Royalty Update: W Australian Gold Royalties

RNS Number : 8543O

Trident Royalties PLC.

13 October 2021

 

13 October 2021

Trident Royalties Plc

("Trident" or the "Company")

Royalty Portfolio Update: Western Australian Gold Royalties

Trident Royalties Plc (AIM:TRR, FSX:5KV), the growth-focused mining royalty and streaming company, is pleased to note significant developments concerning two royalties held over gold projects in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Following recent tenement reconciliation and re-pegging activity by Calidus Resources ("Calidus") at the Warrawoona Gold Project ("Warrawoona"), Trident has confirmed a significant increase in the size of the tenure included in the royalty zone at Warrawoona. Trident holds a 1.5% net smelter royalty ("NSR") over a number of tenements which host a portion of the Resource and exploration prospects at Warrawoona.

Trident also notes a recent announcement¹ by Novo Resources Corp ("Novo") pertaining to positive drill results from its Talga Talga Gold Project ("Talga Talga"), over which Trident holds a 1.5% NSR.

Adam Davidson, Chief Executive Officer of Trident commented:

"We are pleased to report positive developments for two of our gold royalties in Western Australia.  Following a number of tenement actions at Warrawoona, Trident has confirmed the royalty applies over a significantly enlarged area totalling 153.52km², providing coverage for at least 16 high priority exploration targets as well as mining licence M45/1290 which holds the eastern extension of the planned Klondyke open pit gold mine, which is currently fully financed and under construction.  This extension, known as Klondyke East, has been scheduled for exploitation in Year 3 of the Warrawoona mining schedule.

"At Talga Talga, 35km north of Warrawoona, Novo has reported promising shallow drill intersections from the first phase of an inaugural drilling programme targeting shear related lode gold mineralisation within a 3km long target corridor . Novo has previously highlighted the potential for Talga Talga material to be mechanically upgraded and trucked to its Nullagine Project for processing which provides a potential near-term avenue to cashflow from the royalty.

"We are pleased with the continued positive development of royalties underlying Trident's precious metals allocation in its portfolio and look forward to additional positive news flow from operators in the coming months. "

WARRAWOONA UPDATE SUMMARY

Following the completion and confirmation of a number of tenement related activities which were undertaken by project operator Calidus, Trident has confirmed the application of its 1.5% NSR over a number of additional tenements. As announced on 28 August 2020, the NSR is applicable over E45/3381 (which has been subsequently partially converted to M45/1290) and hosts the eastward strike extension of the main Klondyke orebody. In addition to E45/3381 and M45/1290, Trident has also confirmed the royalty is applicable to E45/4622 and E45/4666 which occur to the west of the Klondyke pit and host a number of "High Priority" exploration targets as reported by Calidus (see Table 1).  

Table 1: Warrawoona Gold Project tenements covered by Trident 1.5% NSR royalty

Tenement	Area (Km2)	Grant Date	Tenement Type	Number of High Priority Exploration Targets
E 45/3381	78.14	17/03/2011	Exploration Licence	9
E 45/4622	42.22	05/05/2017	Exploration Licence	5
E 45/4666	31.66	24/11/2016	Exploration Licence	2
M 45/1290	1.50	12/02/2021	Mining Lease	-
Total Royalty Area Coverage: 153.52 square km

Illustrative figures depicting the coverage areas of Trident's Warrawoona royalty are available on the Company's website at https://www.tridentroyalties.com/royalties-and-streams/warrawoona-gold-project  

Trident also notes that mineralisation reports² filed by Calidus have set out a JORC (2012) compliant Mineral Resource Estimate for the entire Klondyke Deposit, which includes a total Resource Estimate (unclassified) of 5.92Mt @ 0.73g/t Au for 138,530 ounces gold at the Klondyke East deposit within tenement M45/1290. Klondyke East is directly eastward of the Klondyke open pit and has mineralisation outcropping at surface. In the mining schedule of the 2020 updated Pre-Feasibility Study for Warrawoona, Calidus envisages Klondyke East being mined in Year 3.

Trident also notes construction at Warrawoona continues to advance with key milestones³ reached:

· Stage 1 open pit, for an initial 8 year mine life and average production of 90koz/year, fully funded with A$110M debt facility and A$27M cash (July 2021).

· Construction 63% complete⁴: access road, 240 room accommodation village and communications in place and processing plant leach tanks, SAG mill, structural steelwork, water boreholes, pre-stripping and tailings dam currently under construction.

· The ramp-up of mining, processing plant commissioning and first gold pour is currently expected for H1/2022.

TALGA TALGA UPDATE

Novo, the project operator, has reported the results¹ of a maiden reverse circulation ("RC") drilling programme at Talga Talga over which Trident holds a 1.5% NSR:

· During July and August 2021, 65 shallow RC holes were drilled for a total of 3,240m, testing three targets along an approximately 3km long mineralised corridor. This programme constitutes the first phase of drilling, with holes spaced 80m x 20m on sections along the mineralised corridor, and with most holes targeting the first (shallowest) shear.

· Drilling at the NW Australian prospect, intersected 3m at 25.5g/t Au from 28m and 3 m at 23.3g/t Au from 11m in the upper shear horizon in two adjacent sections. The high-grade gold results are supported up and down dip with intersections showing the same target position.

· Follow up drilling, planned for early 2022, will directly target these high-grade gold plunging shoots to better determine strike extent and depth potential.

· Elevated intersections at McPhees NE and McPhees Reward prospects have confirmed and extended historical drill intersections. Of note, is the intersection of 2m at 7.4g/t Au from 38m in hole 21TT0053. This hole was extended as a test of the second shear, which has never been drilled and is only recently recognised from mapping and rock sampling.

· Gold occurs in lode quartz veins hosted by metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks of the Warrawoona Supergroup, the same formation that hosts Calidus' Warrawoona gold project approximately 35km south of Talga Talga.

Notes & References

All of the technical information in this release has been extracted from the publicly available source documents identified below, the reader is advised that the appropriate CIM tables and Qualified Persons Statements may be found in those documents.

1  Source: Novo Resources Corporation announcement 27 September 2021: High Grade Gold Intersected in First Drill Program at Talga Talga Gold Project ( https://www.novoresources.com/_resources/news/2021-09-27.pdf )

2  Source: Government of Western Australia Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and safety: Resource Reports filing for tenement M45/1290 : Supporting Statement dated 17 September 2020 ( https://geodocs.dmirs.wa.gov.au/Web/documentlist/8/ML_NUM/M45%2F1290 )

3  Source: Calidus Resources Limited Digger and Dealers 2021 presentation, Warrawoona Gold Project  ( https://www.calidus.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Calidus-Resources-Investor-Presentation-August-2021.pdf )

4  Source: Calidus Resources Limited ASX announcement, 14 September 2021  ( https://www.investi.com.au/api/announcements/cai/e1ec91b8-68e.pdf )

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.

** Ends **

Contact details:

Trident Royalties Plc Adam Davidson	www.tridentroyalties.com [phone]
Grant Thornton (Nominated Adviser) Colin Aaronson / Samantha Harrison / Lukas Girzadas	www.grantthornton.co.uk [phone]
Tamesis Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Richard Greenfield	www.tamesispartners.com [phone]
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Erik Woolgar / Isabella Pierre	www.shardcapital.com [phone]
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR & IR) Susie Geliher / Catherine Leftley	www.stbridespartners.co.uk [phone]

About Trident

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

Key highlights of Trident's strategy include:

· Expanding on a royalty and streaming portfolio which broadly mirrors the commodity exposure of the global mining sector (excluding thermal coal) 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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