VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 23, 2021 /CNW/ - (TSXV:
OGN) Orogen Royalties Inc. ("Orogen" or the "Company")
is pleased to provide a corporate update and outlook for the first
quarter of 2021. The Company continues to see exciting
developments in its business units including its key royalty
assets, joint venture partnerships and exploration projects.
Royalty Assets
Orogen holds a 2% Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty on the
Ermitaño gold-silver deposit in Sonora, Mexico. In January, project
owner First Majestic Silver Corp. ("First Majestic") announced a
US$42.1 million investment for the
continued development of Ermitaño. The investment for 2021
supports the construction of underground mine infrastructure that
began last year. First Majestic plans to release a
Preliminary Economic Assessment by the end of March and is
currently conducting hydrological studies and geotechnical drilling
for an upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") that is expected to
be released in the second half of 2021.
First Majestic also plans to initiate test block mining to
assess geotechnical conditions at Ermitaño and extract
approximately 30,000 to 60,000 tonnes of material to be used for
metallurgical testing. Initial limited mine production is
scheduled in the second half of 2021 followed by stope preparation
and ramping up of activities in early 2022. Measured and
indicated resources as of March 2020
include 311,000 ounces of gold and 4.7 million ounces of
silver. Inferred resources include 370,000 ounces of gold and
7.0 million ounces of silver.1
Orogen also holds a 1% NSR royalty on the Silicon gold project
located in the Bare Mountain district of Nevada, adjacent to Coeur
Mining's C-Horst and Corvus Gold's Lynnda Strip
discoveries2. Project owner AngloGold Ashanti
("AngloGold") resumed drilling on the Silicon property in the
fourth quarter of 2020, following the receipt of the Silicon
exploration Plan of Operations. In total, 22 holes comprising
9,710 metres were completed in 2020. Exploration in 2021
continues with three drill rigs on the property.
Orogen holds eight other NSR royalties including three in
Mexico, four in Argentina, and one in Nevada.
Joint Venture Business
Orogen has seven joint ventures/exploration alliances in
Mexico, USA, and Canada that focus on exploration for copper
and gold. At the end of 2020, four joint ventures had
active gold exploration programs, including the Sarape project
(Hochschild plc) in Sonora, Baby
Doe project (I-80 Gold Corp) and Maggie Creek (US Gold Corp) in
Nevada, and the TREK-31 project
(Pacific Imperial Minerals) in British
Columbia.
At the Sarape project, Orogen and Hochschild plc ("Hochschild")
are preparing for a 2,500 metre oriented core drill program that is
scheduled to start in late Q1 2021. Fluid inclusion studies
and hyperspectral core scanning are being used in conjunction with
surface mapping and sampling to target high grade shoots within the
5.0 kilometre long Sarape vein and the 2.5 kilometre long Chiltepin
vein. Should Hochschild exercise their option in the next
five years, Orogen will retain a 3% NSR royalty of which 1% can be
purchased for US$3.0 million.
In Nevada, I-80 Gold Corp ("I-80" formerly Premier Gold Mines)
is the operator of the Baby Doe joint venture. I-80 expanded
the project area by an additional 16.9 square-kilometres for a
total project area of 25 square-kilometres. I-80 is advancing
the project through geologic and alteration mapping supported by
radiogenic dating of both host rocks and alteration phases on the
project. An airborne magnetics survey is scheduled for 2021
and will be used in conjunction with the surface mapping to define
drill targets. Permitting is underway in preparation for a 2022
drill program. Should I-80 exercise their option on Baby
Doe, Orogen will retain a 3% NSR royalty on the Baby Doe claims of
which 1.5% can be purchased for US$3.0
million. Orogen will also retain a 1% NSR royalty on 27
mineral claims known as the 'Mustang' claims.
At the Maggie Creek gold project, US Gold Corp. ("US Gold") has
submitted a Notice of Intent ("NOI") for a spring 2021 drill
program. The program is planned to test the northeast
extension of the Chukar-Alunite fault zone under post-mineral
cover. This structural corridor is one of the primary
controls on Nevada Gold Mines'
adjacent Gold Quarry deposit where it hosts more than 25 million
ounces of gold3. US Gold has an option to earn up
to 70% interest in the project by spending $4.5M over seven years and producing a
feasibility study on the project by the end of the ninth agreement
year.
In British Columbia, Orogen and
exploration partner Pacific Imperial Minerals ("Pacific Imperial")
completed till sampling and approximately 12 kilometres of
pole-dipole IP geophysics on the TREK-31 project. The survey
defined a greater than 200 metre wide chargeability anomaly within
a highly resistive unit immediately south of a pronounced magnetic
high and coincident with a strong gold in basal till anomaly. This
geophysical signature prompted the acquisition of an additional
26.1 square-kilometres of claims and will serve as
the basis for drill targeting by Pacific Imperial in 2021. Should
Pacific Imperial exercise their option on the TREK-31 project,
Orogen will retain a 3% NSR royalty of which 1% can be purchased
for $3.0 million.
Orogen will continue with an aggressive plan to create joint
ventures in 2021 with the goal of additional organic royalty
creation.
Exploration
Orogen continues to focus on its core strength of prospect
generation to create a pipeline of exploration opportunities for
our joint venture partners, leading to organic royalty creation.
In Canada, Orogen has acquired three land positions in the
Nechako Plateau targeting Blackwater-Davidson like intermediate sulfidation
epithermal gold systems covered by shallow glacial till.
Surficial mapping and till sampling will be used in conjunction
with geophysics to advance these projects to a drill ready
stage. In Nevada, Orogen has acquired three additional land
positions: the Pearl String high sulphidation project with
outcropping gold mineralization up to 12 g/t gold, the Kalium
Canyon gold project, a steam heated alteration cell similar to
Orogen's Silicon discovery, and the Callaghan gold project
targeting Carlin-type systems in a
large area of shallow alluvial cover southwest of Nevada Gold Mine's Cortez camp. These
projects are being advanced to a drill ready stage with
ground-based geophysics, geologic mapping, and surface
sampling. In Mexico, Orogen
is using its proprietary exploration modeling techniques to
evaluate and acquire additional epithermal targets. These
acquisitions are royalty-free projects that allow Orogen to
maintain the maximum upside exposure on future discoveries.
Qualified Person Statement
All technical data, as disclosed in this press release, has been
verified by the Company's qualified person Daniel Pace, M.Sc. who is Registered Member
4202658 as defined by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and
Exploration.
About Orogen Royalties
Orogen Royalties Inc. is engaged in project generation for
precious and base metal discoveries in western North America with a focus on organic royalty
creation and royalty acquisitions. Orogen's royalty portfolio
includes the Ermitaño West gold deposit in Sonora, Mexico (2% NSR) being developed by
First Majestic Silver Corp. and the Silicon gold project (1% NSR)
in Nevada, USA, being advanced by
AngloGold Ashanti N.A. The Company is well financed with several
projects actively being developed by joint venture partners.
On Behalf of the Board
OROGEN ROYALTIES INC.
Paddy Nicol
President &
CEO
Orogen Royalties Inc.
1201 - 510 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6B 1L8
info@orogenroyalties.com
-
https://www.firstmajestic.com/investors/news-releases/first-majestic-produces-55m-silver-eqv-oz-in-q4-2020-35m-silver-oz-and-26k-gold-oz-provides-2021-outlook-and-conference-call-details
- Please see Coeur Mining's August 11,
2020 release:
https://www.coeur.com/_resources/news/nr_20200811.pdf and Corvus
Gold's February 11, 2021 release:
http://www.corvusgold.com/news/releases/index.php?content_id=364
- Muntean, J.L., 2020, Carlin-Type Gold Deposits in Nevada: Geologic Characteristics, Critical
Processes, and Exploration, SEG Special Publication no. 23, pp.
775-795
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Forward Looking
Information
This news release includes certain statements
that may be deemed "forward looking statements". All statements in
this presentation, other than statements of historical facts,
that address events or developments that Orogen Royalties Inc. (the
"Company") expect to occur, are forward looking statements. Forward
looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and
are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects",
"plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates",
"projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or
conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should"
occur.
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Forward looking
information relates to statements concerning the Company's future
outlook and anticipated events or results, as well as the Company's
management expectations with respect to the proposed business
combination (the "Transaction"). This document also contains
forward-looking statements regarding the anticipated completion of
the Transaction and timing thereof. Forward-looking statements in
this document are based on certain key expectations and assumptions
made by the Company, including expectations and assumptions
concerning the receipt, in a timely manner, of regulatory and stock
exchange approvals in respect of the Transaction.
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Although the Company
believe the expectations expressed in such forward looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are
not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ
materially from those in the forward looking statements. Factors
that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those
in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation
and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital
and financing, and general economic, market or business
conditions. Furthermore, the extent to which COVID-19 may
impact the Company's business will depend on future developments
such as the geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the
outbreak, travel restrictions, physical distancing, business
closures or business disruptions, and the effectiveness of actions
taken in Canada and other countries to contain and treat the
disease. Although it is not possible to reliably estimate the
length or severity of these developments and their financial impact
as of the date of approval of these condensed interim consolidated
financial statements, continuation of the prevailing conditions
could have a significant adverse impact on the Company's financial
position and results of operations for future periods.
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Investors are
cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future
performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those projected in the forward looking statements.
Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and
opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are
made. Except as required by securities laws, the Company undertakes
no obligation to update these forward looking statements in the
event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other
factors, should change.
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SOURCE Orogen Royalties Inc.
