TORONTO, Sept. 12,
2022 /CNW/ - Excellon Resources Inc. (TSX:
EXN) (NYSE: EXN) (FRA: E4X2) ("Excellon" or the "Company")
is pleased to provide an update on ongoing value-driving
initiatives.1
Ongoing initiatives:
- Evaluating a spin-out of Excellon's highly prospective
Silver City Project in Saxony, Germany to Excellon shareholders as a new
growth–focused greenfields exploration company ("SpinCo").
- Pursuing acquisition opportunities with potential to further
enhance value through Excellon's operating experience, particularly
in Mexico.
- Advancing planned drilling at Kilgore aimed at further defining areas of
high-grade mineralization, while also testing mineralized potential
at depth and on strike.
- Exploring partnership opportunities to pivot Platosa from
production to a potentially exciting exploration prospect.
- Shawn Howarth, President and
CEO, commented:
"The Company is at an inflection point, where to continue
growing we need to capitalize on opportunities that drive
additional value. A spin-out of Silver
City would fit that strategy and provide Excellon
shareholders with direct exposure to district–scale exploration
focused in a historically prolific mining region."
Mr. Howarth added, "Kilgore is
a cornerstone exploration project in our portfolio that will
benefit from continued advancement, including the ongoing drill
program. Acquiring advanced development or producing assets
with further potential to benefit from an experienced operational
management team would be another way to grow value and attract
liquidity to the Company and will be rigorously pursued."
Spin-Out of the Silver City Project
Excellon is considering the structure and timing of a spin-out
of its Silver City Project in Saxony, Germany as a European-focused exploration
company. In connection with the prospective spin-out, the
Company expects that SpinCo would conduct a financing to fund
working capital and continuing exploration activities.
Additionally, the Company's intention would be to seek a listing
for SpinCo shares on a recognized Canadian stock exchange, subject
to fulfilling all of the applicable regulatory and listing
requirements.
Further details will be provided in due course.
Expected benefits of SpinCo for Excellon shareholders
include:
- Valuation reset expected for Silver
City as a publicly traded European-focused exploration
company;
- New market opportunity for investors seeking direct exposure to
a pure-play, high-grade district–scale silver exploration project
in a favourable jurisdiction; and
- Potential for improved trading liquidity for SpinCo as a
separate public company.
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1 This press release contains forward-looking
statements about expected future actions, events and
performance. Please refer to the Cautionary Statements at the
end of this press release.
|
Silver City was mined for
high-grade silver for over 800 years until the late
19th century. Excellon holds exploration licenses
totaling 340 km2 over a major epithermal silver system
that has been encountered on almost every drill hole, with
high-grade intersections including 1,043 g/t AgEq over 1.3
metres, 1,042 g/t AgEq over 0.45 metres and 1,633 g/t
AgEq over 0.35 metres. The exploration team and institutional
support for Silver City in Saxony,
Germany is
exceptional.2
Drilling Update at the Kilgore Project
Excellon is drilling the fifth hole at Kilgore for a total of approximately 1,500
metres drilled since the start of its 2022 exploration
program. While assays are pending, the Company has been
encouraged by the drilling to date. Drill core has generally
aligned with expected lithology per the Company's geological models
and visible gold was observed in the first hole of drilling.
Goals for exploration in 2022 include:
- Oriented drilling to better understand the geometry and
resolution of mineralization within existing high-grade mineralized
structures;
- Step-out drilling to better understand potential mineralized
extensions of the currently defined grade shell, particularly in
areas at depth where the Company believes disseminated
mineralization may continue into the sedimentary package; and
- A re-evaluation of existing core combined with a rigorous
property–wide geophysics and soil sampling program aimed at
generating new drill targets to add to prior exploration successes
to date at the project.
Assays for drilling to date have been sent to ALS in
Nevada and Vancouver for processing, with results
expected in due course.
Mexico Operations
Operations in Mexico are
planned to be wound down responsibly, with the cooperation of the
employees and local community. Production at Platosa will
continue to the end of September, with remaining ore processed and
care and maintenance preparations to be completed through the month
of October. The Company remains committed to Mexico, supported by a strong operating team
that was forged by successfully addressing Platosa's unique and
complex set of operating challenges, from mining and dewatering to
geology and ground control, over the 17–year life of the Platosa
Mine. Excellon's team has proven resilient at managing challenging
mining operations and improving working conditions and
productivity. The Company is actively reviewing acquisition and
partnership opportunities to generate new value for Excellon
shareholders and continue its business in Mexico on a new asset base, with untapped
potential, that could benefit from an improved and effective
management philosophy. The Company is also reviewing partnership
opportunities to advance exploration at Platosa, where Jaboncillo (manto) and PDN (skarn) remain
compelling, drill-ready targets.
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2 For further details, please refer to the Silver City
Project page on the Company's website at www.excellonresources.com
(including the current Technical Report for the Saxony Silver
Project effective March 31, 2022, and Excellon's press releases
dated February 18, 2021, June 8, 2021 and February 9, 2022, each of
which is also available under the Company's profile at
www.sedar.com).
|
About Excellon
Excellon's vision is to create wealth by realizing strategic
opportunities through discipline and innovation for the benefit of
our employees, communities, and shareholders. The Company is
advancing a precious metals growth pipeline that includes:
Kilgore, an advanced gold
exploration project in Idaho with
strong economics and significant growth and discovery potential; an
option on Silver City, a
high-grade epithermal silver district in Saxony, Germany with 750 years of mining history and
no modern exploration; and Platosa, a high-grade silver mine
producing in Mexico since 2005,
scheduled to wind-down in Q3 2022, with an 11,000 hectare
exploration package on Mexico's
carbonate replacement deposit (CRD) trend. The Company is also
actively seeking to capitalize on current market conditions by
acquiring undervalued projects in the Americas. Additional
details on Excellon's properties are available on the Company's
website at www.excellonresources.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND
OTHER MATTERS
Forward-Looking Statements
All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained or
incorporated by reference in this press release constitute
"forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information"
(collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the
meaning of applicable Canadian and United
States securities legislation. Generally, these
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
forward-looking terminology such as: "advancing", "aimed",
"attract", "believe", "considering", "contemplating", "continue",
"could", "demonstrate", "development", "direction", "discovery",
"drill-ready", "drive", "due course", "encouraged", "evaluating",
"exciting", "expect", "exploring", "estimate", "flexibility",
"focus", "future", "goals", "greenfields", "growing", "intention",
"initiative", "may", "models", "new", "ongoing", "opportunities",
"option", "pending", "philosophy", "pipeline", "pivot", "planned",
"potential", "processing", "program", "project", "prospective",
"provide", "pursuing", "re–evaluation", "reviewing", "risk",
"seeking", "strategy", "target", "testing", "transition", "vision",
"will" and "would", or variations of such words, and similar such
words, expressions or statements that certain actions, events or
results can, could, may, should, will (or not) be achieved, occur,
provide, result or support in the future or which, by their nature,
refer to future events. In some cases, forward-looking
information may be stated in the present tense, such as in respect
of current matters that may be continuing, or that may have a
future impact or effect. Forward-looking statements include,
without limitation, statements regarding ongoing initiatives
(including any value or other impacts thereof); any spin-out of the
Silver City Project (including consideration thereof, the intention
of the Company to seek a public listing of SpinCo and fulfilling
the requirements thereof (and there can be no assurance of such
fulfilment or public listing), any related financing and purpose
thereof and future operations) and the benefits thereof to Excellon
shareholders and investors (including exposure to the project,
valuation re-rate, being a new market opportunity and improved
trading liquidity); acquisition and other opportunities (including
untapped potential, benefits of new management, and ways or
potential to generate, grow or enhance value (with continuing
business in Mexico or otherwise),
or attract liquidity) and the pursuit thereof; mineralization,
mineralized structures and grade shells (including potential,
grade, further definition, continuation and location); partnership
opportunities and any pivot of Platosa to an exploration prospect
(including any assessment or nature thereof); exploration projects,
programs and activities (including scale, prospects and
prospectivity, goals, successes, targets and current assessments of
drilling to date); partnership opportunities to advance exploration
at Platosa; drill-ready targets; continuing wind-down of Platosa
(including completion of mined ore production and care and
maintenance preparations); transfer of the debenture security
(including effect on the wind–down of operations in Mexico); wealth creation; realization of
strategic opportunities (and results thereof); future production,
project economics, development success and discovery potential; and
capitalizing on current market conditions. Although the Company
believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no
assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct, and any
forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of
future actions, results or performance. Forward-looking statements
are based on assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions,
which are considered reasonable and represent best judgment based
on available facts, as of the date such statements are made. If
such assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions prove to be
incorrect, actual and future results may be materially different
than expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements.
The assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions referenced,
contained or incorporated by reference in this press release which
may prove to be incorrect include those set forth or referenced in
this press release, as well as those stated in the Company press
releases referenced in this press release (collectively,
"Referenced Press Releases"), the Company's annual
information form dated March 31, 2022
("2022 AIF"), the current technical reports for the
Company's projects (collectively, the "Technical Reports"),
the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year
ended December 31, 2021 and the
quarters already ended in 2022 (collectively, the "FYE2021 and
2022 MD&A"), read together with the accompanying financial
statements, and the Company's other applicable public disclosure,
all available on the Company's website at
www.excellonresources.com and under its profile at
www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are
inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties,
contingencies and other factors which may cause the actual results
or performance of the Company to be materially different from any
future results or performance expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties,
contingencies and other factors include, among others, the "Risk
Factors" in the 2022 AIF, and the risks, uncertainties,
contingencies and other factors identified in the Referenced Press
Releases, the Technical Reports and the FYE2021 and 2022 MD&A
(read together with the accompanying financial statements) and the
Company's other applicable public disclosure. The foregoing list of
risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors is not
exhaustive; readers should consult the more complete discussion of
the Company's business, financial condition and prospects that is
provided in the 2022 AIF and the other aforementioned
documents. The forward-looking statements referenced or
contained in this press release are expressly qualified by these
Cautionary Statements as well as the Cautionary Statements in the
Referenced Press Releases, the 2022 AIF, the Technical Reports and
the FYE2021 and 2022 MD&A (and accompanying financial
statements) and the Company's other applicable public disclosure.
Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date
of this press release (or as otherwise expressly specified) and the
Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable
laws.
Mineral Resources
Until mineral
deposits are actually mined and processed, mineral resources must
be considered as estimates only. Mineral resource estimates that
are not classified as mineral reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability. The estimation of mineral resources is
inherently uncertain, involves subjective judgement about many
relevant factors and may be materially affected by, among other
things, environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation,
socio-political, marketing, or other relevant risks, uncertainties,
contingencies and other factors described in the foregoing
Cautionary Statements. The accuracy of any mineral resource
estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available
data, and of the assumptions made and judgments used in engineering
and geological interpretation, which may prove to be unreliable and
depend, to a certain extent, upon the analysis of drilling results
and statistical inferences that may ultimately prove to be
inaccurate. The quantity and grade of "inferred" mineral resource
estimates are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient
exploration to define "inferred" mineral resource estimates as an
"indicated" or "measured" mineral resource and it is uncertain if
further exploration will result in upgrading "inferred" mineral
resource estimates to an "indicated" or "measured" mineral resource
category. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of a
"inferred", "indicated" or "measured" mineral resource estimate
will ever be upgraded to a higher category including a mineral
reserve. The mineral resource estimates declared by the Company
were estimated, categorized and reported using standards and
definitions under applicable Canadian securities laws governing the
public disclosure of scientific and technical information
concerning mineral projects. Accordingly, information describing
mineral resource estimates for the Company's projects may not be
comparable to similar information publicly reported in accordance
with the applicable requirements of the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission, and so there can be no assurance that any
mineral resource estimate for the Company's projects would be the
same had the estimates been prepared per such requirements.
Qualified Persons
Mr. Paul Keller, P. Eng., Chief Operating Officer of
the Company and a Qualified Person as defined in NI 43–101 (a
"QP"), reviewed, verified and approved the scientific and
technical information relating to operations contained in this
press release. Mr. Jorge Ortega,
M.Sc., P.Geo., Vice President Exploration and a QP, reviewed,
verified and approved the scientific and technical information
relating to geological interpretation and results contained in this
press release.
SOURCE Excellon Resources Inc.