Havieron Joint Venture Update

RNS Number : 5923W

Greatland Gold PLC

19 August 2022

 

19 August 2022

 

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE UK MARKET ABUSE REGULATIONS. ON PUBLICATION OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT VIA A REGULATORY INFORMATION SERVICE, THIS INFORMATION IS CONSIDERED TO BE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.

Greatland Gold plc

("Greatland" or "the Company")

Havieron Joint Venture Update

Greatland retains 30% ownership of the world-class Havieron asset

Mineral Resource updated by Newcrest to 6.5Moz Au Eq

consistent with Greatland's Update from March 2022

Accelerated decline advance rate which is expected to further improve

Greatland Gold plc (AIM:GGP), a mining development and exploration company with a focus on precious and base metals notes the release of an ASX announcement titled "Annual Results and Annual Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement " by Newcrest Mining Ltd ("Newcrest") earlier today providing an update on the Havieron Joint Venture ("JV").

Greatland retains 30% ownership of Havieron

Further to Greatland's announcement of 21 July 2022, Greatland is pleased to advise that Newcrest has elected not to exercise the option under the Havieron JV agreement to acquire an additional 5% interest in the JV from Greatland at the price of US$60m determined by the independent adjudicator, which was based on data up to 15 December 2021.

The Board is delighted that Greatland will retain 30% ownership in the Company's flagship asset and believes this outcome delivers substantial medium to long term value to Greatland.  Greatland had previously made a non-binding offer to Newcrest to acquire for US$85m a 5% stake in Havieron which, in the opinion of the directors, still presented a financially compelling outcome to Greatland shareholders.  

This outcome concludes the Joint Venture process for Newcrest's 5% option. Havieron still has significant growth potential as the ongoing drill campaign consistently delivers excellent results that enhance the JV partners' understanding of the size and scale of Havieron.  Newcrest, as a global major, and Australia's largest gold mining company with over the 35-years of experience in the Paterson and existing Telfer infrastructure, is an excellent partner to work alongside to accelerate the development of Havieron and maximise its future value.  

Newcrest Updated Mineral Resource

Newcrest has released an updated Mineral Resource for Havieron which is within 1% of the total gold metal content and within 3% total copper metal content of Greatland's previously announced updated Mineral Resource.

Newcrest's updated Mineral Resource for the Havieron Deposit defines a total 85Mt @ 2.0g/t Au & 0.26% Cu for a total of 5.5Moz of Au and 223kt of Cu. This updated Newcrest Mineral Resource was based on a 16 November 2021 drilling cut-off date similar to the Greatland Updated Mineral Resource announced on 3 March 2022 based on a 2 December 2021 drilling cut-off date.

On 3 March 2022, Greatland published an updated Mineral Resources (including Ore Reserves) based on the same data, which demonstrated an increase to 92Mt @ 1.9g/t Au & 0.24% Cu for a total of 5.5M oz Au and 218kt Cu or 6.5M oz AuEq^1.  T he close alignment to the Newcrest updated Mineral Resource published today is a testament to the high standard of work performed by Greatland's technical team.

Newcrest Updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Havieron Deposit (100%)^#

Classification	Tonnage	Grade		Metal Content
	Mt	Au (g/t)	Cu (%)	Au (M oz)	Cu (Mt)
Indicated	28	3.2	0.51	2.9	0.14
Inferred	57	1.4	0.14	2.6	0.082
Total Mineral Resource	85	2.0	0.26	5.5	0.22

Greatland Updated Mineral Resource estimate for the Havieron Deposit (100%)^{^}

Classification	Tonnage	Grade		Metal Content		AuEq 1 Metal
	Mt	Au (g/t)	Cu (%)	Au (M oz)	Cu (Mt)	AuEq (M oz)
Indicated	35	2.8	0.42	3.1	0.15	3.8
Inferred	57	1.3	0.13	2.4	0.072	2.7
Total Mineral Resource	92	1.9	0.24	5.5	0.22	6.5

Havieron Exploration and Development Update

It is pleasing to report that the drill programme at Havieron is progressing at pace with up to seven drill rigs in operation. The growth drilling programme continues to identify and expand high grade extensions to the mineralisation in the Eastern Breccia, South East Crescent Zone and Northern Breccia.

Additionally, the development of the exploration decline has improved with advancement rates accelerating during the June 2022 quarter. Improvements are expected to continue.  

Shaun Day, Managing Director of Greatland Gold plc, commented: "We are simply delighted that Greatland will retain its 30% interest in Havieron. This was the best possible outcome for the Company and its shareholders which delivers substantial medium to long term value.

"Greatland had previously offered Newcrest significantly higher value to acquire a 5% stake from Newcrest which, in the opinion of the directors, still presented a financially compelling outcome to Greatland shareholders. Accordingly, today's outcome is tremendous, particularly in the context of the ongoing potential of Havieron.

"This outcome also concludes the JV process for Newcrest's 5% option and aligns both Joint Venture parties to focus on developing Havieron and work towards first production without the distraction of the process. We respect the Newcrest decision, which as a global major with over 35-years of experience in the Paterson, is an excellent joint venture partner and provides Havieron the benefit of leveraging the existing infrastructure just down the road at Telfer.

"We welcome Newcrest's update to the Havieron JORC resource today, which delivers around a 51% increase on their previous update. This update, with a December 2021 drill cut-off, is within around 1% for total gold metal content of Greatland's independent update released on 3 March 2022. This validation is a great credit to the quality of our technical team and their ability to deliver within compressed timeframes.

"An additional almost nine months has passed since the cut-off date, with drilling results over the course of 2022 being outstanding. Accordingly, there remains exceptional potential for ongoing growth.

"It is also pleasing to share today's update with respect to the positive progress on the Havieron decline, whereby development advance rates have accelerated towards the end of the June 2022 quarter and steady improvement is expected to continue.

"With excellent progress at Havieron continuing and the publication of the Feasibility Study on track for the December 2022 quarter, we are confident that Havieron represents a world-class, low-cost development expected to be fast-tracked to commercial production."

^# Results are reported to one (gold) and two (copper) significant figures to reflect appropriate precision in the estimate, and this may cause some apparent discrepancies in totals. Results represent 100% of the Mineral Resource for Havieron. Mineral Resources are reported within a variable A$50-$100 Net Smelter Return "NSR/t". Resources are inclusive of Reserves.

^{^} Results are reported to one (gold) and two (copper) significant figures to reflect appropriate precision in the estimate, and this may cause some apparent discrepancies in totals. Results represent 100% of the Mineral Resource for Havieron. Mineral Resources in the Crescent are reported within a A$80 NSR/t shell while Mineral Resources in the Breccias are reported within a A$50 NSR/t shell. Resources are inclusive of Reserves. The Updated Mineral Resource Estimates assume selective mining of the South East Crescent Zone and bulk extraction in the Breccias and are reported inside A$80 or A$50 NSR/t shells respectively.

¹ The gold equivalent (AuEq) is based on assumed prices of US$1,450/oz Au and US$3.23/lb Cu for Ore Reserve and assumed prices of US$1,600/oz Au and US$3.50/lb Cu for Mineral Resource and metallurgical recoveries based on block metal grade, reporting approximately at 88% for Au and 84% for Cu which in both cases equates to a formula of approximately AuEq = Au (g/t) + 1.5 * Cu (%). It is the company's opinion that all the elements included in the metal equivalents calculation have a reasonable potential to be recovered and sold. 

Competent Persons' Statements for JORC 2022 Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves

The information in this document that relates to the Greatland Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves for Havieron is extracted from the RNS announcement titled "Updated Mineral Resource substantially increases Havieron Resource and Reserve" released on 3 March 2022, and available on Greatland's website. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves for Havieron in the original 3 March 2022 announcement.

The information in this document that relates to the Newcrest Mineral Resources for Havieron is extracted from the ASX announcement titled "Group Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement" released on 19 August 2022, and available on Newcrest website.

Forward Looking Statements 

This document includes forward looking statements and forward looking information within the meaning of securities laws of applicable jurisdictions. Forward looking statements can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "plan", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "objectives", "targets", "outlook" and "guidance", or other similar words and may include, without limitation, statements regarding estimated reserves and resources, certain plans, strategies, aspirations and objectives of management, anticipated production, study or construction dates, expected costs, cash flow or production outputs and anticipated productive lives of projects and mines.  

These forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance and achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements, or industry results, expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Relevant factors may include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity prices, foreign exchange fluctuations and general economic conditions, increased costs and demand for production inputs, the speculative nature of exploration and project development, including the risks of obtaining necessary licences and permits and diminishing quantities or grades of reserves, political and social risks, changes to the regulatory framework within which Greatland operates or may in the future operate, environmental conditions including extreme weather conditions, recruitment and retention of personnel, industrial relations issues and litigation. 

Forward looking statements are based on assumptions as to the financial, market, regulatory and other relevant environments that will exist and affect Greatland's business and operations in the future. Greatland does not give any assurance that the assumptions will prove to be correct. There may be other factors that could cause actual results or events not to be as anticipated, and many events are beyond the reasonable control of Greatland. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking statements, particularly in the current economic climate with the significant volatility, uncertainty and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Forward looking statements in this document speak only at the date of issue. Greatland does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any of the forward looking statements or to advise of any change in assumptions on which any such statement is based.

Enquiries:

Greatland Gold PLC Shaun Day		[phone] [e-mail] www.greatlandgold.com
SPARK Advisory Partners Limited (Nominated Adviser) Andrew Emmott/James Keeshan		[phone]
Berenberg (Joint Corporate Broker and Financial Adviser) Matthew Armitt/ Jennifer Lee/ Jack Botros		[phone]
Canaccord Genuity (Joint Corporate Broker and Financial Adviser) James Asensio/Patrick Dolaghan		[phone]
Hannam & Partners (Joint Corporate Broker and Financial Adviser) Andrew Chubb/Matt Hasson/Jay Ashfield		[phone]
SI Capital Limited (Joint Broker) Nick Emerson/Sam Lomanto		[phone]
Gracechurch Group (Media and Investor Relations) Harry Chathli/Alexis Gore		[phone]

Notes for Editors:

Greatland Gold plc (AIM:GGP) is a mining development and exploration company with a focus on precious and base metals . The Company's flagship asset is the world class Havieron gold-copper deposit in the Paterson region of Western Australia, discovered by Greatland and presently under development in Joint Venture with Newcrest Mining Ltd . Newcrest holds a joint venture interest of 70% (30% Greatland).

Havieron is located approximately 45km east of Newcrest's Telfer gold mine and, subject to positive decision to mine, will leverage the existing infrastructure and processing plant to significantly reduce the project's capital expenditure and carbon impact for a low-risk and low-cost pathway to development.

Construction of the box cut and decline to develop the Havieron deposit commenced in February 2021. An extensive growth drilling programme is presently underway at Havieron with a view to further expanding the understanding and scale of the ore body.

Greatland has a proven track record of discovery and exploration success. It is pursuing the next generation of tier-one mineral deposits by applying advanced exploration techniques in under-explored regions. The Company is focused on safe, low-risk jurisdictions and is strategically positioned in the highly prospective Paterson region. Greatland has a total six projects across Australia with a focus on becoming a multi-commodity mining company of significant scale.

 

END

 

 

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