VANCOUVER, BC, April 28,
2022 /CNW/ - Orla Mining Ltd. (TSX: OLA)
(NYSE: ORLA) ("Orla" or the "Company") today is pleased to announce
that the Company has refinanced its US$125
million project finance facility with a new US$150 million secured credit facility (the
"Credit Facility"). The Credit Facility includes a US$100 million term facility and a US$50 million revolving facility through a
syndicate of lenders composed of The Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, and Canadian Imperial Bank of
Commerce. The proceeds from the Credit Facility were used to repay
the existing project finance facility, with the balance of the
revolving facility available for general corporate purposes and
working capital. With the successful ramp-up at Camino Rojo, the
Company has been building cash and had a balance of $35.0 million, at March
31, 2022, in advance of the refinancing.
"We would like to extend our gratitude to the syndicate of
lenders who provided their support during the construction phase of
the Camino Rojo mine. This refinancing significantly lowers our
cost of capital, improves our financial strength and provides
additional flexibility through increased liquidity," said
Etienne Morin, Chief Financial
Officer of Orla Mining. "As we grow, we will continue to seek
opportunities to optimize our capital structure."
CREDIT FACILITY
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Facility size: US$100
million term facility and US$50
million revolving facility, with ability to increase the
revolving facility to US$75 million,
subject to certain conditions and customary consents.
- Term: 5-year term on term facility and 3-year term on
revolving facility, with option to extend the term of the revolving
facility by up to one-year intervals, subject to certain conditions
and customary consents.
- Interest rates: The applicable interest rate for each
Credit Facility will be based on the term SOFR rate, plus an
applicable margin ranging from 2.75% to 3.75% based on the
Company's leverage ratio at the end of each fiscal quarter. The
undrawn portion of the revolving facility will be subject to a
standby fee of 25% of the applicable term SOFR margin. Until
September 30, 2022, the Company will
be subject to an applicable margin of 3.00%.
- Repayment: The term facility will be repaid in 18 equal
quarterly instalments commencing on December
31, 2022. Full repayment of the revolving facility is due
upon maturity. The Company will be entitled to prepay all or any
portion of the amounts owed under the credit agreement without
penalty.
FIRST QUARTER 2022 CONFERENCE
CALL
Orla will host a conference call on Friday May 13, 2022, at 10:00 AM, Eastern Time, to provide a corporate
update following the release of its financial and operating results
for the first quarter 2022:
Dial-In Numbers:
Conference
ID:
|
5844017
|
|
|
Toll
Free:
|
1 (888)
550-5302
|
|
|
International:
|
1 (646)
960-0685
|
|
|
Webcast:
|
https://orlamining.com/investors/presentations-and-events/
|
About Orla Mining Ltd.
Orla is operating the Camino Rojo Oxide Gold Mine, a gold and
silver open-pit and heap leach mine, located in Zacatecas State,
Central Mexico. The property is
100% owned by Orla and covers over 160,000 hectares. The technical
report for the 2021 Feasibility Study on the Camino Rojo oxide gold
project entitled "Unconstrained Feasibility Study NI 43-101
Technical Report on the Camino Rojo Gold Project – Municipality of
Mazapil, Zacatecas, Mexico"
dated January 11, 2021, is available
on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company's profile at
www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. The technical
report is also available on Orla's website at www.orlamining.com.
Orla also owns 100% of Cerro Quema located in Panama which includes a near-term gold
production scenario and various exploration targets. Cerro Quema is
a proposed open pit mine and gold heap leach operation. The
technical report for the Pre-Feasibility Study on the Cerro Quema
oxide gold project entitled "Project Pre-Feasibility
Updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Cerro Quema
Project, Province of Los Santos,
Panama" dated January 18, 2022, is available on SEDAR and EDGAR
under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov,
respectively. The technical report is also available on Orla's
website at www.orlamining.com.
Forward-looking
Statements
This news release contains certain "forward-looking
information" and "`forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of Canadian securities legislation and within the meaning of
Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, Section 21E of the United States Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995, or in releases made by the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission, all as may be amended from time to time,
including, without limitation, statements regarding the Credit
Facility and the optimization of the Company's capital structure.
Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical
facts which address events, results, outcomes or developments that
the Company expects to occur. Forward-looking statements are based
on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management
on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of
risks and uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding
such forward-looking statements were made, including without
limitation, assumptions regarding the price of gold, silver, and
copper; the accuracy of mineral resource and mineral reserve
estimations; that there will be no material adverse change
affecting the Company or its properties; that all required
approvals will be obtained, including concession renewals and
permitting; that political and legal developments will be
consistent with current expectations; that currency and exchange
rates will be consistent with current levels; and that there will
be no significant disruptions affecting the Company or its
properties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such
statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant known
and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks
include, but are not limited to: uncertainty and variations in the
estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, including
risks that the interpreted drill results may not accurately
represent the actual continuity of geology or grade of the deposit,
bulk density measurements may not be representative, interpreted
and modelled metallurgical domains may not be representative, and
metallurgical recoveries may not be representative; the Company's
reliance on Camino Rojo and risks associated with its start-up
phase; financing risks and access to additional capital; risks
related to natural disasters, terrorist acts, health crises and
other disruptions and dislocations, including by the COVID-19
pandemic; risks related to the Company's indebtedness; success of
exploration, development, and operation activities; foreign country
and political risks, including risks relating to foreign operations
and expropriation or nationalization of mining operations;
concession risks; permitting risks; environmental and other
regulatory requirements; delays in or failures to enter into a
subsequent agreement with Fresnillo Plc with respect to accessing
certain additional portions of the mineral resource at Camino Rojo
and to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals related thereto;
the mineral resource estimations for Camino Rojo being only
estimates and relying on certain assumptions; the Layback Agreement
with Fresnillo Plc remaining subject to the transfer of surface
rights; delays in or failure to get access from surface rights
owners; risks related to guidance estimates and uncertainties
inherent in the preparation of feasibility and pre-feasibility
studies, including but not limited to, assumptions underlying the
production estimates not being realized, changes to the cost of
production, variations in quantity of mineralized material, grade
or recovery rates, geotechnical or hydrogeological considerations
during mining differing from what has been assumed, failure of
plant, equipment or processes, changes to availability of power or
the power rates, ability to maintain social license, changes to
exchange, interest or tax rates, cost of labour, supplies, fuel and
equipment rising, changes in project parameters, delays, and costs
inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of local
communities; uncertainty in estimates of production, capital, and
operating costs and potential production and cost overruns; the
fluctuating price of gold, silver, and copper; global financial
conditions; uninsured risks; competition from other companies and
individuals; uncertainties related to title to mineral properties;
conflicts of interest; risks related to compliance with
anti-corruption laws; volatility in the market price of the
Company's securities; assessments by taxation authorities in
multiple jurisdictions; foreign currency fluctuations; the
Company's limited operating history; risks related to the Company's
history of negative operating cash flow; litigation risks;
intervention by non-governmental organizations; outside contractor
risks; risks related to historical data; unknown labilities in
connection with acquisitions; the Company's ability to identify,
complete, and successfully integrate acquisitions; dividend risks;
risks related to the Company's foreign subsidiaries; risks related
to the Company's accounting policies and internal controls; the
Company's ability to satisfy the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002; enforcement of civil liabilities; the Company's status
as a passive foreign investment company for U.S. federal income tax
purposes; information and cyber security; gold industry
concentration; shareholder activism; risks associated with
executing the Company's objectives and strategies, as well as those
risk factors discussed in the Company's most recently filed
management's discussion and analysis, as well as its annual
information form dated March 18,
2022, to be available on www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov.
Except as required by the securities disclosure laws and
regulations applicable to the Company, the Company undertakes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements if
management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors,
should change.
Cautionary Note to U.S.
Readers
The disclosure contained or referenced herein uses mineral
reserve and mineral resource classification terms that comply with
reporting standards in Canada, and
mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates are made in
accordance with Canadian NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of
Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum — CIM Definition Standards on
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council,
as amended (the "CIM Definition Standards"). Canadian NI 43-101
establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of
scientific and technical information concerning mineral
projects. These standards differ significantly from the
mineral reserve disclosure requirements of the United States
Securities Exchange Commission (the "SEC") set forth in Industry
Guide 7. Consequently, information regarding mineralization
contained or referenced herein is not comparable to similar
information that would generally be disclosed by U.S. companies
under Industry Guide 7 in accordance with the rules of the SEC
which applied to U.S. filings prior to the current SEC
Modernization Rules (as defined herein). Further, the SEC has
adopted amendments to its disclosure rules to modernize the mineral
property disclosure requirements for issuers whose securities are
registered with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
("Exchange Act"). These amendments became effective February 25, 2019 (the "SEC Modernization Rules")
and, commencing for registrants with their first fiscal year
beginning on or after January 1,
2021, the SEC Modernization Rules replace the historical
property disclosure requirements included in SEC Industry Guide
7. As a foreign private issuer that files its annual report
on Form 40-F with the SEC pursuant to the multi-jurisdictional
disclosure system, the Company is not required to provide
disclosure on its mineral properties under the SEC Modernization
Rules and will continue to provide disclosure under NI 43-101 and
the CIM Definition Standards. The SEC Modernization Rules include
the adoption of terms describing mineral reserves and mineral
resources that are "substantially similar" to the corresponding
terms under the CIM Definition, but there are differences in the
definitions under the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM
Definition Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any
mineral reserves or mineral resources that the Company may report
as "proven mineral reserves", "probable mineral reserves",
"measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and
"inferred mineral resources" under NI 43-101 would be the same had
the Company prepared the mineral reserve or mineral resource
estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization
Rules. U.S. investors are also cautioned that while the SEC
recognizes "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral
resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under the Modernization
Rules, investors should not assume that any part or all of the
mineralization in these categories will ever be converted into a
higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves.
Mineralization described using these terms has a greater amount of
uncertainty as to its existence and feasibility than mineralization
that has been characterized as reserves. Accordingly, investors are
cautioned not to assume that any measured mineral resources,
indicated mineral resources, or inferred mineral resources that the
Company reports are or will be economically or legally mineable.
Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a greater amount of
uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be
mined legally or economically. Therefore, U.S. investors are also
cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the "inferred
mineral resources" exist. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates
of "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of
feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases.
For the above reasons, information contained or referenced herein
regarding descriptions of our mineral reserve and mineral resource
estimates is not comparable to similar information made public by
U.S. companies subject to reporting and disclosure requirements of
the SEC under either Industry Guide 7 or SEC Modernization
Rules.
SOURCE Orla Mining Ltd.