Category: Natural Resources

Drilling program begins at Pamlico. Newrange Gold has commenced drilling at its Pamlico project in Nevada. The initial portion of the program involves drilling 30 to 35 holes for a total of 3,000 to 3,500 meters, primarily along Pamlico Ridge. Reverse circulation (RC) drilling will be used to test the continuity of near-surface gold around and between historic workings of the Pamlico, Gold Bar and Good Hope mines. Once additional sites are permitted and roadwork is completed, drilling will continue with a combination of RC and diamond drilling at identified targets. The program is expected to result in up to 10,000 meters of drilling over the next several months.

Agreement for sale of remaining non-core Colombian assets. As expected, Newrange Gold announced a definitive agreement for the sale of the company’s remaining non-core Colombian assets to Andean Mining Corporation, a private Australian company. As part of the agreement, Newrange Gold will receive…

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Ely substantially completes acquisition of VEK Associates.  Ely Gold Royalties has substantially completed its acquisition of VEK Associates and has closed on the acquisition of 92.4% of the VEK shares outstanding. The remaining 7.6% of VEK shares are expected to be acquired pending the completion of share transfer documentation. VEK’s principal assets are comprised of five royalty properties, all of which are currently leased. Four of the leases are with Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture 61.5% owned and operated by Barrick Gold Corporation and 31.5% owned by Newmont Corporation, and the other lease is with SSR Mining Inc.

Private placement raises C$17,250,00 to fund growth initiatives. On May 21, Ely Gold Royalties closed a brokered private placement offering of 21,562,500 units at a price of C$0.80 per unit for gross proceeds of C$17,250,000. Following the offering, we estimate Ely Gold has 157,286,496 shares outstanding and 197,120,376 on a fully diluted basis. The company intends to use the net proceeds for exploration, royalty acquisitions and…

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Ely substantially completes acquisition of VEK Associates.  Ely Gold Royalties has substantially completed its acquisition of VEK Associates and has closed on the acquisition of 92.4% of the VEK shares outstanding. The remaining 7.6% of VEK shares are expected to be acquired pending the completion of share transfer documentation. VEK’s principal assets are comprised of five royalty properties, all of which are currently leased. Four of the leases are with Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture 61.5% owned and operated by Barrick Gold Corporation and 31.5% owned by Newmont Corporation, and the other lease is with SSR Mining Inc.

Private placement raises C$17,250,00 to fund growth initiatives. On May 21, Ely Gold Royalties closed a brokered private placement offering of 21,562,500 units at a price of C$0.80 per unit for gross proceeds of C$17,250,000. Following the offering, we estimate Ely Gold has 157,286,496 shares outstanding and 197,120,376 on a fully diluted basis. The company intends to use the net proceeds for exploration, royalty acquisitions and…

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CEO appointment marks next chapter in Sierra Metals’ development. Sierra Metals appointed Mr. Luis Marchese as Chief Executive Officer effective June 1 replacing Mr. Igor Gonzales whose voluntary resignation is effective May 31. Under Mr. Gonzales, Sierra Metals successfully completed significant production expansions at the Yauricocha, Bolivar and Cusi mines along with associated resource and reserve expansions. We believe Mr. Marchese will build on Mr. Gonzales’ work and broaden the focus to consider strategic partnerships that could help accelerate development of potential large-scale copper porphyry projects that could create significant value for Sierra Metals shareholders. The company has been executing well operationally and Mr. Marchese has an impressive record of successfully championing large scale copper projects and working with multiple strategic partners.

Capacity expansions support earnings and cash flow growth. Production capacity has increased 57% from processing 5,375 tonnes per day in 2015 to 8,450 tonnes per day in 2019 for a compound annual growth rate of 12.0%. Production capacity is expected to end 2020 at 9,800 tonnes per day with the potential for additional low-cost expansions. While base metals prices are currently low, most of the capital for recent planned expansions has been spent and we expect the company to begin generating…

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CEO appointment marks next chapter in Sierra Metals’ development. Sierra Metals appointed Mr. Luis Marchese as Chief Executive Officer effective June 1 replacing Mr. Igor Gonzales whose voluntary resignation is effective May 31. Under Mr. Gonzales, Sierra Metals successfully completed significant production expansions at the Yauricocha, Bolivar and Cusi mines along with associated resource and reserve expansions. We believe Mr. Marchese will build on Mr. Gonzales’ work and broaden the focus to consider strategic partnerships that could help accelerate development of potential large-scale copper porphyry projects that could create significant value for Sierra Metals shareholders. The company has been executing well operationally and Mr. Marchese has an impressive record of successfully championing large scale copper projects and working with multiple strategic partners.

Capacity expansions support earnings and cash flow growth. Production capacity has increased 57% from processing 5,375 tonnes per day in 2015 to 8,450 tonnes per day in 2019 for a compound annual growth rate of 12.0%. Production capacity is expected to end 2020 at 9,800 tonnes per day with the potential for additional low-cost expansions. While base metals prices are currently low, most of the capital for recent planned expansions has been spent and we expect the company to begin generating…

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First quarter earnings. Sierra Metals reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.01 compared with $0.01 during the prior year period and our estimate of $0.00. Adjusted EBITDA of $16.1 million increased 34.2% compared with the prior year period and exceeded our estimate. Overall, the company performed well both operationally and financially given challenges arising from the onset of COVID-19 work restrictions in March.

Updating estimates. While we trimmed our second quarter EPS estimate to reflect modestly higher expense, our full year EPS estimate remains $0.05. We forecast 2020 EBITDA estimate of $64.4 million. Our 2021 estimates remain…

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First quarter earnings. Sierra Metals reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.01 compared with $0.01 during the prior year period and our estimate of $0.00. Adjusted EBITDA of $16.1 million increased 34.2% compared with the prior year period and exceeded our estimate. Overall, the company performed well both operationally and financially given challenges arising from the onset of COVID-19 work restrictions in March.

Updating estimates. While we trimmed our second quarter EPS estimate to reflect modestly higher expense, our full year EPS estimate remains $0.05. We forecast 2020 EBITDA estimate of $64.4 million. Our 2021 estimates remain…

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Ely closes on purchase of second producing royalty at Jerritt Canyon. Ely Gold announced that it has completed the purchase agreement of a 0.5% net smelter returns royalty on the Jerritt Canyon mine, located near Elko, Nevada. Royalty payments began to accrue in February 2020. Ely Gold also holds a per ton royalty interest on the Jerritt Canyon processing facilities and a 0.75% producing royalty on the Isabella Pearl mine operated by Gold Resource Corp.

Ely graduates to the OTCQX. Ely Gold upgraded to the OTCQX Best Market from the OTCQB Venture Market and began trading on May 12, 2020 under the symbol “ELYGF.” Because listing requirements are more stringent, graduating to the OTCQX market is expected to enhance the company’s visibility among U.S. investors and liquidity. Ely also trades on the…

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Ely closes on purchase of second producing royalty at Jerritt Canyon. Ely Gold announced that it has completed the purchase agreement of a 0.5% net smelter returns royalty on the Jerritt Canyon mine, located near Elko, Nevada. Royalty payments began to accrue in February 2020. Ely Gold also holds a per ton royalty interest on the Jerritt Canyon processing facilities and a 0.75% producing royalty on the Isabella Pearl mine operated by Gold Resource Corp.

Ely graduates to the OTCQX. Ely Gold upgraded to the OTCQX Best Market from the OTCQB Venture Market and began trading on May 12, 2020 under the symbol “ELYGF.” Because listing requirements are more stringent, graduating to the OTCQX market is expected to enhance the company’s visibility among U.S. investors and liquidity. Ely also trades on the…

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Wider 1Q2020 loss, but 2020 estimated EBITDA losses narrowed to $14.4 million due to idling of Luverne plant in response to ethanol market weakness. Adjusted 1Q2020 EBITDA of $(6.3)

million was wider than $(4.0) million in 4Q2019 due to weaker ethanol market. Luverne plant idling reduces operating losses and improves cost structure to push quarterly cash burn down below the $4 million range.

Solid progress on Phase 1 goal of lower carbon intensity. Luverne plant idled for foreseeable future, but no change in near-term strategy. Wind energy is now in place and biogas strategy continues with build out of renewable natural gas (RNG) production. Phase 2 expansion backed by existing supply portfolio. Supply agreements of 17 million gallons/year in place (valued at $600 million) and potential supply agreements in the up to 70 million gallons/year range (~$1.5 billion of added value) are ongoing despite the current turmoil in the airline/refining industries. Interest in commercializing the concept remains high and industry partners could be added shortly. Potential expansion plans include retro-fitting two other existing ethanol plants and…

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Wider 1Q2020 loss, but 2020 estimated EBITDA losses narrowed to $14.4 million due to idling of Luverne plant in response to ethanol market weakness. Adjusted 1Q2020 EBITDA of $(6.3)

million was wider than $(4.0) million in 4Q2019 due to weaker ethanol market. Luverne plant idling reduces operating losses and improves cost structure to push quarterly cash burn down below the $4 million range.

Solid progress on Phase 1 goal of lower carbon intensity. Luverne plant idled for foreseeable future, but no change in near-term strategy. Wind energy is now in place and biogas strategy continues with build out of renewable natural gas (RNG) production. Phase 2 expansion backed by existing supply portfolio. Supply agreements of 17 million gallons/year in place (valued at $600 million) and potential supply agreements in the up to 70 million gallons/year range (~$1.5 billion of added value) are ongoing despite the current turmoil in the airline/refining industries. Interest in commercializing the concept remains high and industry partners could be added shortly. Potential expansion plans include retro-fitting two other existing ethanol plants and…

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LiDAR images yield clues in locating historic mining centers. Images from a recent LiDAR survey revealed a potential historic road that is up to 60 meters wide in the central part of the Lost Cities project and is thought to have been constructed during the Colonial Spanish period. This finding, along with another historic path discovered in late 2019, could yield more clues to the location of the historic gold mining centers of Sevilla de Oro and Logrono de los Caballeros, both believed to be within the Lost Cities project area. In addition to helping detect remnants of infrastructure, LiDAR surveys are being used to refine targets for gold and copper exploration.

Vein system identified at Tiria. LiDAR imagery also identified a vein system that coincides with areas containing silver in soil samples from the Tiria South epithermal gold and silver target. If a vein system is confirmed by field work, the target for follow up work would be the…

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LiDAR images yield clues in locating historic mining centers. Images from a recent LiDAR survey revealed a potential historic road that is up to 60 meters wide in the central part of the Lost Cities project and is thought to have been constructed during the Colonial Spanish period. This finding, along with another historic path discovered in late 2019, could yield more clues to the location of the historic gold mining centers of Sevilla de Oro and Logrono de los Caballeros, both believed to be within the Lost Cities project area. In addition to helping detect remnants of infrastructure, LiDAR surveys are being used to refine targets for gold and copper exploration.

Vein system identified at Tiria. LiDAR imagery also identified a vein system that coincides with areas containing silver in soil samples from the Tiria South epithermal gold and silver target. If a vein system is confirmed by field work, the target for follow up work would be the…

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