Euro Sun Mining Inc. (
TSX: ESM)
(“Euro Sun” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide a corporate
update and comment on the current strategy regarding development of
the ten million gold equivalent ounce Rovina Valley Project.
In response to many questions from shareholders,
we would like to provide an update on recent developments at the
Rovina Valley Project so that all investors have a clear
understanding of the ultimate value of this world class gold
development project.
The last two quarters have seen significant
progress towards a construction decision for the Rovina Valley
Project with ongoing work on the construction permit and related
activities around the process. In addition, the definitive
feasibility study, being completed by Senet Pty, continues to
progress. In June, the Company closed a $22.3 million bought deal
equity financing led by Sprott Capital Partners with BMO Capital
Markets. It is expected that the funds raised from the financing
will provide the Company with the capital required to obtain a
construction decision.
The Company also made significant changes in its
governance and corporate structure with the termination of its
relationship with former chairman Stan Bharti and his merchant
bank, Forbes and Manhattan Inc. The Company also completed a
relocation of its registered head office and added of two new
independent directors to its board. The board is now comprised of
six independent directors and non-independent director.
The Company continues to make progress on our
key development catalysts with the two targeted deliverables being
the construction permit and the definitive feasibility study. While
the Company does not currently anticipate, the current global
COVID-19 crisis may have an impact on timing that is hard to
predict. Both deliverables are significant risk reduction events
for Euro Sun and should have a materially positive effect on the
Company.
Scott Moore, Chairman and CEO stated; “The last
two quarters have come with significant change for the company;
operationally with the addition of senior management personnel to
advance the permitting and engineering at Rovina Valley;
financially with a significant investment by global institutional
precious metal funds; and governance wise through the addition of
key independent directors and a re-location of our corporate head
office. All of these milestones paired with a rising gold price
should serve to highlight the tremendous potential for a
re-valuation of Euro Sun.”
The Company will be attending the Precious Metal
Summit normally held in Beavercreek Colorado but this year being
held virtually between September 15-17th, 2020. Beaver Creek is
usually one of the best attended mining conferences specifically
tailored to the junior mining sector with strong support by
institutional investors, private family offices and larger mining
companies.
Construction Permit Process
The Company would like to remind investors that
the Exploitation License ratified by the Romanian Government allows
the Company to make official requests to the County Council of
Hunedoara for Certificates of Urbanism. To advance to the
construction phase there are two certificates required, the Area
Land Use Plan and the Project Technical Design.
The Certificate of Urbanism for Plan (Land Use)
is a documentary process that results in a change of land
assignment by the county to permit utility and future development
for a category change for economic activities. In essence, a
re-zoning is required from the current land use being pastoral
and/or state forest to zoning for commercial activities.
In order to complete this process, Euro Sun has
engaged MetricSpace, an architectural and urban planning firm based
in Cluj-Napoca, Romania to provide all the necessary documentation
and support to the chief architect of the county. The Company
received the re-zoning (PUZ) urbanization certificate on June 11
2020 from Hunedoara County. The Company has delivered all
documentation to the county technical committee to approve the
opportunity agreement which forms part of the certificate. The
public consultation on the zoning plan is expected to occur in mid
October 2020.
The second Certificate of Urbanism is for the
Project Technical Design. This includes the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) of the Rovina Valley Project, along with other
documentation. International consultancy firm ERM, based in
Bucharest Romania has been contracted to complete the EIA and
Environmental Social Impact Assessment process for the Rovina
Valley Project. Multiple sub-studies forming part of the Project
Technical Design are well underway or completed including climate
and weather conditions criteria, traffic baseline study, limited
vibration survey and blasting study, landscape baseline and
modelling study. Other technical work is also well underway such as
water modelling including the geochemistry, surface and
groundwater, and water supply to the project, air quality and air
modeling, noise modeling and biodiversity & forestry
studies.
We continue to progress the certificates of
Urbanism in conjunction with all Romanian laws with the goal of
having these certificates completed or substantially complete by
end of 2020 so the Company can begin construction in early
2021.
Definitive Feasibility
Study
The second key deliverable for 2020 is the
completion of a definitive feasibility study for the Rovina Valley
Project. The Company has awarded the feasibility to Senet Pty,
based in Johannesburg South Africa.
The National Instrument 43-101 compliant
definitive feasibility study will include analysis of: geology
& resources, mining & reserves, geochemistry, hydrogeology,
geotechnical, process plant, waste management facility,
infrastructure, schedule, manpower, capital cost, operating
cost, revenue, and financial analysis.
After internal model evaluations the DFS will
now include the Rovina open pit sequentially to the Colnic pit in
the Life of Mine plan. This will result in significantly more
production of both gold and copper due to a longer mine life
without affecting initial capital expenditures.
In support of the feasibility, the Company has
appointed Klohn Crippen Berger (KCB), Canada as geotechnical
contractor. KCB will provide all geotechnical input for both open
pits including characterizing pit wall stability and de-watering
requirements. Additionally, geotech engineering for the plant site,
crusher, truck shop, fuel depot, process facilities, rope conveyor
foundations. diversion tunnel around Colnic pit, low grade
stockpile, office buildings/warehouse, and the waste co-deposition
area drilling program and all geotechnical interpretation and
reports. KCB will also design the co-depositional facility
including geotechnical characteristics of the filter cake and waste
rock mixture, detailed stacking plan and general arrangement,
detailed design of the internal drainage systems, perimeter berms
and runoff/drainage solution management.
DFS Progress Update:
Mining and Geology
- Gap analysis Report provided
- Mining Design Trade-off’s studies completed, options presented
and selected
- Whittle Optimization completed
- Geology review completed
Process and Metallurgy
- Gap analysis Report provided
- Bloc Flow Diagram (BFL) for process and waste completed
- Process Flow Diagrams (PFD’s) completed
- Process Description completed
- Process Design Criteria (PDC) completed
- Process test work requirements finalized
- Mass and Water Balance completed
- HAZOP 1 completed
- Mechanical Equipment List (MEL) developed
Discipline Engineering (Infrastructure, Civil, Mechanical,
Electrical)
- Overall layout (General Infrastructure Location Plan)
reflecting infrastructure and plant locations finalised
- Rope conveyor options and Railveyor options trade off to be
completed
- Tunnel vs water diversion study completed
- Site Infrastructure layout issued
- Road access and raw water pipeline layouts completed
- Power supply to site and connections - trade off study ongoing
with local contractor
- Plant terraces started and it’s ongoing
- General Site conditions and Site Design Criteria document
completed
- Fuel Depot – Scope of Study issued for client review
The Company still expects the DFS to be completed by the end of
2020 with the filing of NI 43-101 technical report early in 2021.
Unexpected delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic may have an impact
to this schedule.
About Euro Sun Mining Inc.
Euro Sun is a Toronto Stock Exchange listed mining company
focused on the exploration and development of its 100%-owned Rovina
Valley gold and copper project located in west-central Romania,
which hosts the second largest gold deposit in Europe.
For further information about Euro Sun Mining,
or the contents of this press release, please contact Investor
Relations at info@eurosunmining.com
Caution regarding forward-looking
information:
This press release contains “forward-looking
information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities
legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without
limitation, the Company’s expectation that the funds raised from
the June financing will be sufficient to provide the Company with a
construction decision; the delivery of the Construction Permit and
Definitive Feasibility Study being risk reduction events for Euro
Sun; timing for public consultation on the Urbanization Zoning
Plan; expected timing for the delivery of the certificates of
Urbanism; timing for the commencement of construction; timing for
the completion of the Definitive Feasibility Study. Forward-looking
information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of
activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking information, including risks inherent in the mining
industry and risks described in the public disclosure of the
Company which is available under the profile of the Company on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website
at www.eurosunmining.com. Although the Company has attempted
to identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
information, there may be other factors that cause results not to
be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance
that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not
undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws.
The TSX does not accept responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this news release
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