(All dollar amounts are in Canadian dollars
unless otherwise indicated)
TSXV: MTA
NYSE American: MTA
VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 21,
2020 /CNW/ - Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd.
("Metalla" or the "Company") (TSXV: MTA) (NYSE
American: MTA) announces its operating and financial results for
the year ended May 31, 2020. Metalla
has also filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(the "SEC") its SEC Annual Report on Form 40-F for the year ended
May 31, 2020. The Form 40-F includes
the Company's Annual Information Form, audited financial statements
and management's discussion & analysis for the year ended
May 31, 2020. For complete details of
the consolidated financial statements and accompanying management's
discussion and analysis for the year ended May 31, 2020, please see the Company's filings on
SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or on EDGAR (www.sec.gov). Shareholders are
encouraged to visit the Company's website at
http://www.metallaroyalty.com/.
Metalla shareholders may receive a hard copy of the Company's
complete audited financial statements for the year ended
May 31, 2020, free of charge, upon
request. For further information please visit the Company website
at https://www.metallaroyalty.com/financial-reports/.
Brett Heath, President and CEO
of Metalla commented, "2020 represented another major year of
growth for Metalla's royalty portfolio and corporately with the
NYSE listing. We feel confident that our portfolio has reached
critical mass and will provide the Company the platform to continue
to scale our business, and shareholders an excellent way to
participate in the gold and silver bull market. We are excited
about the new opportunities in front of us and to see many of our
assets having exploration success while being advanced toward
production by our first-class counterparties."
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
During the year ended May 31,
2020, and the subsequent period, the Company:
- increased the number of royalties and streams held to a total
of 50 precious metal assets through the following notable
transactions:
-
- acquired a 2.0% NSR royalty on future gold production from a
portion of the La Fortuna deposit (the "Cantarito Claim")
and prospective exploration grounds forming part of the NuevaUnión
project located in the Huasco Province in the Atacama region of
Chile. The NuevaUnión project is
jointly owned by Newmont Corporation ("Newmont") and Teck
Resources Limited ("Teck"), and is one of the largest
undeveloped copper-gold-molybdenum projects in the world;
- consolidated its ownership on St. Barbara Ltd.'s ("St.
Barbara") Fifteen Mile Stream Gold Project ("FMS")
through the acquisition of a 3.0% net smelter royalty on the Plenty
deposit and Seloam Brook prospect for $2.0
million of which $0.5 million
in cash was paid upfront;
- acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Idaho
Resources Corporation ("IRC") for US$2.0 million in cash and 357,121 common
shares. IRC holds a 0.5% GOR on Nevada Gold Mine's ("NGM") Anglo/Zeke
claim block in Nevada, which is
located on trend to the southeast of the Cortez Operations and
Goldrush project. NGM is a joint venture between Barrick Gold
Corporation ("Barrick") (61.5%) and Newmont (38.5%). IRC
also holds a 1.5% GOR covering NuLegacy Gold Corporation's
("NuLegacy") Red Hill project in Eureka County, Nevada, which is contiguous to
the southeast of the Anglo/Zeke claims. IRC also holds reversionary
rights to mineral claims encompassing all of the NGM's Cortez
operations;
- acquired a net 1.0% NSR royalty on the operating Wharf mine
("Wharf") in South Dakota
from third parties for total consideration of US$1.0 million in cash and 899,201 common
shares. Wharf is operated by Coeur Mining Inc.
("Coeur"); and
- entered into an agreement with NuEnergy Gas Limited
("NuEnergy") to acquire an existing 2.5% NSR royalty
on the northern and southern portions of Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.'s
("Kirkland Lake") operating
Fosterville mine ("Fosterville") in Queensland, Australia, for a total
consideration of AUD$2.0 million in cash and 467,730 common shares.
The transaction is expected to close in October 2020.
- recognized revenue on 178,624 (2019 – 431,844) attributable
silver ounces ("oz.") at an average realized price of
US$17.24 (2019 - US$15.33) and average cash cost of US$6.58 (2019 - US$6.27) per oz. (see non-IFRS Financial
Measures);
- generated operating cash margin of US$10.66 (2019 - US$9.06) per attributable silver oz. from the
Endeavor silver stream, New Luika Gold Mine ("NLGM") stream
held by Silverback Ltd. ("Silverback"), and other royalty
interests (see non-IFRS Financial Measures);
- recognized revenue from royalty and stream interests of
$3.6 million (2019 - $7.9 million), net loss of $5.8 million (2019 - $2.4
million), and adjusted EBITDA of negative $1.9 million (2019 - positive $2.1 million) (see non-IFRS Financial
Measures);
- paid $1.6 million in dividends
during the year ended May 31, 2020
(2019 - $1.8 million). No dividends
have been paid or declared for the months of June to August due to
the impact of COVID-19;
- completed the secondary listing of its common shares on the
NYSE and concurrently completed a consolidation of its common
shares on the basis of one new share for four old shares
(1:4). All shares and per share information has been restated
on a retroactive basis to give effect to the share
consolidation;
- Coeur completed a secondary public offering of 3,910,000 common
shares of the Company previously held by it, at a price of
US$5.30 per common share for gross
proceeds of US$20.7 million (the
"Secondary Offering"). The net proceeds of the
Secondary Offering were paid directly to Coeur. On
June 30, 2020, following the close of
the Secondary Offering and the Wharf transaction, Coeur's ownership
of the Company's common shares decreased from 14.9% to 2.5%;
and
- in August 2019, drew down the
initial advance of $7.0 million on
its $12.0 million convertible loan
facility with Beedie Capital ("Beedie") and repaid all other
loans payable which had an aggregate principal balance of
US$2.0 million; in August 2020, the Company amended the convertible
loan facility with Beedie whereby Beedie will convert $6.0 million of the $7.0
million initial advance, the Company will drawdown the
remaining $5.0 million from the
original loan facility with the conversion repriced from
$5.56 to $9.90 and Beedie would make an additional
$20.0 million available to the
Company to fund future acquisitions. On August 6, 2020, Beedie converted $6.0 million at $5.56 per share for a total of 1,079,136 shares
and the company drew down the remaining $5.0
million with a revised conversion price of $9.90 from the original loan facility.
ASSET UPDATES
COSE & Joaquin Royalties
Metalla received its first royalty payments on Cap-Oeste Sur
East ("COSE") and Joaquin for production in fiscal 2020.
Revenue totaled $90,273 and was
related to mainly development ore shipped to the Manantial Espejo
plant. Both mines were scheduled to ramp up to commercial
production during the first two calendar quarters of 2020 but have
been delayed due to COVID-19 mandatory shut down of operations by
the Argentina
government.
On April 2, 2020, a new decree was
issued by the government of Argentina to expand the list of exemptions
that will include mining production as essential for the Argentine
economy. Although mining production is now permitted again, Pan
American Silver Corp. ("Pan American") has kept the
operations running at a reduced rate for the first half of the
calendar year 2020. The impact of these suspensions on mining
production levels and resulting cash flow to Metalla is difficult
to predict.
Pan American later reported by news release on August 5, 2020, operations at Pan American's COSE
& Joaquin mine resumed on May 4,
2020, with high-grade ore being stockpiled on-site. Pan
American expects to begin hauling mined ores from COSE and Joaquin
to the processing plant in the third quarter of 2020.
Metalla holds an NSR royalty of 1.5% and 2.0% on COSE and
Joaquin mines, respectively.
New Luika Silver Stream
Shanta Gold Limited ("Shanta") disclosed in their news
release on January 16, 2020 that
their annual production for 2019 totaled 84.5 thousand oz. of gold,
ahead of their guidance of 80-84 thousand oz. for the year at the
New Luika Gold Mine ("NLGM") located in Tanzania. Shanta also announced that it added
135 thousand oz. of gold reserves to the current mine plan during
the year, net of depletion.
For 2020, Shanta has disclosed guidance of 80-85 thousand Au oz.
and a 65% increase in its exploration budget to US$5 million over 2019. Shanta has reported its
first net cash position in its 2020 second quarter financial
statement, completing a period of deleveraging.
Metalla holds a 15% interest in Silverback Ltd. whose sole
business is receipt and distribution of a silver stream on NLGM at
an ongoing cost of 10% of the spot silver price.
Endeavor Mine Silver
Stream
After decades of successful operation, the operator of the
Endeavor Mine, located in Cobar, Australia, CBH Resources Limited
("CBH") suspended mining operations at the Endeavor Mine in
December 2019 and placed it into care
and maintenance. The current focus for a potential future
resumption of mining is the recent discovery of the Deep Zinc Lode
at depth and a potential open pit scenario that was originally
outlined in a historic study completed in 2007.
Metalla has the right to buy 100% of the silver production up to
20 million ounces (12.6 million ounces remaining under the contract
for delivery) from the Endeavor Mine for an operating cost
contribution of US$1.00 per ounce of
payable silver, indexed annually for inflation, plus a further
increment of 50% of the silver price in excess of US$7.00 per oz.
Santa
Gertrudis
The Santa Gertrudis gold
property of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited ("Agnico") is located
approximately 180 kilometres north of Hermosillo in Sonora, Mexico. During the first half of 2020,
Agnico continued their US$10.4
Million drill program at Santa
Gertrudis with a focus on expanding and testing new targets.
In a press release dated July 29,
2020, Agnico announced further expansion of the Amelia
deposit, effectively expanding the potential high-grade resource
base, and the extension of oxide mineralization at both the
Trinidad Trend and Toro Zone. At
Amelia, drilling intersected high-grade gold structures below the
current underground resource including 6.1 g/t gold and 122 g/t
silver over 6.3 metres and 1.9 g/t gold and 5 g/t silver over 10.2
metres. At Espiritu Santo drilling continued to intersect
high-grade gold and silver mineralization with notable intercepts
of 1.5 g/t gold and 2 g/t silver over 3.7 metres and 2.7 g/t gold
and 321 g/t silver (uncapped silver value of 1,101 g/t) over 3.3
metres. Drilling at the El Toro
trend tested targets in the upper oxide portions of historical
opens pits which will be amenable to heap-leach processing,
intersecting 1 g/t gold and 1 g/t silver over 21.3 metres and 2.8
g/t gold and 2 g/t silver over 9.5 metres.
In a press release dated April 30,
2020, Agnico announced it had intersected high-grade gold at
Amelia demonstrating the deposit remains open along strike and
depth with hole 308 intersecting five high-grade structural
commonly found at the bottom of the resource: 3.7 g/t gold over 6
metres, 3.3 g/t gold over 13 metres and 5.3 g/t gold over 10
metres. Beneath the underground resource, three step-out holes
intersected high-grade gold of 3.1 g/t over 3.5 metres, 2.8 g/t
over 22.5 metres and 3.5g/t over 4 metres, demonstrating the
possibility to expand the resource base.
At the Espiritu Santo deposit, drilling demonstrated that
shallow gold and silver mineralization continues to the south west
of the deposit with high grade intercepts such as 3.7 g/t gold and
424 g/t silver over 3 metres and 3.5 g/t gold and 7 g/t silver over
11.5 metres.
On February 13, 2020, Agnico
released an updated resource estimate at Santa Gertrudis with its first indicated
resource of 104,000 ounces (5.1 million tonnes at 0.64 g/t gold)
and an inferred resource of 1.2 million ounces (22.1 million tonnes
at 1.64 g/t gold). The resource estimate did not encompass its
post-Q4 2019 drilling that extended mineralization along strike,
depth and the new discovery at Espiritu Santo.
Through the success of drilling in 2019, Agnico declared an
initial inferred resource estimate of 521,000 ounces of gold at
Amelia. Agnico expects the year resource estimate for Amelia to
increase substantially and to declare the initial resource estimate
of Espiritu Santo by year-end 2020.
Agnico's disclosure on its website states that it believes the
Santa Gertrudis project has the
potential to be a similar size operation to La India which produced
over 82Koz of gold in 2019 and is currently evaluating plans to
incorporate a heap leach operation for the low-grade ore and a mill
for the high-grade underground ore.
Metalla holds a 2.0% NSR on the Santa
Gertrudis property.
Fifteen Mile
Stream
Fifteen Mile Stream (FMS) is part
of St. Barbara Limited's Atlantic Gold Operation and is anticipated
to be developed to provide ore to the 2.0 million tonne per year
processing facility currently operated by St. Barbara. St. Barbara
disclosed in their news release on July 29,
2020, that the Federal Environmental Impact Statement was
being revised based on comments received. First Nations
consultations and scientific studies are progressing well with
another submission anticipated in September
2020. Updates to the reserves and resources are expected on
August 24, 2020.
St. Barbara disclosed in their news release on January 22, 2020, they continue to have
exploration success at FMS as it continues to enlarge the planned
reserve pits and delineate potential satellite pits along trend. At
Seloam Brook, 700 metres west of the Plenty deposit, significant
mineralization was intercepted suggesting the potential to be a pit
extension of the main Fifteen Mile Stream proposed pits. Notable
near surface highlights include 1.19 g/t over 6 metres and 2.85 g/t
over 3 metres.
At the main Hudson and Egerton
MacLean zones, shallow high-grade mineralization has been
discovered that will aid in connecting the Egerton and Hudson pits.
The best result was 3.21 g/t at 6 metres. West of Egerton, St.
Barbara intercepted lateral continuity of shallow mineralization
100 metres west of the current resource with a 1.98 g/t over 7
metres. East of Egerton-MacLean and west of 149, the gap continues
to be shortened as mineralization was intercepted at 6.84 g/t over
1 metre. At the 149 deposit, drilling continued to confirm the
potential for 149 to be a satellite pit for Fifteen Mile Stream.
Extensional drilling 60 metres to the east intercepted 0.86 g/t
over 56 metres and 1.03 g/t over 16 metres near surface. Drilling
to the south of identified a disseminated halo of mineralization
extending over 230 metres of strike length with notable hits of
1.41 g/t over 6 metres and 1.39 g/t over 11 metres. 400 metres east
of the 149 Deposit, initial results suggest that mineralization may
extend into a new zone called 149 extension intercepting 1.31 g/t
over 22 metres.
Metalla holds a 1% NSR on the Hudson, Egerton-Maclean, 149 and
the majority of the Plenty deposit and a 3% NSR on the remainder of
Plenty and Seloam Brook.
El Realito
El Realito is part of Agnico's
La India mine project, which is located approximately 200 km east
of Hermosillo in Sonora, Mexico. On July
29, 2020, Agnico reported that drilling success at the
nearby sulphide target Chipriona warranted a study on processing
sulphides originating from Chipriona and beneath other oxide
mineral resources within the La India property including
El Realito. Drilling in the other
half will be focused on investigating gold-sulphide mineralization
below the oxide mineral resources at La India.
Agnico reported on July 31, 2020,
that on April 2, 2020, the Government
of Mexico mandated that all
non-essential businesses, including mining and exploration, suspend
operations (the "Decree"). Pursuant to the Decree,
mining and exploration activities at Agnico's Mexican operations
and exploration sites (Pinos
Altos, Creston Mascota, La India and Santa Gertrudis) ramped down. Given the
ore stacked on the leach pads in previous months, residual leaching
continued at Creston Mascota and La India during the suspension
period. On May 14, 2020, the
Government of Mexico designated
mining as an essential activity and permitted the full restart of
mining and exploration activities. Agnico's mining operations
in Mexico resumed some
pre-production activities on May 18,
2020 with employees being gradually reintegrated.
Operations resumed fully on June 1,
2020.
Agnico reported on February 13,
2020 ongoing drilling success at its El Realito project located adjacent to its
operating La India Mine in Sonora,
Mexico. The success has resulted in a new probable reserve
estimate of 106,000 ounces of gold and 485,000 ounces of silver
(4.7 million tonnes at 0.71 g/t gold and 3.24 g/t silver). In
addition to the aforementioned reserves, El Realito currently has a measured resource
of 21,000 ounces of gold and 149,000 ounces of silver (1.2 million
tonnes at 0.55 g/t gold and 3.89 g/t silver), indicated resource of
17,000 ounces of gold and 83,000 ounces of silver (0.7 million
tonnes at 0.71 g/t gold and 3.48 g/t silver and an inferred
resource of 4,000 ounces of gold and 24,000 ounces of silver (0.3
million tonnes at 0.47 g/t gold and 2.64 g/t silver)
Agnico has budgeted US$3.3 million
for 17,000 metres of drilling at La India for 2020.
Metalla holds a 2.0% NSR on the El
Realito property.
Hoyle Pond Extension
Metalla owns a 2.0% NSR royalty payable by Newmont on the Hoyle
Pond Extension, 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.
gold exemption on the leased mining rights. As of the end of 2019,
approximately 3,560 ounces of gold were produced from
Metalla's royalty claims and total reserves of 82,650 tonnes
of 12.5 g/t for 33,252 ounces of gold and measured resources of
203,028 tonnes at 14.8 g/t for 96,382 ounces of gold. Drilling
is expected to continue in 2020 with a budget
of 20,000 metres on the extension.
Wasamac
On May 14, 2020, Monarch Gold
Corporation ("Monarch") entered into a memorandum of
understanding ('MOU") with Glencore PLC in connection with
the potential use of the Kidd concentrator in Timmins for the treatment of ore to be mined
from the Wasamac Gold property. As a result of the MOU, Monarch
awarded the concentrator study contract to Ausenco on June 22, 2020. Subsequently, Monarch entered into
an MOU with Ontario Northland Railway for the transport of ore from
Wasamac to the Kidd concentrator on July 9,
2020.
Metalla holds a 1.5% NSR on the Wasamac project subject to a
0.5% buyback for $7.5 million.
Beaufor Mine
Monarch has outlined their intentions to re-start underground
operations at the Beaufor mine in Val-d'Or, Quebec within 12-18 months.
Concurrently, Monarch will begin a drilling program to focus
expanding resource blocks with a focus on high-grade zones. On
May 7, 2020, Caisse de depot et
placement du Quebec invested
$5 million into the project to
support the potential re-opening of the mine.
Metalla holds a 1.0% NSR on the Beaufor mine once Monarch has
produced 100,000 ounces of gold from the property.
San Luis
On February 20, 2020, SSR Mining
Inc. ("SSR") declared that they plan to initiate a detailed
mapping program in 2020 at the San
Luis project located in Peru. The mapping program will focus on the
land near the mineral resources on the project to potentially
expand the mineral resource on the project.
Metalla holds a 1% NSR on the San
Luis project.
Aureus East
On July 17, 2020, Aurelius
Minerals Inc. announced the closing of their $4.4 million equity financing. The proceeds of
the financing will be used to define resources, refine into
reserves and reengineer a mine plan for the Aureus mine. On
August 5, 2020, Aurelius announced
the discovery of 2,700 metres of unsampled drill core from the
Aureus East and Aureus West projects following historical drill
programs completed by the previous operator.
Metalla holds a 1.0% NSR on the Aureus East mine
Zaruma
Titan Minerals Ltd. ("Titan") announced by news release
on January 14, 2020, they have been
successful in their offer to purchase all of the issued and
outstanding common shares of Core Gold, the owner of the Zaruma
mine in Ecuador. On May 25, 2020, Titan stated publicly that they
plan on a potential sale of Zaruma and are evaluating options in
calendar year 2020.
Metalla holds a 1.5% NSR on the Zaruma mine.
NuevaUnión
Shortly after announcing our acquisition of a gold royalty on
NuevaUnión by press release on February 18,
2020, Newmont and Teck, who jointly operate the project,
filed an environmental impact statement for the project with the
Chilean authorities. The filing involves a planned expenditure of
US$152 million for drilling and other
work intended to form the basis for development of a mining
plan.
Metalla holds a 2.0% gold NSR on a portion of the NuevaUnión
project.
Anglo/Zeke
In Q1 2020, Nevada Gold Mines completed a step out drill program
east of the Goldrush deposit in Nevada to build a geological framework
critical to identifying concealed targets. In Q2 2020, it was
reported that all three step-out holes intersected anomalous
Carlin-type geochemistry. One hole
returned 4 metres at 1.2 g/t Au in a structural zone above
favorable host rock, Barrick, the operator of the Nevada Gold Mines
joint venture, has stated this hole warrants follow-up drilling
down dip where geologic interpretation suggests it could cut more
favorable reactive carbonate rocks. Other observations from
drilling include overthickened sections of favorable carbonate host
rocks and metasomatism which is an important marker as the best
deposits in the Cortez camp are found near metasomatic fronts.
Metalla holds a 0.5% royalty on the Anglo-Zeke claim block.
Red Hill
NuLegacy has continued to progress in the expansion of its plan
of operation required to effectively drill the Rift Anticline
target at its Red Hill project. NuLegacy has completed a
preliminary structural model for the Rift Anticline by utilizing
recent drill hole data and geophysical surveying completed over the
Rift Anticline. Hole WS19-02 on the eastern flank of the Rift
Anticline returned a high-grade interval grading 9.6 grams/ton gold
over 5.2 meters. NuLegacy plans to drill three to five deep holes
in the most developed northern targets in the Rift Anticline in
fall 2020 and a further 11-13 holes are planned in the spring of
2021.
In May of 2020, NuLegacy announced the appointment of Dr.
Quinton Hennigh as an advisor to the
company and subsequently arranged a private placement of
$5.625 to carry out an expanded
exploration program on the Rift Anticline of 14-16 planned core
holes.
Metalla holds a 1.5% royalty on the Red Hill project.
Goodfish-Kirana
Warrior Gold Inc. ("Warrior") advises that it continues
to intersect high-grade gold at the "A" Zone, Goodfish-Kirana
property in Kirkland Lake,
Ontario. Mineralization in the main zone has been extended
by 100 m to the east and 50 m to the west for a total strike length of
300 m and vertical depth of
225 m. Notable intercepts in the
drill program include 11.52 g/t gold over 3 metres and 11.25 g/t
gold over 1.5 m in the newly
discovered south footwall of "A" zone which appears to be a
subparallel zone to the main zone 50 metres to the south.
Metalla holds a 1% NSR Royalty on the "A" Zone Goodfish-Kirana
property.
Lourdes
On March 10, 2020, Pucara
Resources Corporation ("Pucara") outlined their intentions
to merge with Magnitude Mining Ltd. Concurrently, Pucara will raise
gross proceeds of $3.5 million upon
listing on the TSX-V. Proceeds of the raise will be used on
exploration activities on the Lourdes property in Ayacucho,
Peru. Field work has outlined four
potential targets on the property associated with Au-Cu-Mo
anomalies, a two-phase drill program testing nine drill targets has
been recommended.
Metalla holds a 1% NSR on the Lourdes property.
Camflo
On June 18, 2020, Monarch
disclosed they began undertaking a vast, detailed compilation and
3D modelling program on its Camflo property. Historically, 1.65
million ounces of gold was mined from the mine by Camflo Mines and
later Barrick Gold. More modern 3D
modelling and exploration techniques will be employed to generate
targets for exploration on the property.
Metalla holds a 1.0% NSR on the Camflo mine.
Big Island
On April 20, 2020, Copper Reef
Mining reported high grade infill results at their Big Island property testing the Tara Massive
Sulphide Zone. The significant intercept of the drill program at
Big Island returned 15.28 metres
at 21.1% zinc, 0.99% copper, 142.4 g/t silver and 5.45 g/t gold. On
July 20, 2020, Copper Reef Mining
raised $1.23 million through a
private placement to fund exploration at its properties.
Metalla holds a 2.0% NSR on the Big
Island property.
Grenfell
On March 1, 2020, Pelangio
Exploration announced in their news release high-grade drill
results at their Grenfell
property, located near Kirkland Lake Gold's Macassa Mine,
Ontario. Notable intercepts
include 1.32 g/t gold over 26 meters including 314 g/t gold over
1.74 meters and 2.5 g/t gold over 26 meters. A summer 2020
exploration plan is planned to further evaluate the discovery and
new targets in the area once a creek crossing permit is
granted.
Metalla holds a 0.25% royalty on the Grenfell property.
OUTLOOK
Primary revenue sources for the second half of calendar 2020 are
expected to be Wharf (acquired subsequent to fiscal year end),
Joaquin, COSE, and NLGM. Joaquin and COSE are expected to move
toward commercial production with operations resuming in the
calendar third quarter of 2020. The Endeavor Mine, which was placed
on care and maintenance in January
2020 has received all final settlements on delivered
concentrate. The Company is no longer providing reliable guidance
for fiscal 2021 due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its
effect on global mining production levels during calendar year
2020.
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 director of Metalla. Mr. Beaudry is a QP 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
ON BEHALF OF METALLA ROYALTY & STREAMING LTD.
(signed) "Brett Heath"
President and CEO
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Non-IFRS Measures
The items marked above are alternative performance measures
and readers should refer to non-international financial reporting
standards ("IFRS") financial measures in the Company's Management's
Discussion and Analysis for the year ended May 31, 2020 as filed on SEDAR and as available
on the Company's website for further details. Metalla has included
certain 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.
Technical and Third-Party Information
Metalla has limited, if any, access to the properties on
which Metalla holds a royalty, stream or other interest. Metalla is
dependent on (i) the operators of the mines or properties and their
qualified persons to provide technical or other information to
Metalla, or (ii) publicly available information to prepare
disclosure pertaining to properties and operations on the mines or
properties on which Metalla holds a royalty, stream or other
interest, and generally has limited or no ability to independently
verify such information. Although Metalla does not have any
knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be
no assurance that such third-party information is complete or
accurate. Some information publicly reported by operators may
relate to a larger property than the area covered by Metalla's
royalty, stream or other interest. Metalla's royalty, stream or
other interests can cover less than 100% and sometimes only a
portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, resources and
production of a property.
The disclosure was prepared in accordance with Canadian
National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"), which differs
significantly from the current requirements of the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") set out in Industry Guide 7.
Accordingly, such disclosure may not be comparable to similar
information made public by companies that report in accordance with
Industry Guide 7. In particular, this news release may refer to
"mineral resources", "measured mineral resources", "indicated
mineral resources" or "inferred mineral resources". While these
categories of mineralization are recognized and required by
Canadian securities laws, they are not recognized by Industry Guide
7 and are not normally permitted to be disclosed in SEC filings by
U.S. companies that are subject to Industry Guide 7. U.S. investors
are cautioned not to assume that any part of a "mineral resource",
"measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource", or
"inferred mineral resource" will ever be converted into a
"reserve." In addition, "reserves" reported by the Company under
Canadian standards may not qualify as reserves under Industry Guide
7. Under Industry Guide 7, mineralization may not be classified as
a "reserve" unless the mineralization can be economically and
legally extracted or produced at the time the "reserve"
determination is made. Accordingly, information contained or
referenced in this news release containing descriptions of mineral
deposits may not be comparable to similar information made public
by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure
requirements of Industry Guide 7.
"Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of
uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their
economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or
any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a
higher category. Further, while NI 43-101 permits companies to
disclose economic projections contained in preliminary economic
assessments and pre-feasibility studies, which are not based on
"reserves", U.S. companies have not generally been permitted under
Industry Guide 7 to disclose economic projections for a mineral
property in their SEC filings prior to the establishment of
"reserves". Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is
permitted disclosure under Canadian reporting standards; however,
Industry Guide 7 normally only permits issuers to report
mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by Industry
Guide 7 standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference
to unit measures. Historical results or feasibility models
presented herein are not guarantees or expectations of future
performance.
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 statements
and information include, but are 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, 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, other statements regarding the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to reduce the spread of
COVID-19 on the Company's operations and overall business,
statements regarding the temporary duration of the COVID-19
pandemic. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's
current beliefs and are based on information currently available to
management. Forward-looking statements and information are based on
forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet
determinable and assumptions that, while believed by management to
be reasonable, are inherently subject to significant business,
economic and competitive uncertainties, and contingencies.
Forward-looking statements and information are subject to various
known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond
the ability of Metalla to control or predict, that may cause
Metalla's actual results, performance or achievements to be
materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and
are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties
and other factors set out herein, including but not limited to:
changes in commodity prices; lack of control over mining
operations; exchange rates; delays in or failure to receive
payments; delays in construction; delays in the sale of the mines;
third party reporting; the world-wide economic and social impact of
COVID-19 is managed and the duration and extent of the coronavirus
pandemic is minimized or not long-term; disruptions related to the
COVID-19 pandemic or other health and safety issues, or the
responses of governments, communities, partner operators, the
Company and others to such pandemic or other issues; and the other
risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors"
in the Company's most recent annual information form, annual report
on Form 40-F and other documents filed with or submitted to the
Canadian securities regulatory authorities on the SEDAR website at
www.sedar.com and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on
the EDGAR website at www.sec.gov. Metalla undertakes no obligation
to update forward-looking information except as required by
applicable law. Such forward-looking information represents
management's best judgment based on information currently
available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and
actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are
advised not to 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.
