VANCOUVER, British Columbia,
Aug. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Ely Gold & Minerals Inc.
(TSX: ELY) ("Ely
Gold") is pleased to announce the results of its
2012 Annual General Meeting, held on June
28, 2012. Messrs. John
Brownlie, C.F. (Trey) Wasser,
Stephen Kenwood and Ron Husband were re-elected to the Board of
Directors, and Marco Antonio Galindo
was elected as a new director. Smythe, Ratcliffe LLP was
re-appointed as the Company's auditor.
At the post-AGM directors' meeting, Mr. Brownlie was
re-appointed Executive Chairman of the Board, Mr. Wasser was
re-appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer, and
Scott Kelly was re-appointed as
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary.
Mr. Galindo is a welcome addition to the Board. He is a
Chemical Engineer graduated from the University of Sonora, Mexico with over 15 years experience
in metallurgy process design, development, mining operations and
management. His career with Mexican precious and base metals
producers has included positions such as General Manager of Capital
Gold's Mexican operations and Senior Process Engineer / Assistant
General Manager of Alamos Gold Corporation. His work history
also includes senior positions with companies such as Grupo Mexico
(Cananea Mine), Phelps Dodge Corporation (Santa Gertrudis Mine) and Eldorado Gold Corp.
(La Colorada Mine); and active participation during the
construction and start up of other mine operations such as
Magistral Mine, Minera Fernanda S.A. de C.V. and Grupo Minero FG
S.A. de C.V. Mr. Galindo is currently the V.P. of Operations
for Oro Mining Ltd., a TSX Venture Exchange company. He is fluent
in both Spanish and English.
Corporate Update
1. Mt. Hamilton
Several milestones have been achieved in the past 12 months at
our Mt. Hamilton property. The
Bankable Feasibility Study, released in February 2012, shows robust economics and no
environmental hurdles to permitting. The study contemplates a heap
leach mine producing 54,000 GOE annually. The Net Present Value at
$1500 gold (5% discount) is estimated
at $198.5 million. Ely Gold's carried interest is 20%, which
equates to $39.7 million of the
estimated NPV. Permitting with the state and federal agencies is
currently being submitted. Our Joint venture partner, Solitario
Exploration & Royalty Corp. ("Solitario;" NYSE MKT: XPL;
TSX: SLR) is the manager of Mt. Hamilton LLC and holds an
80% interest.
Mt. Hamilton LLC has initiated an aggressive 2012 drilling
program with the intention of converting inferred resources to
reserves at the Centennial pit as well as upgrading mineralization
around the nearby historic NE Seligman pit area. The Seligman
deposit, situated approximately 2,000 feet north of the planned
Centennial pit, was partially mined by Rea Gold Corp. from
1995-1997. The goal of the 2012 drill program is to add reserves in
these two resource areas that could extend the current estimated
mine life by 3-4 years.
In June 2012, Sandstorm Gold
purchased a 2.4% net smelter returns royalty on the Mt.
Hamilton gold project from Mt.
Hamilton LLC for US$10.0 million. As
part of the agreement, Mt. Hamilton LLC will have the option, for a
period of 30 months, to repurchase up to 100% of the NSR for
US$12 million, provided that Mt.
Hamilton LLC enters into a gold stream agreement with Sandstorm
that has an upfront deposit of no less than US$30 million. The proceeds from Sandstorm will
be used to fully fund the 2012 drill program, other project
development, and permitting for mine construction. The Sandstorm
agreement is a credible first step towards full project financing
for Mt. Hamilton.
2. Northern Star Mining Corp.
On July 5, 2011, Ely Gold announced that it had entered into two
separate amending agreements providing for completion of its
initial acquisition of outstanding Senior Secured Notes ("Notes")
issued by Northern Star Mining Corp. ("NSM") to occur ten business
days following the date on which title to the NSM assets is vested
in the Note holders by Court Order. The purpose of the
amendments was to ensure that Ely
Gold would receive an interest in the NSM assets in the
first instance rather than an interest in the Notes.
The bankruptcy proceedings are taking much longer than
anticipated, and market conditions have changed in the
interim. Accordingly, Ely Gold
has notified the Note holders that while it remains interested in
acquiring an interest in the NSM assets, it will be necessary to
discuss new terms at such time as the bankruptcy proceedings are
concluded and the Note holders are in a position to deal with the
NSM assets. Ely Gold cannot
state with certainty when such proceedings will be concluded or
whether the Note holders will agree to new terms which are more
favorable to Ely Gold than the
previously negotiated terms.
3. Corporate Development
Management continues to evaluate projects in North America with a focus on near term
production. The difficult market environment is generating
interesting opportunities for corporate finance and property
acquisition. Ely Gold is well
positioned to take advantage of these opportunities with
significant mining expertise, a strong cash position and important
relationships at major financial institutions.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Signed "Trey Wasser"
Trey Wasser, President &
CEO
For further information, please contact Ely Gold & Minerals Inc. at
604-488-1104.
E-mail: trey@elygoldandminerals.com; Website:
www.elygoldandminerals.com
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release. This news release may contain
forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments
regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs,
geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential
mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address
future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks
and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those
currently anticipated in such statements.
SOURCE Ely Gold & Minerals
Inc.