VANCOUVER, BC, June 30,
2022 /PRNewswire/ - Orea Mining Corp. ("Orea")
(TSX: OREA) (OTCQX: OREAF) (FSE: 3CG) reports that it has
initiated negotiations with Nord
Gold plc ("Nordgold") to obtain its 55.01% interest
(for a total of 100%) in the Montagne d'Or joint-venture
("JV") in French Guiana,
France. Montagne d'Or is a
5-million-ounce open pit gold mine development project with good
grade, excellent metallurgy, and considerable potential to
increase mine Reserves by infill and expansion
drilling.*
The prospect of owning 100% of the 5-million-ounce Montagne d'Or
gold deposit is an immense opportunity for Orea and its
shareholders, hence Orea is prioritizing its financial resources to
that objective. In addition to a private placement of up to
$1 million which is presently
underway, Orea is also significantly cutting costs with overhead
reductions, and the termination of the Maripa project option and
acquisition agreements.
On June 7, 2022, Orea announced
that Nordgold had been sanctioned by the U.S. Department of
Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") and that it was
uncertain what impact the sanctions would have on Nordgold and its
ability to carry-out its responsibilities as operator of the JV.
Pursuant to General License 37, OFAC authorized Orea to wind-down
its JV with Nordgold by July 1, 2022.
On June 13, 2022, Orea announced that
in response to the sanctions, that it had initiated an action plan.
Orea has retained a legal team, including specialized sanctions
lawyers in Washington and in
Paris.
On June 22, 2022, Orea made a
formal request to OFAC for an extension to the July 1, 2022, deadline, to unwind its JV with
Nordgold. Two days ago, on June 28,
2022, OFAC issued a new General License related to
Nordgold. Specifically, OFAC issued General License No. 43,
which applies to any parties subject to agreements or transactions
with Nordgold and its associated entity Severstal. The terms of
this new general license thereby extend Orea's deadline to wind-up
its JV with Nordgold until August 31,
2022. The specific language of the general license is
available at the following link:
https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/126/russia_gl43.pdf
Orea intends to fully co-operate with all authorities pertaining
to sanction regulations, including Canadian, U.S., French and UK
governments.
Additional updates will be provided by Orea when available.
*About Montagne d'Or
Orea is awaiting a decision by the Supreme Court of France regarding the renewal of the Montagne
d'Or mining titles (see press release of May 10, 2022). Montagne d'Or is an open pit
gold mine development project that hosts Measured Mineral Resources
of 10.3 Mt at 1.804 g/t gold (600,000 oz), Indicated
Mineral Resources of 74.8 Mt at 1.350 g/t gold (3.25 Moz)
and additional Inferred Mineral Resources of 20.2 Mt at
1.48 g/t gold (960,000 oz), prepared in accordance with the
requirements of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The Mineral
Resources are confined within a pit shell defined by a gold price
of US$1,300/oz and a cut-off grade of
0.4 g/t gold. Mineral Reserves have also been defined with
Proven Mineral Reserves of 8.25 Mt at 1.99 g/t gold
(530,000 oz) and Probable Mineral Reserves of 45.87 Mt at
1.50 g/t gold (2.2 M oz). The
Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves were estimated using a gold
price of US$1,200 per ounce at varied
cut-off grades from 0.552 to 0.665 g/t gold, dependent on
lithological rock types, economics and estimated metallurgical
recovery. Montagne d'Or ore can be readily processed to recover the
contained gold and silver values using unit operations considered
standard to the industry.
Qualified Person
Rock Lefrançois, President & Chief Executive Officer of Orea
and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed
this news release and is responsible for the technical information
reported herein, including verification of the data disclosed.
About Orea Mining Corp.
Orea is a leading gold exploration and development company
operating in a prospective and underexplored segment of the Guiana
Shield, South America. Its mission
is to develop gold deposits with a reduced environmental footprint
using innovative technologies, upholding the highest international
standards for responsible mining. In French Guiana, Orea holds a major interest in
the world-class Montagne d'Or mine development project. In
Suriname, Orea is advancing the Antino gold exploration project
through its option agreement to acquire up to a 75% interest, which
is subject to approval of certain regulatory authorities.
For more about Orea visit the company's website at
www.oreamining.com
Rock Lefrançois
President & CEO
Forward-Looking
Statements
Certain statements made herein, including statements relating
to matters that are not historical facts and statements of the
Company's beliefs, intentions and expectations about developments,
results and events which will or may occur in the future,
constitute "forward looking information" within the meaning of
applicable Canadian securities legislation ("forward-looking
statements"). Forward-looking statements relate to future events or
future performance, reflect current expectations or beliefs
regarding future events and are typically identified by words such
as "anticipate", "could", "should", "expect", "seek", "may",
"intend", "likely", "budget", "plan", "estimate", continue",
"forecast", "believe", "predict", "potential", "target", "would",
"might", "will", and similar words, expressions or phrases
(including negative variations) suggesting future outcomes or
statements regarding an outlook. These include, but are not limited
to, statements and information regarding: the Company's plans to
construct and develop the Montagne d'Or project, including
anticipated timing thereof; the timing, processes, outcome and
other matters related to the renewal of the Montagne d'Or
concessions, including the appeal from the French Government;
action plans in response to the sanctions imposed on Nord Gold plc, results of any discussions or
negotiations with Nord Gold plc
regarding the acquisition of Montagne d'Or, directly or indirectly;
the impact from rulings by the French Constitutional Court
regarding the French Mining Code; the satisfaction of regulatory
requirements in respect of the permitting, construction and
operation of the Montagne d'Or project, including but not limited
to, the submission and processing of mine permit applications, the
timing thereof and the timing of completion of environmental and
engineering studies; the Company's ability to renew the concessions
for the Montagne d'Or project and to comply with the conditions
thereof; economic analysis for the Montagne d'Or project and
related exploration objectives and plans; the conversion of mineral
resources into mineral reserves and the conversion of inferred
mineral resources into higher resource classification categories;
the Company's objective of become an emerging gold producer; the
acquisition of exploration projects including terms of acquisition,
exploration or development plans, intentions to acquire additional
exploration or development interests and the implications thereof;
the elimination or reduction of costs; the production capacity and
potential of future plant and equipment; future exploration and
mine plans, objectives and expectations and corporate planning of
the Company, future studies and environmental impact statements and
the timetable for completion and content thereof; impacts of
government sanctions against the Company's joint venture partner;
and statements as to management's expectations with respect to,
among other things, the matters and activities contemplated in this
news release.
Forward-looking statements are made based upon certain
assumptions and other important factors that, if untrue, could
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the
Company to be materially different from future results, performance
or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such
assumptions and analyses are made by the Company's management in
light of their experience and perception of historical trends,
current conditions and expected future developments, as well as
other factors management believes are reasonable and appropriate in
the circumstances. All assumptions and analyses are those of the
Company's. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements are based on
numerous assumptions regarding present and future business
strategies, local and global economic conditions, and the
environment in which the Company will operate in the future,
including compliance by the Company with regulatory and permitting
requirements applicable in French
Guiana, the sufficiency of Company's working capital; the
Company's ability to secure additional funding for the continued
exploration and development of its properties; the price of gold
and other metals; and the Company's ability to retain key
personnel. You are hence cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements.
Certain important factors that could cause actual results,
performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the
forward-looking statements include, among others, political and
economic risks in France,
political and economic risks in French
Guiana, risks related to the renewal applications for the
Concessions and the possible outcomes thereof; possible negative
outcomes of any appeals from the decision of the Administrative
Court of Cayenne in French Guiana;
possible negative impacts from rulings by the French Constitutional
Court regarding the French Mining Code; regulatory risk including
but not limited to unforeseen changes in regulatory requirements,
the Company's ability to enforce its contractual and other legal
rights to explore and exploit its properties, risks related to
exploration and development, permitting and licensing risk, the
estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves and related
interpretations and assumptions, future profitability of the
Company, the ability to obtain additional financing on a timely
basis, the price of gold and marketability thereof, government
regulations including with respect to taxes, royalties, land tenure
and land use, title to the Company's properties, currency exchange
rates and fluctuations, environmental risks, dilution resulting
from the issuance of additional securities of the Company, joint
venture risks, reliance on Nord Gold
plc as operator of the Montagne d'Or project, the availability of
equipment, conflicts of interest, competition in the mining
industry, uninsured risks, market fluctuations, global financial
conditions, credit risk and risks arising from pandemics and
epidemics such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the Company has
attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual
actions, events or results to differ materially from those
described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors
that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended. These statements, however, are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could
cause actual events or results to differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking statements.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking
statements involve numerous assumptions, inherent risks and
uncertainties, both general and specific, which contribute to the
possibility that the predicted outcomes will not occur. Events or
circumstances could cause the Company's actual results to differ
materially from those estimated or projected and expressed in, or
implied by, these forward-looking statements. Important factors
that could cause actual results to differ from these
forward-looking statements are included in the "Risk Factors"
section in Company's annual information form dated December 15, 2021 for the year ended September 30, 2021 ("AIF").
Readers are further cautioned that the list of factors
enumerated in the "Risk Factors" section of the AIF that may affect
future results is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company's
forward-looking statements and information to make decisions with
respect to the Company, investors and others should carefully
consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and
potential events. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements and
information contained herein are made as of the date of this
document and the Company does not undertake any obligation to
update or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements
or information, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. The
forward-looking statements and information contained herein are
expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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SOURCE Orea Mining Corp.
