TNR Gold Royalty Holding Update After News by McEwen Mining on the Los Azules Copper Project, Argentina
TNR Gold Royalty Holding Update After News by McEwen
Mining on the Los Azules Copper Project, Argentina
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 10, 2017) -
TNR Gold Corp.
(TSXV: TNR)
("
TNR
" or the
"
Company
") advises that McEwen Mining Inc. ("McEwen Mining") has issued a news release "Copper Shines Brightly for
McEwen Mining — Enhanced Economics of Los Azules" dated
September 7, 2017 in relation to the Los Azules Copper Project
in San Juan Province, Argentina. TNR holds a 0.36% Net Smelter Returns Royalty ("NSR") on the Los Azules project.
The news release issued by McEwen Mining summarizes the results of a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on its
wholly-owned Los Azules Copper Project. In its press release, McEwen Mining states, "The 2017 PEA is a substantial revision
of the previous 2013 PEA and contemplates an enhanced implementation strategy resulting in improved economics while
reducing execution risk. It envisions an owner-operated mine and conventional concentrator (flotation circuit) producing a copper
concentrate for export."
Summary
$2.2 Billion After-Tax NPV@8% and IRR of 20.1%
3.6 Year Payback at $3.00/lb. Copper and 36 Year Mine Life
415 Million lbs. Average Annual
Copper Production For The First 10 Years
$1.11/lb. Copper Average Cash Production Cost (C1) For First 10 Years
"Los Azules is a giant porphyry copper deposit that offers tremendous potential to generate wealth for McEwen Mining
shareowners and other stakeholders," said Rob McEwen, Chairman and Chief Owner. "Our next steps are to advance
permitting and prefeasibility/feasibility studies to move Los Azules towards production."
"We would like to congratulate McEwen Mining on a significant increase in the new resource estimations for copper, gold and
silver at Los Azules Copper project, important upgraded quality of these resources in all categories and reported enhanced
economics overall for the project," commented Kirill Klip, Executive Chairman of TNR. "The PEA provided by McEwen Mining
demonstrates a robust, high margin, rapid pay-back and long-life potential economics for the project and it will affect positively
the potential implied valuation of TNR Gold's royalty holding."
The McEwen Mining news release reports that the PEA study used commodity price assumptions of $3.00/lb copper, $1,300/oz
gold, and $17/oz silver, resulting in an after-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of $2.2 billion (discounted at 8%) and an Internal Rate
of Return (IRR) of 20.1%.
McEwen Mining also stated, "The project economics for Los Azules contemplates two years of permitting, drilling, and feasibility
studies; followed by a three year project implementation phase for production of the first copper concentrates. The economic
values presented in the 2017 PEA are after-tax financial outcomes at the point of commencing the project implementation
phase. The key financial results are summarized in Table 1 and Figure 1.
Table 1: After-tax Financial Results
Parameter
Unit
2017 PEA Result
Initial CAPEX
$ millions
2,363
Phase 2 CAPEX
$ millions
278
NPV
8%
$ millions
2,239
IRR
%
20.1
Payback Period
Years
3.6
C1 Costs
1
(first 10 years)
$/lb.
1.11
C1 Costs
1
(Life-of-mine)
$/lb.
1.28
1
C1 cash costs include at-mine cash operating costs, treatment and refining charges, mine reclamation and closure costs, and
copper concentrate transportation.
Figure 1: Life-of-Mine Cash Flows
(M = millions)
To view an enhanced version, please visit:
http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2014/29550_a1507346002278_39.jpg
Mineral Resource Estimate
The estimated mineral resources for the Los Azules deposit are shown in Table 2. Mineral resources are determined using a
base case cut-off grade of 0.20% copper, which is based on projected technical and economic parameters.
Table 2: Estimate of Mineral Resources for Los Azules Deposit (0.20% Cu Cut-Off)
Average Grade
Contained Metal
Category
Million
tonnes
Cu
%
Au
g/t
Mo
%
Ag
g/t
Cu
Billion lbs.
Au
Million oz.
Mo
Million lbs.
Ag
Million oz.
Indicated
962
0.48
0.06
0.003
1.8
10.2
1.7
57.3
55.7
Inferred
2,666
0.33
0.04
0.003
1.6
19.3
3.8
194.0
135.4
Cu = copper, Au = gold, Mo = molybdenum, Ag = silver
The mineral resource estimate for Los Azules was prepared utilizing three-dimensional block models based on geostatistical
applications. The mineral resources are estimated using ordinary kriging with a nominal block size of 20 m x 20 m x 15 m. To
ensure the reported resource exhibits reasonable prospects for economic extraction, the mineral resource is limited within a pit
shell generated around copper grades in blocks classified in the Indicated and Inferred categories. Generalized technical and
economic parameters include a copper price of $2.75/lb., site operating costs of $1.70/t for mining, $5.00/t for processing and
$1.00/t for general and administration, a pit slope of 34° and 90% metallurgical recovery.
Mining
The life-of-mine (LOM) ore tonnage is estimated to be 1,488 million tonnes of concentrator feed and 1,510 million tonnes of
waste stripping. The stripping ratio, including stockpile re-handling, is projected at 1.05 (tonnes of waste per tonne of sulfide ore
milled). Excluding the three-year preproduction period, the mine life is estimated at 36 years.
The concentrator feed during the first five years of operation is predicted to have a higher average grade of 0.73% copper.
These grades are approximately double the average grades in the later years of mining (after Year 20). In the first five years of
mining, 93% of this initial mill feed is presently classified as Indicated mineralized material and the remaining 7% is Inferred
mineralized material.
The 2017 PEA is preliminary in nature. The mine plan and economic model include the use of Inferred resources.
Inferred resources are conceptual in nature and are considered to be too speculative to be used in an economic
analysis except as allowed for by Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) in PEA
studies. There is no guarantee that Inferred resources can be converted to Indicated or Measured resources. Mineral
resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. As such, there is no guarantee
the project economics described herein will be achieved.
Processing
Preliminary metallurgical test work has been conducted intermittently since 2008 to determine how the mineralized material
responds to flotation as a means of recovering payable copper metal. Results have consistently proved favorable and flotation
has been adopted as the processing option of choice.
The Los Azules concentrator will produce copper concentrate as a final product. The process flowsheet has been modeled on
the Antapaccay copper concentrator (Glencore - Peru) due to similarities in ore properties and process plant altitudes. Some
minor design changes, in equipment sizing only, have been incorporated based on operating experience at Antapaccay. The
plant has been designed for average daily throughput of 80,000 tpd. The concentrator would be constructed on-site and would
employ one comminution circuit consisting of a primary crusher, stockpile feed conveyor, reclaim conveyor, one SAG mill, two
pebble crushers and two ball mills. The comminution circuit would be followed by flotation, thickening and filtration circuits, a
Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) and concentrate storage. LOM recovery of copper to concentrate is expected to be 91% at a
concentrate grade of 30% Cu.
It is planned to expand the capacity of the plant to 120,000 tpd by Year 5 through the installation of additional comminution and
flotation capacity. Gold and silver are recoverable to the copper concentrate. No other metals have been identified that would
yield by-product credits, nor that have significant amounts of penalty elements.
Capital Costs
A key desired outcome of this study was to provide a project capital estimate with a reasonable level of accuracy. A summary of
the initial capital estimate is provided in Table 3.
Table 3: Capital Cost Estimate
Area
CAPEX
($ Millions)
Mining Equipment
$215
Mine Pre-stripping Cost
$193
Surface Scope (Concentrator, Power Line, Tailings, etc.)
$979
Total Direct Cost
$1,387
Total Indirect Costs
$508
Contingency
$420
Owner's Cost
$48
Total Initial Capital Cost
$2,363
Operating Costs
This updated PEA for the Los Azules project has a total operating cost of $15.4 billion over the life of the mine. Table 4 displays
the operating cost summary.
Table 4: Operating Cost Estimate
Cost Area
LOM
($ millions)
$/t Mill Feed
$/t Cu
$/lb. Cu
Mining
5,404
3.63
980
0.44
Process
5,774
3.88
1,047
0.47
Transport
2,587
1.74
469
0.21
G&A
1,620
1.09
294
0.13
Subtotal OPEX
15,385
10.34
2,789
1.26
TCs/RCs
2,684
1.80
487
0.22
Au & Ag Credits
(2,449)
(1.65)
(444)
(0.20)
Net Costs
15,621
10.50
2,831
1.28
PEA Contributors
A list of the qualified persons responsible for the report that is the basis for the disclosure in this news release is provided in
Table 5.
Table 5: Summary of Qualified Persons
Responsible Person
Company
Primary Areas of Responsibility
D. Brown, C. P. Eng
McEwen
Mining, Project Infrastructure, Geology
M. Bunyard, C. Eng,
FAusIMM
Hatch Ltd
Metallurgical, Process Plant
B. Davis, FAusIMM
BD Resource Consulting, Inc.
Sampling, Data Verification, Resource Estimates
J. Duff, P. Geol
McEwen
Geology, Exploration
R. Duinker, P. Eng, MBA
Hatch Ltd
Financial Analysis
J. Farrell, P. Eng
Hatch Ltd
Environmental
W. Rose, P. E.
WLR Consulting Inc.
Mining
K. Seddon, CPEng
ATC Williams
Tailings
R. Sim, P. Geo
SIM Geological Inc.
Drilling, Resource Estimates
The Canadian National Instrument 43-101
Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
("NI 43-101") technical report
containing the results of the updated PEA, with the effective date of September 1, 2017, will be filed on SEDAR and the
McEwen Mining website within 45 days.
McEwen Mining's press releases and website material appear to be prepared by Qualified Persons and the procedures,
methodology and key assumptions disclosed therein are those adopted and consistently applied in the mining industry, but no
Qualified Person engaged by TNR Gold Corp. has done sufficient work to analyze, interpret, classify or verify McEwen Mining's
information to determine the current mineral reserve or resource or other information referred to in their press releases.
Accordingly, the reader is cautioned in placing any reliance on the disclosures therein."
Details regarding the manner in which the PEA was calculated will be available under the profile of McEwen Mining at SEDAR
http://www.sedar.com
.
TNR's strategy with the Los Azules royalty holdings is to attract a strong financial partner and sell a portion of the NSR to
eliminate the long-term debt of the Company.
Jonathan Findlay, Geological Consultant of the Company and a "Qualified Person" for the purposes of NI 43-101, has reviewed
and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.
ABOUT TNR GOLD
CORP
.
TNR Gold Corp. is working to become an energy metals royalty company. Over the past twenty-two years, TNR, through its lead
generator business model, has been successful in generating high quality exploration projects around the globe. With the
Company's expertise, resources and industry network, it identified the potential of the Los Azules copper project in Argentina
and now holds a 0.36% NSR on the prospect.
TNR is also a major shareholder of International Lithium Corp. ("ILC"), with current holdings of approximately 12% of the
outstanding shares of ILC. ILC holds interests in lithium projects in Argentina, Ireland and Canada.
TNR retains a 1.8% NSR on the Mariana property in Argentina. ILC maintains a right to repurchase 1.0% of the NSR on the
Mariana property of which 0.9% relates to the Company's NSR interest. The Company would receive $900,000 on execution of
the repurchase. The project is currently being advanced in a joint venture between ILC and GFL International Co. Ltd., a wholly-
owned subsidiary of Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. ("Ganfeng Lithium").
At its core, TNR provides significant exposure to gold and copper through its holdings in Alaska (the Shotgun gold porphyry
project) and Argentina, and is committed to continued generation of in-demand projects, while diversifying its markets and
building shareholder value.
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
Kirill Klip
Executive Chairman
www.tnrgoldcorp.com
For further information concerning this news release please contact +1 604-700-8912
Neither 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.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of
applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project",
"intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "will", "could" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or
conditions "may" or "could" occur
,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words
.
Specifically,
forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements made in relation to:
TNR's
corporate objectives,
changes in share capital, market conditions for energy commodities,
the results of McEwan Mining's
PEA,
and improvements in the financial performance of the Company.
Such forward-looking information is based on a
number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those discussed in the
sections entitled
"Risks" and
"Forward-Looking Statements" in the
Company's
interim and annual Management's Discussion
and Analysis which are available
under the Company's profile on
www.sedar.com. While management believes that the
assumptions made
and reflected in this news release
are reasonable, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other
factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
described in forward-looking information.
In particular
,
there can be no assurance that:
TNR
will be
repay its loans
or
complete any further royalty acquisitions
or sales
;
debt or other financing will be available to
TNR; or that TNR will be able to
achieve any of its corporate objectives. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements
included
herein
are not guarantees of future performance, and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied
on
.
In formulating the forward-looking statements contained herein, management has assumed that business and economic
conditions affecting
TNR
and its royalty partners
, McEwen Mining Inc. and International Lithium Corp.
or its joint venture
partner,
Ganfeng Lithium
will continue substantially in the ordinary course, including without limitation with respect to general
industry conditions, general levels
of
economic activity and regulations. These assumptions, although considered
reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect.
Forward-looking information herein and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on estimates
and opinions of management on the dates they are made and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should
circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.