Lincoln Gold Mine First Pour

RNS Number : 7774D

Trident Royalties PLC.

07 March 2022

 

7 March 2022

Trident Royalties Plc

("Trident" or the "Company")

Lincoln Gold Mine First Pour

Trident Royalties Plc (AIM:TRR), the growth-focused diversified mining royalty and streaming company, is pleased to note that it has been advised by the management of Seduli Sutter Operations Corporation ("Seduli") that first gold was successfully poured in late February following significant commissioning and pre-production activities at the Lincoln Gold Mine ("Lincoln" or the "Project").

As announced on 31 August 2021, Trident acquired a Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty (the "Royalty") over production from the Lincoln Gold Mine, located in California, USA. Seduli is currently completing commissioning activities to support the restart of Stage 1 production at the Lincoln underground gold mine targeting 220 tonnes-per-day, with the aim of producing approximately 20,000 ounces of gold per year. The Project is permitted for Stage 2 production of up to 1,000 tonnes-per-day (approximately 80,000oz gold per year) ¹ .

HIGHLIGHTS

· First gold pour achieved from stockpiled material at Lincoln as plant commissioning nears completion

·   Pre-production and commissioning activities are now largely completed with management now focused on  stabilising the operation and achieving continuous running

· Recruitment, onboarding and training of requisite site management and operating staff largely completed following minor delays associated with the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19

· Preparations for the mining of the first stope are well advanced and will commence to ensure seamless transition from processing of the existing 6,000 tonne stockpile

·   The commencement of operations at the Lincoln Mine has been well received by the local community, with broad support for the mine in Amador County

· With the commencement of production at Lincoln, Trident now holds a total of 10 cash flowing assets

Adam Davidson, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Trident commented:

"We are pleased to note the successful completion of the first gold pour at the Lincoln Gold Mine. This represents the culmination of significant efforts by Seduli's owners, management and operational staff over the last two years. It also validates Trident's view of the underlying asset, management team and overall attractiveness of the Project.

First gold represents the beginning of Seduli's journey as it seeks to expand the Lincoln Project into a successful, mid-size gold project situated in one of the most prolific gold producing regions globally. Lincoln represents an important milestone in Trident's journey to meaningful cashflow generation, and we look forward to providing further updates as the Project advances."

Toby Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Seduli commented:

"Seduli has been working on completing the processing plant since October 2021 with the support of our investors and financing partners Trident Royalties plc, and Transamine Trading SA. The rapid timeline to production, especially during a time of COVID-19 related challenges in sourcing supplies is a testimony to the dedication, ingenuity, and persistent hard work of the whole team at the mine. It's been a job well done. We are looking forward to seeing what this orebody will produce. The early signs are promising."

Royalty Structure

The NSR royalty rate is 1.50%, decreasing to 0.75% upon US$3 million being paid on the Royalty.

The Royalty has senior ranking security over all key assets of the Project. The security package falls away upon the earlier of 1) US$3 million being received by Trident in royalty payments, or 2) confirmation of bona fide Stage 2 funding to Trident's satisfaction.

About the Lincoln Mine

The Royalty is applicable to production from the Lincoln Gold Mine located in California, USA, comprising 100% of production from 47 mining claims totalling 863 acres of leased or owned mineral rights. In addition, the Royalty will be applicable to any production from any future acquired mining claims within 5 miles of the outer boundaries of the current Seduli claims.

The Project has a NI 43-101 and 2014 CIM Definition Standards² compliant Mineral Resource Estimate as set out in Table 1 below.

Table 1: Mineral Resource Estimate for Lincoln Mine Project ³

Deposit	Resource Classification	Tonnes	Gold Grade (g/t)	Contained Gold (Koz)
Lincoln-Comet#	Indicated	137,893	13.75	61
Lincoln-Comet#	Inferred	459,038	8.71	128
Keystone*	Inferred	361,969	8.33	97
Total	-	958,900	9.29	286
Gold cut-off grade of 4.11g/t Au. Converted from Imperial Resource Table to metric equivalent, as set out in reference note 5. Figures subject to rounding. # Lincoln-Comet Mineral Resource Estimate dated 14 December 2010 based on 15 February 2010 data * Keystone Mineral Resource Estimate dated 22 June 2015 based on 15 June 2010 drill data.

The resource is open at depth, indicating strong exploration potential. Seduli has a highly experienced board and management team led by Toby Davis, who has extensive experience in multi commodity mining and exploration and holds a PhD in structural geology.

Competent Person's Statement

The technical information contained in this disclosure has been read and approved by Mr Nick O'Reilly (MSc, DIC, MAusIMM, MIMMM, FGS), who is a qualified geologist and acts as the Competent Person under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Mr O'Reilly is a Principal Consultant working for Mining Analyst Consulting Ltd which has been retained by Trident to provide technical support. Mr O'Reilly confirms that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the Mineral Resource Estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Notes & References

Resource related information in this release has been extracted from the publicly available source documents identified below, the reader is advised that details on the disclosure and reporting requirements and supporting Qualified Person Statements may be found in those documents.

1   Source: Seduli Holdings website.

  https://seduli.com.au/  

2  Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves ("CIM Definition Standards") establish definitions and guidance on the definitions for mineral resources, mineral reserves, and mining studies used in Canada. The Mineral Resource, Mineral Reserve, and Mining Study definitions are incorporated, by reference, into Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-10"1). https://mrmr.cim.org/en/standards/canadian-mineral-resource-and-mineral-reserve-definitions/  

3 Mineral Resource Estimate table in imperial units as stated in the Updated Technical Report on the Lincoln Mine Project, Amador County, California dated July 2nd, 2015.

Deposit	Resource Classification	Au Cut-off Grade (oz Au/ton)	Tons	Grade (oz Au/ton)	Gold Troy Ounces
Lincoln-Comet#	Indicated	0.12	152,000	0.401	61,000
Lincoln-Comet#	Inferred	0.12	506,000	0.254	128,000
Keystone*	Inferred	0.12	399,000	0.243	97,000
Total	-	0.12	1,057,000	0.271	286,000

^{# Lincoln-Comet Mineral Resource Estimate dated 14 December 2010 based on 15 February 2010 data}

^{* Keystone Mineral Resource Estimate dated 22 June 2015 based on 15 June 2010 drill data.}

^{Units: oz Au/ton defined as troy ounces of gold per short ton.  1 short ton = 0.90719 tonnes}

Report available via Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR"), filed under 'Sutter Gold Mining Inc.', see https://www.sedar.com/homepage_en.htm  

** Ends **

Contact details:

Trident Royalties Plc Adam Davidson / Paul Smith	www.tridentroyalties.com [phone] / [phone]
Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) Colin Aaronson / Samantha Harrison / Samuel Littler	www.grantthornton.co.uk [phone]
Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Joint Broker) Callum Stewart / Ashton Clanfield	www.stifelinstitutional.com [phone]
Tamesis Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Richard Greenfield	www.tamesispartners.com [phone]
Hudson Sandler Investor Relations: John Smelt Public Relations: Charlie Jack / Harry Griffiths	[e-mail] [phone]

About Trident

Trident is a growth-focused diversified mining royalty and streaming company, providing investors with exposure to a mix of base battery, precious, and bulk metals.

Key highlights of Trident's strategy include:

· Building upon a royalty and streaming portfolio which broadly mirrors the commodity exposure of the global mining sector (excluding fossil fuels) with a bias towards production or near-production assets, differentiating Trident from the majority of peers which are exclusively, or heavily weighted, to precious metals;

· Acquiring royalties and streams in resource-friendly jurisdictions worldwide, while most competitors have portfolios focused on North and South America;

·   Targeting attractive small-to-mid size transactions which are often ignored in a sector dominated by large players;

· Active deal-sourcing which, in addition to writing new royalties and streams, will focus on the acquisition of assets held by natural sellers such as: closed-end funds, prospect generators, junior and mid-tier miners holding royalties as non-core assets, and counterparties seeking to monetise packages of royalties and streams which are otherwise undervalued by the market;  

· Maintaining a low-overhead model which is capable of supporting a larger scale business without a commensurate increase in operating costs; and

·   Leveraging the experience of management, the board of directors, and Trident's adviser team, all of whom have deep industry connections and strong transactional experience across multiple commodities and jurisdictions.

The acquisition and aggregation of individual royalties and streams is expected to deliver strong returns for shareholders as assets are acquired on terms reflective of single asset risk compared with the lower risk profile of a diversified, larger scale portfolio. Further value is expected to be delivered by the introduction of conservative levels of leverage through debt. Once scale has been achieved, strong cash generation is expected to support an attractive dividend policy, providing investors with a desirable mix of inflation protection, growth and income.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward ‐ looking information. The statements are based on reasonable assumptions and expectations of management and Trident provides no assurance that actual events will meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward ‐ looking information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although Trident believes the expectations expressed in such forward ‐ looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. Mining exploration and development is an inherently risky business. In addition, factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from the forward-looking information stated herein include any factors which affect decisions to pursue mineral exploration on the relevant property and the ultimate exercise of option rights, which may include changes in market conditions, changes in metal prices, general economic and political conditions, environmental risks, and community and non-governmental actions. Such factors will also affect whether Trident will ultimately receive the benefits anticipated pursuant to relevant agreements. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the forward ‐ looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Third Party Information

As a royalty and streaming company, Trident often has limited, if any, access to non-public scientific and technical information in respect of the properties underlying its portfolio of royalties and investments, or such information is subject to confidentiality provisions. As such, in preparing this announcement, the Company often largely relies upon information provided by or the public disclosures of the owners and operators of the properties underlying its portfolio of royalties, as available at the date of this announcement.

 

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