TSXV: MTA
OTCQX: MTAFF
Frankfurt: X9CP
VANCOUVER, Sept. 27, 2018 /CNW/ - Metalla Royalty
& Streaming Ltd. ("Metalla" or the "Company")
(TSXV: MTA) (OTCQX: MTAFF) (FRANKFURT: X9CP) announces its
financial results for the fiscal year 2018. For complete details of
the consolidated financial statements and accompanying management's
discussion and analysis for the year ended May 31, 2018, please see the Company's filings on
SEDAR or the Company's website (www.metallaroyalty.com).
Brett Heath, President and CEO of
Metalla commented, "During the 2018 fiscal year, Metalla's revenue
and cash flow grew significantly with several royalties added to
the portfolio. The Company received regulatory approval for its
common shares to trade as a Tier 1 TSX-V Issuer and declared a
monthly dividend." Mr. Heath continued, "All of these actions
position the Company for our next stage of growth as we continue to
scale the business by accretive acquisitions that will maximize
value for shareholders and provide leverage to gold and silver
prices."
All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise
indicated.
FISCAL 2018 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
During the year ended May 31, 2018
and subsequently, the Company:
- shipped and provisionally invoiced 429,315(1)(2)
attributable silver ounces ("oz.") at an average price of
US$16.74 per oz. for US$7,186,541 or $8,911,310 (see non-IFRS Financial Measures);
- had total production of 519,791(1)(2) attributable
silver oz. for the fiscal year that included 90,476 attributable
silver oz. remaining on May 31, 2018
to be sold in subsequent periods;
- generated cash margin of US$4,154,857(1)(2) (equivalent to
$5,152,023) or US$9.68 per attributable silver oz. towards the
Company's operating cash flows from the Endeavor silver stream and
New Luika Gold Mine ("NLGM") stream held by Silverback Ltd.
("Silverback") (see non-IFRS Financial Measures);
- recorded revenue from stream interest of $7,368,331 (2017 - $Nil) and net loss of
$2,561,756 (2017 net loss of
$3,238,684), resulting in working
capital of $4,661,792 (2017 -
$1,216,319) as at May 31, 2018;
- completed the acquisition of an additional 1.0% on the Hoyle
Pond Extension Royalties;
- completed the acquisition of a portfolio of royalty and stream
interests from Coeur Mining Inc. ("Coeur") that included the
Endeavor Silver Stream, Joaquin 2.0% NSR, Zaruma 1.5% NSR, and
Puchuldiza 1.5% NSR;
- completed the acquisition of a 2.0% NSR royalty on Agnico Eagle
Mine Limited's Akasaba West Project;
- announced the acquisition, through a plan of arrangement, of
Valgold Resources for the 2.0% NSR on Osisko Mining Inc.'s Garrison
Project;
- provided a mine plan update for its Endeavor Mine silver stream
on production through December 2020
operated by CBH Resources Ltd. ("CBH") (please see news
release dated May 29, 2018 for
further information);
- provided update on its Joaquin 2.0% NSR royalty, with expected
cash flow as early as the calendar year 2019 in the fourth
quarter;
- received regulatory approval on its listing application as a
Tier 1 TSX-V Issuer and, effective February
2, 2018, its common shares began to trade;
- declared and paid a monthly dividend for January to
April 2018 of $0.001 per share to the shareholders of the
Company (please see news release dated December 12, 2017 for further information);
- increased the monthly dividend rate effective June 2018 to $0.0015 per share to the shareholders of the
Company (please see news release dated March 19, 2018 for further
information); and
- appointed Mr. Alexander Molyneux
and Frank L. Hanagarne, Jr. as
members of the Board of Directors.
QUARTERLY UPDATES ON ROYALTIES AND STREAMS
Endeavor Silver Stream
The Endeavor Mine located in New South
Wales, Australia was once the region's largest zinc, lead,
and silver producer. Commissioned in 1983 as the Elura Mine, the
site has been operated by CBH Resources since 2003 and was then
renamed as the Endeavor Mine. The orebody at the Endeavor Mine has
the form of massive vertical pillars, which is similar to others
found in the Cobar Basin. Extraction of approximately 30 million
tonnes has occurred to date.
Metalla has the right to buy 100% of the silver production up to
20.0 million ounces (7.0 million ounces have been delivered as of
August 2018) from the Endeavor Mine
for an operating cost contribution of US$1.00 per ounce of payable silver, indexed
annually for inflation, and a further increment of 50% of the
amount by which silver price exceeds US$7.00 per ounce.
On May 29, 2018, the Company
announced by news release it had received an updated mine plan from
CBH (the " Endeavor Mine
Plan"), which includes 1.6 million Ag ounces forecasted
to be produced through December
2020(3). CBH also had exploration success at
depth with a potential new zone called the "Deep Zinc Lode," which
has the potential to extend the mine life even further (see news
release for additional information on the Endeavor Mine Plan). CBH
has adopted a rolling mine plan with increased drilling and new
frequent updates every two to three years.
Joaquin Project NSR
A 2.0% NSR royalty payable by Pan American Silver Corporation
("Pan American") on minerals mined from the concessions
which form part of Joaquin Project located in central Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, 145 kilometres from Manantial
Espejo silver-gold mine owned by Pan American.
Pan American has announced that it finalized a preliminary
feasibility study on the La Morocha deposit, which is part of
Joaquin Project. The study recommends the development of the La
Morocha deposit as an underground mine, with processing to occur at
Pan American's Manantial Espejo mill. Pan American's Board of
Directors has approved a capital investment of approximately
US$37.8 million to construct the La
Morocha underground mine and obtained authorizations to initiate
construction on the mining project. Pan American filed a technical
report(4) pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 -
Standards of Disclosure for Mining Projects and filed on
SEDAR (www.sedar.com). The technical report outlines initial
474,000 tonnes of probable reserves at 721 parts per million
("ppm") Ag and 0.41 ppm Au, representing contained metal of
11 million oz. Ag and 6,300 oz. Au to be targeted during the first
three years of the mine plan (please see Pan American's news
release dated January 31, 2018 for
further information). Pan American has given guidance that
production should start in Q4 of the calendar year 2019.
Garrison Project NSR
A 2.0% NSR royalty payable by Osisko Mining Inc.
("Osisko") on certain claims of the Garrison Project (the
"Garrison Royalty"), which covers the Garrcon and Jonpol
properties, and the eastern portion of the 903 Zone. The Garrison
Project is located approximately 100 kilometers east of
Timmins, Ontario, and 40
kilometers north of Kirkland Lake.
It resides along the famous Golden Highway in the Timmins and Kirkland
Lake region which has historically produced over 100 million
ounces of gold. The Garrison Project is 100% owned by Osisko and
consists of a portfolio of properties spanning a 50 kilometers
distance along the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone, encompassing 16
noncontiguous properties, including the Garrcon and Jonpol
properties, 903 Zone, and Buffonta, and Golden Pike advanced exploration properties.
As at the end of January 2018,
Osisko has completed 85,000 meters of new drilling since the 2014
resource update to complement the 108,000 meters drilled at
Garrison by previous operators. Osisko has announced that it
expects to release an updated resource estimate in the calendar
year 2018(5).
Akasaba West Royalty
A 2.0% NSR royalty payable by Agnico Eagle Mines Limited
("Agnico") on its Akasaba West Mine. The mine located less
than 30 kilometers from Goldex, the deposit is expected to create
flexibility and synergies for the Company's operations in the
Abitibi region by using extra milling capacity at both Goldex and
LaRonde, while reducing costs. Akasaba West currently hosts
probable gold reserves of approximately 145,000 ounces (5.2 million
tonnes at 0.87 g/t gold and 0.49% copper) and an indicated gold
resource of approximately 49,000 ounces (2.2 million tonnes at 0.70
g/t gold and 0.41% copper) as of December
31, 2017(6). The Akasaba NSR will be payable
after the first 210,000 ounces of gold have been produced, and
Agnico has a buy-back right of 1.0% for US$7.5 million.
On June 28, 2018, Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate
Change, the Hon. Catherine McKenna
announced the cabinet's decision to approve the Akasaba West
Copper-Gold Mining Project, following a federal environmental
assessment. The project, as proposed by Agnico, will include the
construction, operation, and decommissioning of an open-pit copper
and gold mine located 15 kilometers east of Val-d'Or, Quebec. This project, when it is
operational, is projected to create approximately 100 direct jobs,
according to its proponent.
Zaruma Gold Mine NSR
A 1.5% NSR royalty payable by Core Gold Inc. ("Core
Gold," formerly Dynasty Metals & Mining) on minerals mined
from the Zaruma gold mine located in the Zaruma-Portovelo Mining
District of southern Ecuador, 3
kilometers north of the town of Zaruma. Between the years 2012 and
2014, the Zaruma mine produced 72,430 oz. of gold and 152,292 oz.
of silver. The Zaruma gold mine is estimated to contain a measured
and indicated resource of 2.62 million tonnes with an average gold
grade of 12.97 grams per tonne ("g/t") and an inferred
resource of 3.7 million tonnes with an average grade of 12.2 g/t
(totaling approximately 1.094 million oz. of gold) in a technical
report(7) pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 -
Standards of Disclosure for Mining Projects and filed on
September 17, 2014.
Core Gold's local subsidiary Elipe S.A has been deemed in
corporate good standing by Ecuador's government once again. Elipe S.A is
the subsidiary of Core Gold that owns the Zaruma gold mine. This
reactivation of Elipe S.A allows Core Gold to regain total control
of all operations including financial and administrative
operations, and to appoint the General Manager of Elipe
S.A. Metalla believes that this is a major step for Core Gold
to be able to raise the capital needed to restart operations at
Zaruma. Metalla has received royalty payments from Core Gold on
production that occurred between 2012 and 2014 from the judgment it
acquired as part of the Coeur transaction.
NLGM Silver Stream
A 15% ownership interest in Silverback which owns a 100% silver
stream on the New Luika Gold Mine ("NLGM") operated and
owned by Shanta Gold Limited ("Shanta"). The low-cost New
Luika Gold Mine, which is located in the Songwe District of South
Western Tanzania approximately 700 kilometers south-west of Dar es
Salaam, achieved its first commercial production in 2012. The ore
bodies at New Luika comprise high grade (>6 g/t gold), medium
grade (3 to 6 g/t gold), and low grade (1 to 3 g/t gold) ore which
overall averages 3.9 g/t gold.
Shanta has commenced underground development at the Ilunga
underground mine. Ilunga will shortly be the third active source of
high-grade ore at NLGM and has a JORC mineral reserve grading 5.56
g/t, which is higher than the Luika deposit. The current mine
design of Ilunga has the potential to contribute up to 25,000
tonnes per month of high grade ore with an estimated average
contribution of 20,000 oz. per planned level of development. This
will enhance the economics at NLGM but not increase overall
production.
Hoyle Pond Extension NSR
A 2.0% NSR royalty payable by Goldcorp Inc. ("Goldcorp")
on the Hoyle Pond Extension Royalties which are located on claims
that are beneath the Kidd metallurgical complex and immediately
adjacent to the east and northeast of the Hoyle Pond mine complex.
There is a 500,000 oz. Au exemption on the leased mining rights.
Currently, there are no publicly disclosed reserves/resources on
the extension property. In Goldcorp's 2017 Mineral Reserves and
Mineral Resources estimates update(8) (please see
Goldcorp's news release dated October 25,
2017), Goldcorp stated that reserve replacement for the
Porcupine camp will be focused on the down plunge extension at
Hoyle Pond. Metalla is expecting a significant amount of drilling
to take place in the calendar year 2018 on the extension property
with the potential to be able to quantify reserves/resources in the
calendar year 2019.
Qualified Person
The technical information contained in this news release has
been reviewed and approved by Charles
Beaudry, geologist M.Sc., member of the Association of
Professional Geoscientists of Ontario and of the Ordre des Géologues du
Québec and a consultant to Metalla. Mr. Beaudry is a Qualified
Person as defined in "National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of
disclosure for mineral projects".
About Metalla
Metalla is a precious metals royalty and streaming company.
Metalla provides shareholders with leveraged precious metal
exposure through a diversified and growing portfolio of royalties
and streams. Our strong foundation of current and future cash
generating asset base, combined with an experienced team gives
Metalla a path to become one of the leading gold and silver
companies for the next commodities cycle.
For further information, please visit our website at
www.metallaroyalty.com
(1)
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Non-IFRS Financial
Measures - The items marked with a "(1)" are
alternative performance measures and do not have any standardized
meaning prescribed by international financial reporting standards
("IFRS"). Readers should refer to non-IFRS financial measures in
the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year
ended May 31, 2018, as filed on SEDAR and as available on the
Company's website for further details. Metalla has included certain
of these performance measures in this press release that do not
have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS including average
cash cost per ounce of attributable silver, average realized price
per ounce of attributable silver, and cash margin. Average cost per
ounce of attributable silver is calculated by dividing the cash
cost of sales, plus applicable selling charges, by the attributable
ounces sold. In the precious metals mining industry, this is a
common performance measure but does not have any standardized
meaning. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional
measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use
this information to evaluate the Company's performance and ability
to generate cash flow. Cash margin is calculated by subtracting the
average cash cost per ounce of attributable silver from the average
realized price per ounce of attributable silver. The Company
presents cash margin as it believes that certain investors use this
information to evaluate the Company's performance in comparison to
other companies in the precious metals mining industry who present
results on a similar basis. The presentation of these non-IFRS
measures is intended to provide additional information and should
not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of
performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other companies may
calculate these non-IFRS measures differently.
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(2)
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Includes
attributable silver oz. from the Endeavor silver stream that was
shipped and provisionally invoiced during June and July 2017, where
the Company is entitled to the associated trade receivable amounts
(see non-IFRS Financial Measures).
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(3)
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The disclosure
herein and relating to the Endeavor mine is based on information
prepared and disclosed by CBH and their parent company TOHO Zinc
and can be found at http://www.toho-zinc.co.jp/.
The information and data is available in the public domain as at
the date hereof, and none of this information has been
independently verified by the Company or is supported by a
technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument
43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. While
the Company has requested additional information from CBH, it has
not received access to the necessary data from CBH and is not able
to obtain the necessary information from the public domain to
prepare a technical report and CBH has not indicated the mineral
resource and/or mineral reserve category, if any, on which the
information in table on "Projected Silver Production" is
based. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves
and by definition do not demonstrate economic viability. The
project silver production contained herein may be based on mineral
resource estimates that include inferred mineral resources, which
are considered too speculative geologically to have economic
considerations applied to them that would enable them to be
categorized as mineral reserves. There is also no certainty
that inferred mineral resources, if used by CBH in preparing the
mine plan, will be converted to the measured and indicated resource
categories, or into mineral reserves, once economic considerations
are applied. Readers are cautioned that inferred resources have a
great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether
they can be mined economically. As a result, the Company
cautions readers that there is no certainty that the projected
silver production will be realized. Specifically, as a stream
holder, the Company has limited, if any, access to the Endeavor
mine
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(4)
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https://www.panamericansilver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Joaquin-2018-technical-report.pdf
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(5)
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See
https://www.osiskomining.com/news/osisko-mining-provides-ontario-exploration-update/
|
(6)
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See Agnico's
website at:
https://www.agnicoeagle.com/English/operations-and-development-projects/operations/goldex/default.aspx
and the technical report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the
Akasaba Project" as filed on Agnico's SEDAR profile.
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(7)
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https://www.coregoldinc.com/assets/docs/reports/2014-09-18-Zaruma-Independent-Preliminary-Assessment.pdf
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(8)
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https://www.goldcorp.com/English/investors/news-releases/default.aspx#2017#Goldcorp-reports-2017-reserve-and-resource-estimates-and-provides-exploration-update
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Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV)
accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
No securities regulatory authority has either approved or
disapproved of the contents of this news release. The securities
being offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the
United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the ''U.S.
Securities Act''), or any state securities laws, and may not be
offered or sold in the United
States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, a "U.S.
person" (as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act)
unless pursuant to an exemption therefrom. This press release is
for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to
sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the
Company in any jurisdiction.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking information" and
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable
Canadian and U.S. securities legislation. The forward-looking
statements herein are made as of the date of this press release
only and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or
revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions,
future events or results or otherwise, except as required by
applicable law.
Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is
expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts",
"predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates"
or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such
words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect
that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or
"will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information
in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements
with respect to future events or future performance of Metalla,
disclosure regarding the precious metal purchase agreements and
royalty payments to be paid to Metalla by property owners or
operators of mining projects pursuant to net smelter returns and
other royalty agreements of Metalla including royalty payments from
Core Gold relating to its Zaruma mine, continued ramp-up at the
Endeavor Mine, initiation and completion of construction at La
Morocha deposit as well as commencement of production in late 2019,
management's expectations regarding Metalla's growth, results of
operations, estimated future revenues, carrying value of assets,
future dividends, and requirements for additional capital,
production estimates, production costs and revenue, future demand
for and prices of commodities, expected mining sequences, business
prospects, and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements
reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information
currently available to management.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual
results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance, or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press
release are based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by
management as at the date of such information and is subject to
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual actions, events or results to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information,
including, without limitation: the impact of general business and
economic conditions; the ongoing operation of the properties in
which the Company holds a royalty, stream, or other production-base
interest by the owners or operators of such properties in a manner
consistent with past practice; absence of control over mining
operations; the accuracy of public statements and disclosures made
by the owners or operators of such underlying properties; no
material adverse change in the market price of the commodities that
underlie the asset portfolio; and other risks and uncertainties
disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Management's
Discussion and Analysis of the Company for the year ended
May 31, 2018 dated September 26, 2018 filed with the Canadian
securities regulatory authorities on the SEDAR website at
www.sedar.com.
Although Metalla has attempted to identify important factors
that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ
materially from those contained in forward-looking information,
there may be other factors that cause actions, events or 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 information. Investors are cautioned that
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. The Company cannot assure investors that actual
results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements or information.
Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance. All of the forward-looking
statements made in this press release are qualified by these
cautionary statements.
SOURCE Metalla Royalty and Streaming Ltd.