VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 16, 2021 / Empress Royalty Corp. (TSXV:EMPR)(OTCQB:EMPYF) ("Empress" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the execution of the US$5M silver stream agreement (the "Stream") on the Tahuehueto project in Mexico owned by Telson Mining Corporation ("Telson").
"We are excited to be working with Telson and our strategic partners to get this remarkable asset into production," stated Alexandra Woodyer Sherron, CEO and President of Empress. "This transaction demonstrates the unique funding solutions we can provide to our mining company partners and highlights the value of our strategic partnerships. We continue to deliver on our strategy to build a portfolio of near-term producing assets and creating value for our shareholders."
THE INVESTMENT & TRANSACTION
Empress has now executed the US$5M silver stream agreement on production from Telson's Tahuehueto project in Mexico. The US$5M Stream is on 100% of the payable silver production from Tahuehueto for the first 1,250,000 payable ounces; thereafter, the percentage will step-down to 20% of the payable silver production to a maximum of 10 years from first production after which the Stream terminates.
Telson has announced that its Tahuehueto project is approximately 60% constructed, with initial production forecast for late 2021 and full scale production forecast for early 2022. For further information, please see the Telson Mining Corporate website for more information (www.telsonmining.com).
FULL FINANCING SOLUTION
The US$5M silver stream will be provided in two tranches (US$2M shortly and US$3M on closing of the Accendo Banco loan) and represents the second stage of a US$25M full financing solution being provided to Telson by Empress and its strategic partners Accendo Banco and Endeavour Financial. The first stage was the US$8M private placement in Telson which closed on March 30, 2021. The third stage is the Accendo Banco US$12M loan facility and re-finance of existing loans. In the event the third stage fails to close, the obligations of the Stream will terminate and any partial draw downs of the Stream advance are to be converted into shares of Telson at the then Market Price as calculated on the date of termination. Telson has informed the Company that documentation is progressing well and anticipates closing near the end of April or early May 2021.
This full financing package demonstrates the opportunity that Empress and its strategic partners can offer its mining company partners, to expand production or get development assets into production.
THE PROJECT
Tahuehueto is located in the mining friendly jurisdiction of Durango, Mexico. It is a typical epithermal polymetallic mineral deposit in this part of Mexico, with metals consisting of gold silver, zinc, copper and lead. Based on the PFS completed in 2017, the project had a 21 year life-of-mine ("LOM") at a production rate of 550 tonnes per day.
Image 1. Mill Construction at Tahuehueto
The mine is fully permitted, has all social licenses to operate, including with the local Ejido, has offtake agreements in place with Trafigura, and has already produced a saleable concentrate, processing over 42,000 tonnes of ore on a toll mill basis during 2018 - 2019. This confirmed the metallurgy as straight forward, with no need for fine or ultra-fine grinding, no refractory ore and the process uses standard "off the shelf" technology realizing excellent recoveries of payable metals.
TAHUEHUETO PROJECT - NI 43-101 RESOURCE and reserve
(Source: Metal Mining Consultants Inc. - Pre-Feasibility Study - January 2017)
|
Tahuehueto Project Mineral Reserve Estimate |
|||||||||||
|
Classification |
Tonnes |
Au/t |
Oz Au |
Ag/t |
Oz Ag |
Cu% |
Lbs. Cu |
Pb% |
Lbs. Pb |
Zn% |
Lbs Zn |
|
X1000 |
g |
X1000 |
g |
X1000 |
X 1000 |
X1000 |
X1000 |
||||
|
Probable |
3,264 |
3.40 |
356 |
41.80 |
4,387 |
0.35 |
25,028 |
1.19 |
85,762 |
2.24 |
161,314 |
Note: Mineral Reserves were defined as mineralized material that occurred within the stope shapes that were based on and NSR value of $62/t. Measured and Indicated resources within the defined mining shapes (stopes) were used to estimate Probable Reserves. No Proven Reserves were defined due to the limited definition resource drilling, limited definition by exploratory mining and the lack of geotechnical data that addresses underground mining. Probable Mineral Reserves include the effects of mining dilution assumptions which average 15% and extraction ratio assumptions which averaged 94%. Mining dilution was assumed to have zero (0) grade.
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum standards were followed in the estimation of the Mineral Reserves. Mineral Reserves were estimated using metal price forecasts of $0.60/lb for lead, $0.75/lb for zinc, $2.10/lb for copper, $1,000/oz for gold and $19.12/oz for silver. The low metal prices were selected to drive the mine plan towards mineralization with the highest confidence in the prospects of economic extraction. These metal prices were not used for the economic analysis of the mineral deposit. Totals may not add due to rounding. The foregoing mineral reserves are included within the current Mineral Resource Estimate for the Project.
|
Tahuehueto Measured and Indicated Resources |
|||||||||||
|
Classification |
Tonnes |
Au/t |
Oz Au |
Ag/t |
Oz Ag |
Cu% |
Lbs. Cu |
Pb% |
Lbs. Pb |
Zn% |
Lbs Zn |
|
X1000 |
g |
X1000 |
g |
X1000 |
X 1000 |
X1000 |
X1000 |
||||
|
Measured |
2,771 |
2.77 |
247 |
44.70 |
3,982 |
0.31 |
18,914 |
1.27 |
77,827 |
2.29 |
139,821 |
|
Indicated |
3,343 |
2.23 |
240 |
41.26 |
4,435 |
0.30 |
22,466 |
1.15 |
84,455 |
2.04 |
155,687 |
|
Total M&I |
6,114 |
2.48 |
487 |
42.82 |
8,417 |
0.31 |
41,380 |
1.20 |
162,282 |
2.15 |
295,508 |
|
Tahuehueto Inferred Resources |
|||||||||||
|
Classification |
Tonnes |
Au/t |
Oz Au |
Ag/t |
Oz Ag |
Cu% |
Lbs. Cu |
Pb% |
Lbs. Pb |
Zn% |
Lbs Zn |
|
X1000 |
g |
X1000 |
g |
X1000 |
X 1000 |
X1000 |
X1000 |
||||
|
Inferred |
3,501 |
1.31 |
147 |
37.59 |
4,230 |
0.27 |
20,469 |
1.34 |
103,080 |
2.44 |
188,409 |
Note: The above mineral resources have been calculated using a cut-off of 2.5 g/t Au Equivalent. These resource numbers are preliminary in nature. They include 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.
Image 2. Mill Construction at Tahuehueto
Image 3. Scoop Tram Offloading Mined Ore at Tahuehueto
For further information, please see the Telson Mining Corporate website for more information (http://www.telsonmining.com/home/default.aspx)
Richard Mazur, P.Geo., a Director of Empress Royalty and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
ABOUT EMPRESS ROYALTY CORP.
Empress is a new precious metals royalty and streaming company focused on the creation of unique financing solutions for mining companies. Empress has a portfolio of 16 investments and is actively focused on finding industry partners with development and production stage projects who require additional non-dilutive capital. The Company has strategic partnerships with Endeavour Financial in London, Terra Capital in Australia and Accendo Banco in Mexico which allow Empress to not only access global investment opportunities but also bring unique mining finance expertise, deal structuring and access to capital markets. Empress is looking forward to continuously creating value for its shareholders through the proven royalty and streaming models.
ON BEHALF OF EMPRESS ROYALTY CORP.
Per: Alexandra Woodyer Sherron, CEO and President
For further information, please visit our website at www.empressroyalty.com or contact Alexandra Woodyer Sherron, CEO and President, by phone at +1.604.331.2080 or email at info@empressroyalty.com.
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.
This news release contains statements about Empress' expectations regarding the Alliance Agreement which are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects", "believes", "anticipates", "aims to", "plans to" or "intends to" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Although Empress believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include Empress not being successful in identifying suitable investment opportunities, being able to successfully complete technical, financial or legal diligence in respect of investment opportunities it has identified, or being able to negotiate and enter into binding agreements for royalty or stream deals with potential counterparties. Readers are referred to the risk factors and contained in Empress' most recent annual information form for a description of the principal risks affecting Empress, its business and its securities. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and Empress undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, except as required by law. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.
SOURCE: Empress Royalty Corp.
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