HONG KONG, May 16, 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 first quarter ended March 31, 2016. All amounts, unless
otherwise indicated, are in U.S. dollars.
Q1 Corporate Highlights
- Awarded the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility ("DMPF"),
a construction and mining permit, for the Company's flagship
King-king project by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the
Philippine Government. The permit approval, which was awarded to
St. Augustine's joint venture partner, NADECOR, is the last major
permit required to initiate development, construction and operation
of the King-king project.
- Through the Company's joint venture partner, NADECOR, was
issued a Certification Precondition by the Philippine National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). The Certification
Precondition attests that NADECOR satisfactorily complied with the
process requirements under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of
1997 and NCIP Administrative Order No. 03, Series of 2012,
otherwise known as the FPIC Guidelines of 2012 for obtaining of the
free prior and informed consent of the Mansaka Tribe.
- Appointed Michael McGee, a
legally-trained economic consultant based in Charlotte, North Carolina to the Company's
Board of Directors.
- Progressed with engineering and corporate social responsibility
programs aimed at supporting the projected initiation of Project
construction in 2017.
- At March 31, 2016, St. Augustine
had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $2.2 million and working capital of approximately
$1.2 million. These compare to
approximately $3.2 million in cash
and cash equivalents and working capital of approximately
$2.5 million at December 31, 2015.
Highlights Subsequent to Quarter End
- Nadecor received a ruling from the Supreme Court that its
President, Conrado Calalang, and
current Board of Directors are the organization's rightful and
authorized representatives. The ruling is consistent with St.
Augustine's long-held belief on the legitimacy of the Calalang
Board. St. Augustine has been interacting with NADECOR's current
Board since they were initially elected in August 2011.
"We have made considerable progress over the past year,
advancing development of our King-king project significantly," said
Mr. Paolo Villar, President and CEO
of St. Augustine Gold and Copper Ltd. "The recent awarding of
the Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility by the MGB, and the
grant of the Certification Precondition, in particular, represent
important milestones for our King-king project. We expect to
build on this momentum by securing project financing and completing
a Feasibility Study in the months ahead."
Mr Villar added, "We are also pleased for Mr Calalang and the
current Board of Directors that the Supreme Court has dismissed the
claims of the minority shareholders and confirmed that the current
Board represent the lawfully constituted board of NADECOR."
Outlook
St. Augustine expects to focus its efforts
completing a number of milestones and targets over the near and
longer term, including:
- Securing financing arrangements with strategic parties and
major financial institutions in coordination with NADECOR;
- Advancing other permitting related activities;
- Continuing efforts to re-classify King-king project lands for
industrial use;
- Assisting NADECOR with the steps necessary to renew and
transfer the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement ("MPSA");
and
- 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 March 31, 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., Vice President
Technical of St. Augustine and 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