,014 oz Au Average Annual Production for First 11 Years
After-Tax $1,066 Million NPV(5%) and 31.7% IRR at US$1,600/oz Au with 24 Year Mine Life
$159 Million Average Annual After-Tax Free Cash Flow for First 11 Years of Full Production
Toronto, Ontario – September 07, 2022 — Moneta Gold Inc. (TSX:ME) (OTCQX:MEAUF) (XETRA:MOP)
(“Moneta” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce positive results from a P reliminary Economic
Assessment (“PEA”) for the Company’s 100% owned Tower Gold project in Timmins, Ontario. The PEA,
prepared by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. (“Ausenco”) in accordance with National Instrument 43 -
101 (“NI 43 -101”), demonstrates the potential to develop a low -cost 19,200 tonnes per day (“tpd”)
combined open pit and underground mining operation with strong economics and the opportunity for
significant benefit to the Indigenous Nations, local stakeholders, and the Company.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PEA
(All figures are stated in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated)
• Low capital intensity project, with initial capital ("CAPEX") of $517 million for a 7.0 million tonne
per annum (“tpa”) processing plant including mine preproduction, infrastructure (roads, power
line and substation , tailings storage facility, ancillary buildings, and site water management
structures) and $886 million sustaining capital
• After-tax pay-back of 2.6 years and profitability index (NPV/initial capital) of 2.1
• Robust economics with $1,459 million pre-tax Net Present Value at a 5% discount rate (“NPV5%”),
$1,066 million after-tax, and 38.9% pre-tax Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”), 31.7% after-tax; at
US$1,600/oz gold and exchange rate of US$0.78/C$
• Highly leveraged to the gold price with after-tax NPV5% of $1,339 million, 37.8% IRR, and 2.2-year
payback at spot US$1,700 per ounce gold
• $1,932 million cumulative after-tax cash flow
• Mine life of 24 years, with average annual gold production of 261,014 oz in years 1 to 11 (192,666
oz for LOM) for 4,581,000 ounces total gold production LOM
• Peak annual gold production of 368,622 ounces
• Average mill head gold grade of 1.28 grams per tonne (“g/t”) gold (“Au”) in years 1 to 11 (0.94 g/t
Au for LOM)
• Average mill recovery of 91.3% LOM
• Cash cost of US$910 per ounce and all-in sustaining cost (“AISC”) of US$1,073 per ounce gold
• Opportunities to increase production and expand and improve economics of resources
Gary O’Connor, Moneta’s President and Chief Executive Officer commented , “We’re very pleased with
the results of this PEA, which has outlined a strong base-case for a significant and highly profitable new
gold mine in Ontario. Our robust base case at US$1,600 per ounce gold price for the project supports a
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24-year mine life with average annual production of 261,014 ounces of gold for the first 11 years with an
after-tax NPV of $1,066 million and IRR of 31.7%, with very attractive cash costs and AISC, low CAPEX and
low capital intensity . This PEA confirms the potential for a robust gold project with compelling project
economics and represents an important interim update on the progress of our work program at Tower
Gold. In 2022, we will continue to focus on in -fill and definition drilling to better define resources and
improve the economics of the resource through increasing grades and lowering strip ratios , while also
identifying new targets.”
TOWER GOLD PEA OVERVIEW
The PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43 -101 (“NI 43-101”) by Ausenco. The
Company will file the PEA on SEDAR at www.sedar.com in accordance with NI 43-101, and on its website
within 45 days.
Table 1: Summary of Project Economics
General Unit LOM Total / Avg.
Gold price assumption per ounce US$1,600
Exchange rate ($US: $CAD) 0.78
Mine life years 24
Total waste million tonnes 495
Total overburden million tonnes 237
Total mill feed million tonnes 166
Strip ratio (total) waste: mined resource 4.63
Strip ratio (without overburden) waste: mined resource 3.13
Economics (pre-tax)
Net present value (NPV 5%) millions $1,459
Internal rate of return (IRR) % 38.9%
Payback years 2.2
LOM avg. annual cash flow millions $132
LOM cumulative cash flow millions $2,579
Economics (after-tax)
Net present value (NPV 5%) millions $1,066
Internal rate of return (IRR) % 31.7%
Payback years 2.6
LOM avg. annual cash flow millions $105
LOM cumulative cash flow millions $1,932
Profitability index (NPV/initial capital) ratio 2.1
Peak investment millions $517
Production
Mill head grade g/t Au 0.94
Mill head grade (years 1 - 11) g/t Au 1.28
Mill recovery rate (average LOM) % 91.3%
Average annual mining rate tpd 19,178
Average annual gold production ounces 192,666
Average annual gold production (years 1 - 11) ounces 261,014
Peak gold production (year 6) ounces 368,622
Total LOM recovered gold thousand ounces 4,581
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Operating Costs
Mining + Reclaim cost $/t mined $3.7
Mining + Reclaim cost $/t milled $20.8
Processing cost $/t milled $10.1
G&A cost $/t milled $0.9
Total operating costs $/t milled $31.8
Refining & transport cost $/oz $4.7
Royalty NSR (Garrison deposits) % 1.5%
Cash costs* US$/oz $910
AISC** US$/oz $1,073
Capital Costs
Initial capital millions $517
Sustaining capital millions $886
Closure costs millions $78
Salvage value millions $10
Notes
* Cash costs consist of mining costs, processing costs, general & administrative expenses and refining charges and royalties.
** AISC includes cash costs plus sustaining capital, closure cost and salvage value.
The PEA is preliminary in nature, includes inferred mineral resources that are 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. Mineral resources
that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
SENSITIVITIES
A sensitivity analysis was conducted on the base case pre -tax and after-Tax NPV and IRR of the Project,
using the following variables: metal price, initial capex, total operating costs, and foreign exchange. Table
2 summarizes the after-tax sensitivity analysis results at various gold price assumptions.
Table 2: After-Tax Sensitivity Summary
Gold Price $1,350 $1,500 $1,600 $1,700 $1,950
(US$/oz) (Base Case)
After-tax NPV(5%), millions $385 $794 $1,066 $1,339 $2,019
IRR 15.8% 25.6% 31.7% 37.8% 52.0%
Profitability index 0.7x 1.5x 2.1x 2.6x 3.9x
Payback (years) 5.4 4.1 2.6 2.2 1.6
As shown in Table 3 and Table 4, the sensitivity analysis revealed that the project is most sensitive to
changes in gold prices, and foreign exchange and less sensitive to initial capex and operating costs.
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Table 3: After-Tax NPV5% Sensitivity
Gold Price After-Tax NPV(5%) Initial CAPEX Total OPEX FX
(US$/oz) (Base Case) (-10%) (+10%) (-10%) (+10%) (-10%) (+10%)
$1,350 $385 $425 $344 $623 $145 $794 $48
$1,500 $794 $833 $754 $1,032 $555 $1,248 $422
$1,600 $1,066 $1,106 $1,026 $1,304 $828 $1,550 $670
$1,700 $1,339 $1,378 $1,299 $1,577 $1,101 $1,853 $917
$1,950 $2,019 $2,059 $1,980 $2,257 $1,781 $2,609 $1,537
$2,100 $2,427 $2,467 $2,388 $2,665 $2,189 $3,062 $1,908
Table 4: After-Tax IRR Summary
Gold Price After-Tax IRR Initial CAPEX Total OPEX FX
(US$/oz) (Base Case) (-10%) (+10%) (-10%) (+10%) (-10%) (+10%)
$1,350 15.8% 18.2% 13.9% 21.1% 9.6% 25.6% 6.5%
$1,500 25.6% 28.9% 22.9% 30.3% 20.5% 35.8% 16.8%
$1,600 31.7% 35.8% 28.5% 36.3% 27.0% 42.3% 22.7%
$1,700 37.8% 42.3% 34.0% 42.1% 33.2% 48.6% 28.4%
$1,950 52.0% 58.0% 47.1% 56.0% 47.9% 63.9% 42.0%
$2,100 60.3% 67.1% 54.7% 64.1% 56.3% 72.9% 49.7%
MINING
The Tower Gold project will consist of the extraction of two separate areas: Golden Highway and Garrison.
Golden Highway consists of the mineral deposits Westaway, Southwest, 55, and Windjammer, while
Garrison encompasses Garrcon, 903, and Jonpol. The overall strategy is to mine the deposits in two phases
using a combination of open pit and underground mining to achieve a total annual production rate of 7.0
million tonnes.
The mineral resources used in the mine plan are contained in the seven mineral deposits over a length of
12 kilometres and span from surface down to a vertical depth of approximately 1,100 metres (“m”). The
Westaway and South West deposits are characterized by multiple mineral corridors striking NW and dip
sub-vertically and steeply to the west. The deposits have potential for open pit and underground mining.
The Tower Gold project will be extracted with a combination of open pit mining for mineralization closer
to surface, and underground mining for mineralization at depth. The combined output of both mines will
be 166.4 million tonnes (“Mt”) at an average grade of 0.94 g/t Au. The open pit mine will be responsible
for 158.2 Mt at a grade of 0.81 g/t Au over an open pit life of 24 years, while the underground mine will
contribute 8.2 Mt at a grade of 3.42 g/t Au over an underground mine life of 12 years . Table 5, below,
illustrates the mineral deposits each mine will extract.
The underground mine will be accessed through a single portal from surface leading to Westaway and
South West via the main ramp of size 5.5 m width (“W”) x 5.8 m height (“H”) and at a slope gradient of
1:7. The mining method selected is longitudinal sublevel long -hole open stoping with minimum
dimensions of 20 m L x 3 m W x 25 m H. Mineralized material will be extracted by ramp using a fleet of
50 tonne haul trucks at a n average peak mine production rate of 900 ,000 tpa. Paste-fill will be used to
backfill mined stopes.
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Table 5: Mining Areas and Deposits
Mine Area Deposit
Underground Golden Highway Westaway
South West
Open Pit
Golden Highway
55
Westaway
South West
Windjammer
Garrison
Garrcon
903
Jonpol
The Tower Gold project will employ a conventional truck shovel open pit mining method comprising
separate waste and ore equipment fleets to improve on ore selectivity and reduce waste removal costs.
The ore fleet consists of 12 m ³ excavators and 90 tonne trucks while the waste fleet consists of 29 m ³
excavators and 220 tonne trucks. Surfac e mining will extract material from two areas of the property:
Garrison and Golden Highway with Golden Highway providing the bulk of the PEA mine plan.
PROCESSING
The process flowsheet was designed based on metallurgical test-work carried out for both the Garrison
and Golden Highway deposits. Based on a mine to mill analysis, the processing plant capacity was selected
as 7.0 million tpa, or 19,200 tpd.
The process design for the Project consists of:
• Two-stage crushing, consisting of a primary jaw crusher and a secondary cone crusher with screen
classification and material handling equipment.
• Grinding of crushed material to 80% (P80) passing size of 75 μm (micron) with a 9.1 m diameter by
5.2 m length SAG (semi-autogenous grind) mill and an 8.2 m diameter by 12.8 m length ball mill
in closed circuit with hydrocyclones. The SAG mill and ball mill are equipped with 8.0 MW
(megawatt) and twin 9.0 MW motors, respectively.
• A gravity concentration circuit inc luded in the grinding area. Gravity concentrate will feed
intensive cyanidation and will be recovered by electrowinning independently of the primary leach
circuit.
• Leaching and adsorption circuit including two leach tanks and six carbon-in-leach (CIL) tanks, for
a total leach and adsorption circuit retention time of 24 hours which will feed loaded carbon to
twin 9 t carbon elution systems.
• Cyanide destruction using an SO2/air system on the final tailings slurry.
• Final tails from the cyanide destruction circuit will be thickened prior to deposition in either a
management facility or in exhausted open pits. A portion of the tailings will be filtered to produce
paste backfill suitable for use in the underground mine workings.
TAILINGS MANAGEMENT
The tailings management design was completed by Ausenco based on conventional thickened tailings
storage. There are two storage facilities for the project:
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• A wet tailings storage facility which will be utilized in the fir st 6 years of the project (before the
open pits become available for in-pit tailings disposal) and from year 17 to the end of project after
all available open pits have been filled. The design incorporates five phases to build the
embankments over the life of the facility. Ultimate storage capacity of this facility is 90.1 Mt.
• In-pit deposition in the exhausted open pits, from years 7 through 17 of the project. Total storage
capacity of these pits is 73.9 Mt.
The Company will provide additional details related to Tailings Management and Closure in the PEA report
filed on SEDAR within 45 days.
Table 6: Mining & Processing Inputs
Mining & Processing Inputs
Mine life - Total years 24
Mining Rate
Open pit* tpd 18,228
Underground** tpd 2,466
Open pit
Total mill feed million tonnes 158.2
Gold grade (diluted) (years 1 - 11) g/t 1.03
Gold grade (diluted) (LOM) g/t 0.81
Total waste million tonnes 495.3
Total overburden Million tonnes 237.2
Total material mined million tonnes 890.7
Strip ratio (total) waste: mined resource 4.63
Strip ratio (without overburden) waste: mined resource 3.13
Underground
Total mill feed million tonnes 8.2
Gold grade (diluted) g/t 3.42
Processing
Feed rate tpd 19,178
Total tonnes processed million tonnes 166.4
Mill head gold grade g/t 0.94
LOM gold recovery % 91.3%
Notes
* Mineralized material average LOM mining rate
** Mineralized material average peak mining rate
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Figure 1: Gold Production Profile
OPERATING COSTS
Operating costs have been compiled based on the following sources and assumptions:
• Mining unit costs have been estimated by Mining Plus based on 2022 quotes and database costs.
• Processing units costs have been estimated by Ausenco from first principles, using 2022 prices for
major reagents and media . Grinding media and power consumptions were estimated based on
estimated conservative hardness characteristics.
• G&A (General and Administration) costs are based on benchmark salary tables for staff positions
and other costs from Ausenco databases.
Table 7: Total Life of Mine Operating Costs
Operating Costs (life of mine average)
Mining costs (Golden Highway open pit) $/t mined $3.11
Mining costs (Garrison open pit) $/t mined $2.56
Mining costs (underground) $/t mined $87.43
Mining costs (open pit) $/t milled $20.77
Processing costs $/t milled $10.07
G&A costs $/t milled $0.94
Total site operating costs $/t milled $31.78
Cash Costs
Cash costs (LOM)* US$/oz $910
AISC (LOM)** US$/oz $1,073
Notes
* Cash costs consist of mining costs, processing costs, mine -level general & administrative
expenses and refining charges and royalties.
** AISC includes cash costs plus sustaining capital, closure cost and salvage value.
--
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Annual koz
Mill Throughput (Mtpa)
Garrison OP Golden Highway OP Stockpile
Golden Highway UG Annual Recovered koz
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INITIAL AND SUSTAINING CAPITAL COSTS
The total initial (pre-production) capital cost for the Tower Gold project is estimated to be $517.0 million
including allowances for contingency of $80.9 million. Sustaining costs are estimated to be $886.4 million
over life of mine.
The initial and sustaining capital costs were compiled using the following sources:
• Mining capital costs were developed by Mining Plus, based on the mine plan
• Processing, infrastructure, project delivery and project in-directs were developed by Ausenco, and
are inclusive of 7.0 Mtpa conventional leach/CI L processing plant, power substation, tailings
facility initial construction, paste plant, and other required infrastructure
• Sustaining capital costs consist of mining costs, tailings storage facility expansions, and water
management structures
Table 8: Total Capital Costs
Description
Initial Capital Cost Sustaining Capital Cost Total Capital Cost
(millions) (millions) (millions)
Mining Golden Highway $0 $647.7 $647.7
Mining Garrison $63.7 $174.7 $238.4
Process Plant $203.0 $0.0 $203.0
Infrastructure On-site $96.2 $60.9 $157.2
Off-site infrastructure $0.5 $0.0 $0.5
Total Directs $363.4 $883.3 $1,246.8
Project in-directs $21.8 $0.0 $21.8
Project delivery $36.3 $0.0 $36.3
Owner's costs $14.5 $0.0 $14.5
Total In-directs $72.7 $0.0 $72.6
Contingency $80.9 $3.0 $83.9
Total $517.0 $886.4 $1,403.4
Figure 2: LOM Post-Tax-Free Cash Flow
($2,500)
($2,000)
($1,500)
($1,000)
($500)
--
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
($600)
($400)
($200)
--
$200
$400
$600
-1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10111213141516171819202122232425
Cumulative Free Cash Flow (C$M)
Free Cash Flow (C$M)
LOM Post-Tax Free Cash Flow
Annual Post-Tax Cash Flow Cumulative Post-Tax Cash Flow