TORONTO, April 27,
2022 /CNW/ - Loncor Gold Inc. ("Loncor" or the
"Company") (TSX: LN) (OTCQX: LONCF) (FSE: LO51) reported in
its January 31, 2022 press release
that the Company was in preliminary discussions with potential
strategic partners with respect to the development of Loncor's gold
deposits. These discussions continue.
The initiation of discussions with potential strategic partners
was largely driven by the Preliminary Economic Assessment
("PEA") conducted upon the Company's 84.68%-owned Adumbi
deposit, details of which can be found in the Company's
December 15, 2021 press
release. A summary of key points of the Adumbi PEA are
included below:
- Average annual gold production for Adumbi of 303,000 ounces per
year over 10.3 year LOM within proposed open pit shell.
- After tax NPV at 5% discount rate for HEP Hybrid case of
US$624 million at a US$1,600 gold price and US$879 million at a US$1,760 gold price.
- Average total cash costs of US$852 per ounce over life of mine and AISC of
US$950 per ounce for HEP Hybrid
case.
- The Adumbi Indicated Mineral Resource of 1,883,000 ounces of
gold (28.185 million tonnes grading 2.08 g/t Au) and Inferred
Mineral Resource of 1,777,000 ounces of gold (20.828 million
tonnes grading 2.65 g/t Au) within a US$1,600 per ounce optimised open pit shell.
There is excellent exploration potential to increase mineral
resources at Adumbi and within Loncor's Imbo Project area. At
Adumbi, drilling has demonstrated that gold grades and the
thickness of the mineralized BIF (Banded Ironstone Formation) host
sequence increase at depth towards the bottom of the open pit shell
and wide spaced drilling has already intersected grades and
thicknesses amenable to underground mining below the open pit.
Further drilling is required to initially outline a significant
underground inferred mineral resource, which can be combined with
the open pit mineral resources so that studies can be undertaken
for a combined open pit and underground mining scenario at Adumbi.
Besides increasing the resource base, a combined open
pit/underground project could increase grade throughout and reduce
strip ratios with the higher grade, deeper mineral resources at the
bottom of the open pit being mined more economically by
underground, which could increase annual gold production and drive
down operational costs.
There are also several deposits and prospects close by to Adumbi
that have the potential to add mineral resources and feed for the
Adumbi mine development. Along trend from Adumbi, the Manzako
and Kitenge deposits remain open along strike and at depth.
Further along this structural trend to the southwest across
the Imbo river and within the Imbo Project area, four prospects
(Esio Wapi, Paradis, Museveni and Mungo
Iko) hold good potential for additional resources.
Initial drilling will be scheduled for this very prospective
area.
Additional feed for an Adumbi processing plant could also come
from Loncor's 100%-owned high grade Makapela deposit, where an
Indicated Mineral Resource of 614,200 ounces of gold @ 8.66 g/t Au
and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 549,600 ounces of gold @ 5.30
g/t Au have been outlined to date. Makapela is located
approximately 50 km from the Adumbi deposit.
Cautionary Statement:
The Adumbi PEA is preliminary
in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources in the open pit
outlines that are considered too speculative geologically to have
the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them
to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that
all the conclusions reached in the Adumbi PEA will be realized.
Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have
demonstrated economic viability.
Qualified Person
Peter N.
Cowley, who is President of Loncor and a "qualified person"
as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed
and approved the technical information in this press release.
Technical Reports
Additional information with respect
to the Company's Adumbi deposit (and other properties of the
Company within its Imbo Project) is contained in the technical
report of New SENET (Pty) Ltd and Minecon Resources and Services
Limited dated December 15, 2021 and
entitled "NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Adumbi
Deposit in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo". A copy of the said report can be obtained from SEDAR
at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
Information with respect to the Company's Makapela Project, and
certain other properties of the Company in the Ngayu gold belt, is
contained in the technical report of Venmyn Rand (Pty) Ltd dated
May 29, 2012 and entitled "Updated
National Instrument 43-101 Independent Technical Report on the
Ngayu Gold Project, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo". A copy of
the said report can be obtained from SEDAR at www.sedar.com and
EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
About Loncor Gold Inc.
Loncor is a
Canadian gold exploration company focussed on the Ngayu
Greenstone Gold Belt in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the
"DRC"). The Loncor team has over
two decades of experience of operating in the
DRC. Loncor's growing resource base in
the Ngayu Belt currently comprises the Imbo
and Makapela Projects. At the Imbo
Project, the Adumbi deposit holds an indicated
mineral resource of 1.88 million ounces of gold (28.185
million tonnes grading 2.08 g/t
gold), and the Adumbi deposit and two
neighbouring deposits hold an inferred mineral resource of
2.090 million ounces of gold (22.508 million tonnes
grading 2.89 g/t Au), with
84.68% of these resources being attributable to
Loncor. Loncor has been carrying out a drilling
program at the Adumbi deposit with the objective of
outlining additional mineral resources. The Makapela
Project (which is 100%-owned by Loncor and is
located approximately 50 kilometres from the
Imbo Project) has an indicated mineral resource of 614,200
ounces of gold (2.20 million tonnes grading
8.66 g/t Au) and an inferred mineral
resource of 549,600 ounces of gold (3.22 million tonnes
grading 5.30 g/t
Au).
Additional information with respect to Loncor and its projects
can be found on Loncor's website at www.loncor.com
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors
National
Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
("NI 43-101") is a rule of the Canadian Securities
Administrators which establishes standards for all public
disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information
concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all
resource estimates and other scientific and technical information
concerning Loncor's mineral properties contained in this press
release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the
Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum
Classification System. These standards differ from the
requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and
resource information and other scientific and technical information
concerning Loncor's mineral properties contained in this press
release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by
U.S. companies.
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking
Information
This press release contains
forward-looking information. All statements, other than statements
of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments
that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur
in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding
estimates and/or assumptions in respect of gold production,
revenue, cash flow and costs, estimated project economics, net
present values, Adumbi project opportunities, mineral resource
estimates, potential underground mineral resources, potential
mineralization, potential gold discoveries, drill targets,
potential mineral resource increases, future mine development,
exploration results, and future exploration and development plans)
are forward-looking information. This forward-looking information
reflects the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based
on information currently available to the Company.
Forward-looking information is subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to
differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking
information, and even if such actual results are realized or
substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will
have the expected consequences to, or effects on the Company.
Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ
materially from current expectations include, among other things,
uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, production
estimates and estimated economic return, the possibility that
actual circumstances will differ from the estimates and assumptions
used in the Adumbi PEA, the possibility that future exploration
(including drilling) or development results will not be
consistent with the Company's expectations, the possibility that
drilling or development programs will be delayed, activities of the
Company may be adversely impacted by the continued spread of
the widespread outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel
strain of the coronavirus ("COVID-19"), including the
ability of the Company to secure additional financing, risks
related to the exploration stage of the Company's properties,
uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing
needed in the future, failure to establish estimated mineral
resources (the Company's mineral resource figures are estimates and
no assurances can be given that the indicated levels of gold will
be produced), changes in world gold markets or equity markets,
political developments in the DRC, gold recoveries being less than
those indicated by the metallurgical testwork carried out to date
(there can be no assurance that gold recoveries in small scale
laboratory tests will be duplicated in large tests under on-site
conditions or during production), fluctuations in currency exchange
rates, inflation, changes to regulations affecting the Company's
activities, delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required
project approvals, the uncertainties involved in interpreting
drilling results and other geological data and the other risks
disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the
Company's annual information form dated March 31, 2022 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
and EDGAR at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking information speaks only
as of the date on which it is provided and, except as may be
required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any
intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information,
whether as a result of new information, future events or results or
otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions
inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable,
forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future
performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on
such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
Cautionary Note Concerning Mineral Resource
Estimates
The mineral resource figures referred to in
this press release are estimates and no assurances can be given
that the indicated levels of gold will be produced. Such estimates
are expressions of judgment based on knowledge, mining experience,
analysis of drilling results and industry practices. Valid
estimates made at a given time may significantly change when new
information becomes available. While the Company believes that the
mineral resource estimates included in this press release are well
established, by their nature mineral resource estimates are
imprecise and depend, to a certain extent, upon statistical
inferences which may ultimately prove unreliable. If such estimates
are inaccurate or are reduced in the future, this could have a
material adverse impact on the Company.
Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have
demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that mineral
resources can be upgraded to mineral reserves through continued
exploration.
Due to the uncertainty that may be attached to inferred
mineral resources, it cannot be assumed that all or any part of an
inferred mineral resource will be upgraded to an indicated or
measured mineral resource as a result of continued exploration.
Confidence in the estimate is insufficient to allow meaningful
application of the technical and economic parameters to enable an
evaluation of economic viability worthy of public disclosure
(except in certain limited circumstances). Inferred mineral
resources are excluded from estimates forming the basis of a
feasibility study.
Cautionary Note Concerning Non-GAAP
Measures
This press release includes certain terms or
performance measures commonly used in the mining industry that are
not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards
("IFRS"), including cash costs and AISC (all-in sustaining costs)
per payable ounce of gold sold. Non-GAAP measures do not have
any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and, therefore, they
may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other
companies. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional
measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use
this information to evaluate performance. The data presented is
intended to provide additional information and should not be
considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of
performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.
SOURCE Loncor Gold Inc.