Pure Gold Mining Inc. (formerly Laurentian Goldfields Ltd.) (TSX VENTURE:PGM)
("Pure Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its financial results and
company highlights for the year ended March 31, 2014 and provide an update on
company activities at its key project in Canada.
"It has been a transformative year" stated Darin Labrenz, Pure Gold President &
CEO. "With the acquisition and consolidation of the Madsen Gold Project the
Company has acquired one of the largest prospective land positions in the
historic Red Lake, Ontario, mining camp. We have assembled a team with extensive
knowledge of Red Lake and have the financial strength to prioritize and advance
several priority high grade gold targets on the property."
Financial and operational highlights through and subsequent to year end:
-- On March 4, 2014, the Company completed a private placement of
74,326,500 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.25 per Unit for
aggregate gross proceeds of $18.6 million. Each Unit consisted of one
common share and one-half common share purchase warrant with each whole
warrant entitling the holder to acquire one additional common share at a
price of $0.50, until September 4, 2016.
-- On March 4, 2014, the Company completed the acquisition of the Madsen
Gold Project from Claude Resources Inc. ("Claude"). Proceeds consisted
of $6.25 million in cash, 9,776,885 common shares of the Company with a
deemed value of $2.1 million plus a further $2.5 million in cash or
shares (at the Company's option) due to Claude on September 4, 2014.
Located near Red Lake, Ontario, Canada, the property is host to two
past-producing mines, existing mine infrastructure, an Indicated mineral
resource of 928,000 ounces gold in 3.24 million tonnes grading 8.93 g/t
gold and an Inferred mineral resource of 297,000 ounces gold in 0.79
million tonnes grading 11.74 g/t gold.(1)
The Madsen Gold Project contains numerous other gold zones that
currently do not have defined mineral resources. These include but are
not limited to; Starratt-Olsen, Buffalo, Treasure Box, Fork Zone, and
Russett South. In the Company's Technical Report SRK recommends a C$6.3
million work program to investigate the mineral resource potential of
these zones and the potential to expand the current Mineral Resource. A
near term focus of Pure Gold will be to apply a new and consistent
exploration model to advance many of these exploration targets,
including desktop evaluation to prioritize and better define targets.
Pure Gold will also focus its exploration efforts on developing
additional targets along the 12 km-long Madsen Mine Trend prior to
initiating a drill program in summer 2014.
-- The Company strengthened its Board with the addition of Dr. Mark O'Dea,
Mr. Graeme Currie, Mr. Lenard Boggio, Mr. Rob Pease and Mr. Troy Fierro.
These highly respected members of the mining industry bring experience
in geology, mine finance, business development, accounting, corporate
governance and mine development to the Company. The Company also
strengthened its management team with the addition of Mr. Darren
O'Brien, P. Geo, as VP, Exploration and Mr. Sean Tetzlaff, CPA, CA as
CFO.
-- On June 24, 2014, the Company completed a transaction to acquire a 100%
interest in the Newman-Madsen Property from Sabina Gold & Silver Corp.
("Sabina"). The Newman-Madsen Property consists of 38 patented mining
claims and is adjacent to Pure Gold's Madsen Gold Project in the
prolific Red Lake gold camp. On closing, Pure Gold issued 6,500,000
common shares to Sabina.
With this acquisition, Pure Gold now controls over 5,000 hectares of
mineral rights on predominantly patented mining claims with increased
exposure to prospective horizons along the 12 kilometre Madsen Mine
Trend.
(1) Unless stated otherwise, information of a scientific or technical nature in
this press release regarding the Madsen Gold Project is summarized, derived or
extracted from, the following National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report
entitled "Technical Report for the Madsen Gold Project, Red Lake, Ontario,
Canada" with an effective date of February 18, 2014. The Technical Report was
prepared by Dr. Lars Weiershauser, PhD, P.Geo and Mr. Glen Cole, P.Geo of SRK
Consulting (Canada) Inc. (or "SRK"); independent qualified persons as defined by
National Instrument 43-101. For further detail on the Madsen Gold Project, refer
to the technical report filed on the Company's website at www.puregoldmining.ca
or under Pure Gold's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
The following selected financial data is derived from our consolidated financial
statements for the years ended March 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, as prepared in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. All dollar figures
are expressed in Canadian $.
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Twelve months ended
March 31
2014 2013 2012
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Loss and comprehensive loss for
the year ($1,098,112) ($1,657,747) ($3,475,960)
Basic and diluted loss per share ($0.07) ($0.24) ($0.58)
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As at
March 31, March 31,
2014 2013
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Cash and short-term investments $9,026,899 $465,606
Restricted cash $104,224 $2,075
Working capital $6,139,719 $407,419
Total assets $25,239,751 $868,522
Current liabilities $3,191,633 $121,427
Non-current liabilities $2,320,238 $--
Shareholders' equity $19,727,880 $747,095
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For the year ended March 31, 2014, the Company incurred a loss of $1.1 million
compared to a loss of $1.7 million for fiscal 2013.
The most significant contributors to the loss for the year ended March 31, 2014
was (i) wages and consulting fees of $0.4 million, (ii) office expenditures of
$0.1 million, (iii) professional fees of $68,275, (iv) exploration and
evaluation expenditures of $0.2 million and (v) an impairment of exploration and
evaluation assets of $0.3 million. Expenses for the year ended March 31, 2014
were offset by other income of $54,284.
Wages and consulting fees decreased by $0.1 million from $0.5 million for the
year ended March 31, 2013 to $0.4 million for the year ended March 31, 2014. The
change was largely due to a general decrease in payroll and consulting fees as
the Company scaled down its administrative costs prior to the acquisition of the
Madsen Gold Project. In addition, the Company allocated certain of its resources
to the Antofagasta Alliance due to a temporary shift in focus.
Share based compensation expense decreased by $91,461 from $91,746 for the year
ended March 31, 2013 to $285 for the year ended March 31, 2014. During the year
ended March 31, 2013, the Company granted 500,000 incentive stock options to
directors, officers and employees of which 470,000 vested immediately and the
remaining 30,000 were subject to vesting provisions. Therefore a significant
portion of the fair value assigned to these incentive stock options was
recognized during the year ended March 31, 2013. The Company did not grant any
incentive stock options during the year ended March 31, 2014.
Exploration and evaluation expenditures remained consistent during the year
ended March 31, 2014 in comparison to the year ended March 31, 2013. During the
year ended March 31, 2014, the majority of exploration and evaluation
expenditures related to the evaluation and compilation of historical data on the
Madsen Gold Project. During the year ended March 31, 2013, the majority of
exploration and evaluation expenditures related to exploration expenditures
incurred on its Van Horne property.
During the year ended March 31, 2014, the Company wrote down $0.3 million, being
the remaining value of deferred acquisition costs relating to its Van Horne
property, resulting from a review and prioritisation of the Company's portfolio
of mineral property assets. During the year ended March 31, 2013, the Company
wrote down $0.7 million, being the value of deferred acquisition costs relating
to its Maze Lake, Thundercloud and Van Horne properties. This write-down
resulted from the Company terminating its option agreements for the Thundercloud
property and a portion of the Van Horne property as well as the transfer of all
its legal and beneficial interest in the Maze Lake property to its joint
arrangement partner.
Going forward, Pure Gold expects an increase in general and administrative costs
and exploration expenses as activity levels ramp up to exploring Madsen, and the
Company adds technical and administrative staff to meet its day to day staffing
requirements arising from the increased activity.
Total assets increased significantly to $25.2 million at March 31, 2014 compared
to $0.9 million at March 31, 2013. The increase is directly attributable to the
$18.5 million private placement and the acquisition of the Madsen Gold Project.
The increase to total assets was offset by $0.4 million incurred in operating
costs during the year.
Current liabilities at March 31, 2014 totaled $3.1 million at March 31, 2014
compared to $0.1 million for March 31, 2013. At March 31, 2014, current
liabilities consist of $2.5 million owing to Claude to complete the Madsen Gold
Project acquisition and $0.7 million in current accounts payable and a funding
obligation for the Antofagasta alliance.
Long term liabilities at March 31, 2014 consist of the asset retirement
obligation estimated at $2.3 million.
At March 31, 2014, the Company had approximately $9.0 million in unrestricted
cash compared to $0.4 million for the same period in the prior year.
Darren O'Brien, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration, is the Company's designated
Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of NI 43-101 and has
reviewed and validated that the scientific and technical information contained
in this release is accurate.
This press release should be read in conjunction with Pure Gold's audited
consolidated financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for
the year ended March 31, 2014. These documents can be found on the Company's
website (www.puregoldmining.ca) or under the Company's profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com. Shareholders may receive a printed copy of the audited
consolidated financial statements, free of charge, upon request. All amounts are
presented in Canadian dollars.
ABOUT PURE GOLD
Our mandate is pure and simple. To dream big. To colour outside the lines. To
use smart science and creativity to unlock the next multi-million-ounce gold
discovery at the Madsen Gold Project in Red Lake, Ontario. And become Canada's
next iconic gold company.
All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact,
are "forward-looking information" with respect to Pure Gold within the meaning
of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to statements with
respect to those that address potential quantity and/or grade of minerals,
potential size and expansion of a mineralized zone, proposed timing of
exploration and development plans. Forward-looking information is often, but not
always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan",
"continue", "planned", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting",
"intends", "believe", "potential", and similar expressions, or describes a
"goal", or variation of such words and phrases or state that certain actions,
events or results "may", "should", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken,
occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future
performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of
management at the date the statements are made including, among others,
assumptions about future prices of gold and other metal prices, currency
exchange rates and interest rates, favourable operating conditions, political
stability, obtaining governmental approvals and financing on time, obtaining
renewals for existing licences and permits and obtaining required licences and
permits, labour stability, stability in market conditions, availability of
equipment, accuracy of any mineral resources, successful resolution of disputes
and anticipated costs and expenditures. Many assumptions are based on factors
and events that are not within the control of Pure Gold and there is no
assurance they will prove to be correct.
Such forward-looking information, involves known and unknown risks, which may
cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results
expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, risks
related to the interpretation of results at the Madsen Gold Project; changes in
project parameters as plans continue to be refined; current economic conditions;
future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates;
the costs and timing of the development of new deposits; failure of equipment or
processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to
perform; the timing and success of exploration activities generally; delays in
permitting; possible claims against the Company; labour disputes and other risks
of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or
in the completion of exploration as well as those factors discussed in the
Annual Information Form of the Company dated July 4, 2014 in the section
entitled "Risk Factors", under Pure Gold's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
Although Pure Gold has attempted to identify important factors that could cause
actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described 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
statements. Pure Gold disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise unless required by law.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured,
Indicated and Inferred Resources
Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability. Mineral resource estimates do not account for mineability,
selectivity, mining loss and dilution. There is also no certainty that these
inferred mineral resources will be converted to measured and indicated
categories through further drilling, or into mineral reserves, once economic
considerations are applied. The mineral resource estimates referenced in this
press release use the terms "Indicated Mineral Resources" and "Inferred Mineral
Resources". While these terms are defined in and required by Canadian
regulations (under NI 43-101), these terms are not recognized by the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a
great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to
their economic and legal feasibility. The SEC normally only permits issuers to
report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant
"reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures.
U.S. investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral
deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. Pure Gold is
not an SEC registered company.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Pure Gold Mining Inc.
Blaine Monaghan
Director, Investor Relations
604-646-8000 or Toll Free 1-877-632-4677
info@puregoldmining.ca
www.puregoldmining.ca
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