Last checked at 22 Mar 2022 07:00
22 March 2022
Trident Royalties Plc
("Trident" or the "Company")
First Gold Delivery under i-80 Gold Offtake
Trident Royalties Plc (AIM:TRR), the diversified mining royalty and streaming company, is pleased to announce that it has received its inaugural shipment under the gold offtake (the "Offtake") with i-80 Gold Corporation ("i-80"). Trident now holds 12 cash generating assets, in addition to its attractive portfolio of advanced stage assets.
The Offtake arises from production at i-80's Ruby Hill, Granite Creek, and McCoy-Cove projects, all of which are located in Nevada, USA. This offtake was acquired as part of a broader portfolio acquisition originally announced on 13 December 2021. This represents an important milestone for i-80 in its strategy to become a premier Nevada-focused gold producer, with this initial shipment representing the first gold sale in the company's history.
Adam Davidson, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Trident commented:
"We congratulate i-80 on this milestone first gold delivery from Ruby Hill, a meaningful step towards their becoming a premier gold producer in Nevada, the jurisdiction which accounts for over 75% of total US gold production and is recognised as one of the most mining-investment friendly regions in the world. First gold at Ruby Hill further delivers on the growth trajectory expected of the gold offtakes with additional near-term growth expected from the commencement of production this year at i-80's Granite Creek project and Equinox Gold's Santa Luz project, as well as continued ramp-up of production at Blyvoor Gold.
Since listing in June 2020, Trident has compiled a robust portfolio of assets providing significant current and near-term organic growth. Future revenue growth is underpinned by our exciting Tier 1 lithium exposure at Thacker Pass and Sonora, as well as a portfolio of high-quality development assets including our West Australian gold assets in Lake Rebecca and Warrawoona. Alongside our existing portfolio, we have an excellent pipeline of potential transactions across a range of commodities and look forward to providing further updates as progress continues."
HIGHLIGHTS
· First gold delivery achieved from processing of stockpiled material from Ruby Hill, coupled with ongoing gold extraction from the existing heap leach pad.
· Matthew Gollat, Executive Vice-President at i-80 noted "After less than a year in existence we have produced our first gold from ongoing residual leach projects while we continue to execute the development of several projects within our portfolio as planned, with the goal of becoming a significant operator in the State of Nevada."
· Development programme in place with the ultimate aim of initiating underground mining at Ruby Hill, including a 20,000+ metre resource update drill programme currently underway, the initial decline permitting work, and a Preliminary Economic Assessment or Pre-Feasibility Study expected by year-end 2022.1
Offtake Agreement Structure
The Offtake Agreement entitles Trident to purchase 100% of all gold produced, under the terms of the Offtake Agreement, from the Ruby Hill, Granite Creek, and McCoy-Cove projects up to an annual cap of 37,500 ounces in 2022 and 2023, rising to 40,000 ounces until year-end 2028.
About the Ruby Hill Property
i-80 acquired a 100% interest in the Ruby Hill property, located within the Battle Mountain Trend in Nevada, from Waterton Global Resource Management. The Ruby Hill property is host to a producing gold heap leach pad, an inactive open pit mine, and multiple deposits that contain substantial gold and silver resources, and potential for significant base metal mineralisation. Existing processing infrastructure at Ruby Hill includes a carbon-in-leach processing plant and leach pad and carbon-in-column circuit. i-80 is advancing permitting for an underground mine to be constructed from the current pit, with mineralisation expected to be trucked to the Lone Tree Complex for processing. A major drilling campaign will be carried out for the remainder of 2022, following which resource and economic technical studies are expected to be completed.
The Project has NI 43-101 and 2014 CIM Definition Standards2 compliant Mineral Resource Estimates ("MRE") for both open-pit oxide heap-leach mineralisation and underground sulphide gold toll processing mineralisation as summarised in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Summary of Mineral Resource Estimates for Ruby Hill 3
MRE | Resource Classification | Tonnes (Kt) | Gold Grade (g/t) | Contained Gold (Koz) |
Open Pit Oxide Heap Leach Mineralisation (0.1 g/t Au cut-off) | Indicated | 224,400 | 0.54 | 3,874 |
Inferred | 162,700 | 0.39 | 2,062 | |
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Underground Sulphide Gold Toll Processing (3.6 g/t Au cut-off) | Indicated | 1,200 | 5.22 | 202 |
Inferred | 8,210 | 6.02 | 1,588 | |
Mineralisation is open at depth, indicating strong exploration potential. i-80 has a highly experienced board and management team led by Ewan Downie, an accomplished company builder and entrepreneur with more 25 years' experience in the mining sector.
Competent Person's Statement
The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MAusIMM, MIMMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal Consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Trident to provide technical support. Mr O'Reilly confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resource Estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Notes & References
Resource related information in this release has been extracted from the publicly available source documents identified below, the reader is advised that details on the disclosure and reporting requirements and supporting Qualified Person Statements may be found in those documents.
1 Source: i-80 Gold Corporation press release, 12 January 2022:
https://www.i80gold.com/i-80-launches-comprehensive-plan-to-create-nevada-focused-gold-mining-company/
2 Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves ("CIM Definition Standards") establish definitions and guidance on the definitions for mineral resources, mineral reserves, and mining studies used in Canada. The Mineral Resource, Mineral Reserve, and Mining Study definitions are incorporated, by reference, into Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). https://mrmr.cim.org/en/standards/canadian-mineral-resource-and-mineral-reserve-definitions/
3 Source: NI 43-101 Report on 2021 Ruby Hill Mineral Resource Estimate Eureka Country, Nevada, USA, dated 31 July 2021 ( https://www.i80gold.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/RubyHill-Tech-Report-2021.pdf )
Mineral Resource Statement, Open Pit Oxide Heap Leach Mineralisation (effective date 31 July 2021)
Deposit | Resource Classification | Tonnes (Kt) | Grade (g/t) | Gold Ounces (Koz) |
Mineral Point | Indicated | 203,200 | 0.49 | 3,217 |
Inferred | 157,300 | 0.37 | 1,872 | |
West Archimedes | Indicated | 2,400 | 0.83 | 63 |
Inferred | 100 | 0.23 | 0.6 | |
East Archimedes | Indicated | 18,900 | 0.98 | 594 |
Inferred | 5,300 | 1.10 | 189 | |
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Total | Indicated | 224,400 | 0.54 | 3,874 |
Inferred | 162,700 | 0.39 | 2,062 | |
Note: Mineral Resources above 0.1 g/t Au Cut-off Grade. Refer also to 2021 Ruby Hill Mineral Resource Estimate report.
Mineral Resource Statement, Underground Sulphide Gold Toll Processing (effective date 31 July 2021)
Deposit | Resource Classification | Tonnes (Kt) | Grade (g/t) | Gold Ounces (Koz) |
426 Underground | Indicated | 1,200 | 5.22 | 202 |
Ruby Deeps Underground | Inferred | 8,210 | 6.02 | 1,588 |
Note: Mineral Resources above a cut-off grade of 3.6 g/t Au. Refer also to 2021 Ruby Hill Mineral Resource Estimate report.
** Ends **
Contact details:
Trident Royalties Plc Adam Davidson / Paul Smith | www.tridentroyalties.com +1 (757) 208-5171 / +41 79 947 1348 |
Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) Colin Aaronson / Samantha Harrison / Samuel Littler | www.grantthornton.co.uk +44 020 7383 5100 |
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Callum Stewart / Ashton Clanfield | www.stifelinstitutional.com +44 20 7710 7600 |
Tamesis Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Richard Greenfield | www.tamesispartners.com +44 20 3882 2868 |
Hudson Sandler Investor Relations: John Smelt Public Relations: Charlie Jack / Harry Griffiths | Trident@hudsonsandler.com +44 207 796 4133 |
About Trident
Trident is a growth-focused diversified mining royalty and streaming company, providing investors with exposure to a mix of base battery, precious, and bulk metals.
Key highlights of Trident's strategy include:
· | Building upon a royalty and streaming portfolio which broadly mirrors the commodity exposure of the global mining sector (excluding fossil fuels) with a bias towards production or near-production assets, differentiating Trident from the majority of peers which are exclusively, or heavily weighted, to precious metals;
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· | Acquiring royalties and streams in resource-friendly jurisdictions worldwide, while most competitors have portfolios focused on North and South America;
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· | Targeting attractive small-to-mid size transactions which are often ignored in a sector dominated by large players;
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· | Active deal-sourcing which, in addition to writing new royalties and streams, will focus on the acquisition of assets held by natural sellers such as: closed-end funds, prospect generators, junior and mid-tier miners holding royalties as non-core assets, and counterparties seeking to monetise packages of royalties and streams which are otherwise undervalued by the market;
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· | Maintaining a low-overhead model which is capable of supporting a larger scale business without a commensurate increase in operating costs; and
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· | Leveraging the experience of management, the board of directors, and Trident's adviser team, all of whom have deep industry connections and strong transactional experience across multiple commodities and jurisdictions. |
The acquisition and aggregation of individual royalties and streams is expected to deliver strong returns for shareholders as assets are acquired on terms reflective of single asset risk compared with the lower risk profile of a diversified, larger scale portfolio. Further value is expected to be delivered by the introduction of conservative levels of leverage through debt. Once scale has been achieved, strong cash generation is expected to support an attractive dividend policy, providing investors with a desirable mix of inflation protection, growth and income.
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains forward‐looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and Trident provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward‐looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although Trident 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 or developments may differ materially from those projected. Mining exploration and development is an inherently risky business. In addition, factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from the forward-looking information stated herein include any factors which affect decisions to pursue mineral exploration on the relevant property and the ultimate exercise of option rights, which may include changes in market conditions, changes in metal prices, general economic and political conditions, environmental risks, and community and non-governmental actions. Such factors will also affect whether Trident will ultimately receive the benefits anticipated pursuant to relevant agreements. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward‐looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Third Party Information
As a royalty and streaming company, Trident often has limited, if any, access to non-public scientific and technical information in respect of the properties underlying its portfolio of royalties and investments, or such information is subject to confidentiality provisions. As such, in preparing this announcement, the Company often largely relies upon information provided by or the public disclosures of the owners and operators of the properties underlying its portfolio of royalties, as available at the date of this announcement.