VANCOUVER, March 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - International Tower
Hill Mines Ltd. (TSX: ITH, NYSE-American: THM) ("ITH" or the
"Company") announced today that it has completed a non-brokered
private placement (the "Offering") pursuant to which it has issued
24,000,000 common shares (14.8% of the 162.4 million shares
currently issued and outstanding) at a price of US $0.50 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of
US $12 million.
The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering for the
continuation of optimization studies in efforts to further improve
and de-risk the Livengood Gold Project, required environmental
baseline studies, and for general working capital purposes.
Under the Offering, an institutional shareholder that is new to
the Company, Electrum Strategic Opportunities Fund II, L.P.
("Electrum"), an investment fund managed by The Electrum Group
LLC., acquired 19,894,528 shares. The balance of the shares were
taken by an existing institutional shareholder of the Company,
Paulson & Co. Inc. ("Paulson"), which acquired 4,105,472
shares. Following completion of the Offering, Paulson will
own 32.0% of the issued and outstanding shares, while Electrum will
hold 10.7%.
The Company also announced today that it appointed Stuart Harshaw to the Company's board of
directors effective April 1, 2018,
and intends to nominate Company CEO Karl
Hanneman to stand for election to the board of directors at
the forthcoming annual general meeting. Mr. Harshaw is a
seasoned mining executive with a successful international career at
Vale and Inco. He earned a BS in Metallurgical Engineering
from Queen's University and an MBA from Laurentian
University.
Marcelo Kim, the Chair of the
Board, said "We are delighted to welcome Electrum as a new
shareholder of ITH and Mr. Harshaw to the Board. This financing
uniquely positions ITH with sufficient financial resources for the
next 4 to 5 years as we continue to advance the Livengood Gold
Project towards one day becoming one of North America's biggest gold
mines."
Igor Levental, Electrum's
President, said "ITH is an excellent fit for Electrum. Its
multi-million ounce Livengood Gold Project located in Alaska, the second largest gold-producing
state in the US, is exactly the type of project we seek to invest
in. Furthermore, what makes ITH particularly special among
developers in the precious metals space is its management team with
an exceptional track record of advancing and permitting mines in
Alaska, a strong board with an
incredible depth of experience in taking assets up the value chain
in a disciplined fashion and top tier long-term value-oriented
investors involved with the Company. We are looking forward to
joining the ITH family."
On March 12, 2018 the Board
approved a 2018 budget of $5.1
million. The work program incorporated in this budget
will build upon the metallurgical studies undertaken in 2017 to
continue to define and refine the project flowsheet. Using
the improved mineralization and alteration models now available for
the Livengood gold deposit arising from the work completed in 2017,
4000 kg of metallurgical composites have been selected based on
location within the deposit and shipped to SGS Vancouver.
Portions of these samples will be processed in 2018 to determine
whether different recovery or cost parameters should be applied to
different portions of the orebody. The engineering firm of
BBA Inc. will be retained to continue to guide the metallurgical
program. Work is also planned to advance the environmental
baseline efforts needed to support future permitting.
Karl Hanneman, Chief Executive
Officer, said "I am pleased to continue the technical work that can
potentially improve and certainly will serve to de-risk the
Livengood Gold Project. ITH has unique and positive
fundamentals, given our land status and proximity to Fairbanks, size of the gold resource and the
leverage opportunity for gold investors."
The Board has also approved recommendations by management to
further reduce corporate overhead costs beginning in 2018,
including a reduction in CEO salary by 50% reflecting an
approximate 50% reduction in the effort needed to perform the CEO
duties, a reduction in board member cash compensation and expense,
and staff reductions as appropriate when critical work is
completed. Depending upon the level of technical work or
permitting efforts underway in future years, these cost savings
should bring total project G&A costs into the range of
$2.5 million/year, providing the
opportunity for a multi-year runway from the proceeds of the
Offering.
As set forth in the Company's April
2017 NI-43-101 Technical Report, the Livengood Gold Project
has a measured and indicated gold resource of 11.5 million ounces
with an all-in-cost of $1,247/oz. The large resource size and
current market valuation, together with the favorable and stable
Alaska jurisdiction, makes the
Livengood Gold Project one of the most attractive highly leveraged
gold projects in the world. Going forward, the potential for
reduced project G&A costs could provide the time necessary for
the gold market to reward patient investors.
The shares of common stock sold in the Offering were offered and
sold in reliance upon an exemption from the registration
requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
"Securities Act"). The shares may not be offered or sold by the
purchasers in the United States,
absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration
requirements. This press release is neither an offer to sell nor a
solicitation of an offer to buy any securities and shall not
constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy,
or a sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such
offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful.
About International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. controls a 100% interest of
the Livengood Gold Project, located along the paved Elliott
Highway, 70 miles north of Fairbanks,
Alaska.
On behalf of
International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.
(signed) Karl L Hanneman
Chief Executive Officer
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking
statements and forward-looking information (collectively,
"forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable
Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other
than statements of historical fact, included herein, including
statements with respect to the proposed use of the proceeds of the
Offering by the Company, the ability of the Company to carry out
and complete optimization studies with respect to the Livengood
Gold Project, the ability of the Company to advance the Livengood
Gold Project, the potential development of any mine at Livengood,
business and financing plans and business trends are
forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes
that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that
such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking
statements are typically identified by words such as: believe,
expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate, proposed, planned,
potential and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their
nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions
investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are
not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual
results may differ materially from those in forward-looking
statements as a result of various factors, including, but not
limited to, , the use of proceeds from the Offering, the potential
inability of the Company to raise the necessary capital or to be
fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks
and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's annual report on Form
10-K and other reports filed with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission, and certain securities commissions in
Canada and other information
released by the Company and filed with the appropriate regulatory
agencies. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure
filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and its United States public disclosure filings may be
accessed via www.sec.gov, and readers are urged to review these
materials, including the latest technical report filed with respect
to the Livengood Gold Project.
This news release is not, and is not to be construed in any way
as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States or Canada.
SOURCE International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.