HONG KONG, Nov. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - St. Augustine Gold and Copper Limited (TSX: SAU)
("St. Augustine" or the "Company"), a development-stage company
advancing the King-king Copper-Gold Project ("King-king" or the
"Project") in Mindanao, Philippines, announced that it has filed its
financial results for the third quarter ended September 30 2016. All amounts, unless
otherwise indicated, are in U.S. dollars.
Q3 Corporate Highlights
- The Company's joint venture partner received notification from
the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Philippine Government
that the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) for the
King-king Copper-Gold Project has been renewed for a period of 25
years. The MPSA is an agreement under which the Philippine
Government grants an exclusive right to conduct mining activities
within the contract area and the Government receives a share of the
gross revenues of the mine operations. St. Augustine, through
its joint venture partner, NADECOR, will provide the necessary
financing, technology, management and personnel for King-King's
development, construction and operation. The DMPF (a major project
permit) approved by the Philippine Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) in December
2015 was amended with the Integrated King-king Copper-Gold
Project document in March 2016. This permit amendment
to the DMPF was approved by the DENR in May 2016. The
Integrated Project basically implements the Original Project in two
(2) stages within the same area of the same facilities. The
Stage 1 portion of the Project would probably mine and process 1.1
million TPY of high grade mixed copper oxide-sulfide ore by sulfide
flotation and agitation tailing leach-SXEW. Stage 2 would be
almost the same project originally described in the December 2015 approved DMPF and would follow
Stage 1.
- At September 30, 2016, St.
Augustine had cash and cash equivalents of approximately
$700,000 and a working capital
deficit of $300,000. These compare to
approximately $3.2 million in cash
and cash equivalents and working capital of approximately
$2.5 million at December 31, 2015. As additional funds will
be required to continue development of the King-king project, St.
Augustine management is currently considering options to ensure
that the Company has sufficient funding to continue the development
of the King-king project.
Outlook
St. Augustine expects to focus its efforts completing a number
of milestones and targets over the near and longer term,
including:
- Structuring financing arrangements with strategic parties and
major financial institutions in coordination with NADECOR;
- Ongoing efforts to achieve ISO 14001 certification as required
by the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural
Resources;
- Advancing critical work necessary to bring the King-king
project to a more advanced stage, including developing a
Feasibility Study.
St. Augustine's financial statements and management's discussion
for the period ended September 30,
2016 are available on the Company's website,
www.sagcmining.com and via SEDAR.
The King-king Copper-Gold Project
The King-king Copper-Gold Project is located in Compostela
Valley in the Philippines, and is
expected to recover 3.16 billion pounds (1.43 million tonnes) of
copper and 5.43 million troy ounces (169,000 kilograms) of gold
over its 25 year mine and process life. According to the
Preliminary Feasibility Study that was released on September 18, 2013, and then filed on
www.sedar.com on November 1, 2013,
the Project has a pre-tax NPV of $2.0
billion with an IRR of 24.8%. The estimated mineral reserves
amount to 617.9 million tonnes at 0.300% total copper and 0.395 g/t
gold.
About St. Augustine
St. Augustine (SAU.T) is a TSX-listed mining company focused on
the development of the King-king Copper-Gold Project. The Project
is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the
world, and is listed as a top three-priority mining project by the
Philippine government.
NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101 COMPLIANCE
Mr. James J. Moore, P.E., a qualified person under National
Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") has reviewed and approved the
scientific, technical and economic information contained in this
news release.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS
This announcement includes certain "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities
legislation. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact included herein are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties
and are based on certain factors and assumptions. There can be no
assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's
expectations include uncertainties related to fluctuations in gold,
copper and other commodity prices and currency exchange rates;
uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the
geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainties
relating to the completion of a bankable feasibility study;
uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, recovery
rates production estimates and estimated economic return; the need
for cooperation of the Company's joint venture partner and
government agencies in the development of the Company's mineral
projects; the need to obtain further permits and additional
financing to develop the Company's mineral projects; the
possibility of delay in development programs or in construction
projects and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones
for the Company's mineral projects; and other risks and
uncertainties disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the
Annual Information Form dated March 30,
2016, and filed with Canadian securities regulatory
authorities on the SEDAR website at
www.sedar.com.
SOURCE St. Augustine Gold and Copper Limited