TORONTO, Dec. 31, 2018 /CNW/ - Orefinders Resources Inc.
("Orefinders" or the "Company") (TSX.V: ORX) is pleased to
provide shareholders with a review of the Company's achievements
along with insight on Management's plans for 2019.
"We are proud of what we've accomplished over the last two years
in lining up opportunities throughout an extended bear market. In
2019 our shareholders can expect us to continue with our well
defined and focused strategy of seeking the best return on
investment that we feel is available. These returns are not meant
to be realized overnight as Orefinders is tied to both the gold
price as well as the demand for the next generation of gold mines,
but we do expect this demand to be realized by ever increasing
mergers and acquisitions. Within this context, Orefinders strives
to be best in class for this strategy by providing levered exposure
to the price of gold and positioning our shareholders to
participate in what we see as an inevitable consolidation of the
mining industry. Accordingly, it is fitting that we provide our
shareholders a summary of the milestones which give us this
positioning. Behind the scenes, we have been busy preparing for a
market turn and our shareholders can expect the continuation of the
same strategy in 2019. Depending on the cost of capital and the
markets appetite, shareholders could also begin to see development
of our assets organically," said Stephen
Stewart, Orefinders CEO.
December 12, 2018: Power Ore,
of which Orefinders owns 5+ million shares, announces major
acquisition of the Opemiska Copper Mine Complex in Quebec
As a significant
shareholder in Power Ore, the acquisition of the Opemiska Copper
Mine Complex is a transformative one, and immediately brings Power
Ore to the forefront of the Canadian copper space. The Opemiska
Copper Mine Complex was initially Falconbridge's flagship copper asset and
produced copper from two high-grade underground mines—Springer and
Perry—until the 1990s.
November 8, 2018: Mirado
Project Data Compilation Complete & Exploration Plans
Released
In November
2018, Orefinders successfully compiled and analyzed the
Mirado project data and created 3D models and exploration plans for
the next stage of Mirado development. Having integrated all
historical data into the project database, numerous areas of
interest were identified on the Mirado property for follow up
studies, prior to proceeding to a prefeasibility study.
October 18, 2018: McGarry
Project Data Compilation Complete & Exploration Plans
Released
On October 18,
2018, Orefinders successfully compiled and analyzed the data
received as part of the McGarry Mine acquisition. The data acquired
spanned over five decades. 3D geologic models and exploration plans
were generated from the data for the Barber Larder open pit area as
well as the McGarry mine shaft area.
September 12, 2018: Orefinders
publishes investment thesis 'Why Invest in
Orefinders?'
In mid-September
2018, Orefinders released its investment thesis into the
public domain, highlighting its reasoning behind following a strict
criteria for acquisitions, as well as its rationale behind the
upcoming M&A activity.
September 5, 2018: Knight Gold
Project Data Compilation Complete & Exploration Plans
Released
By September
2018, Orefinders successfully compiled and analyzed the
abundance of data acquired as part of the Knight Gold project
consolidation. 3D models were created for Tyranite, Minto, Duggan and Porphyry Lake, and
exploration plans were released accordingly.
June 28, 2018: Resolution of
the environmental liability at the McGarry Mine project with the
Province of Ontario
A
pivotal step in the McGarry Mine acquisition was the resolution of
directors orders and other outstanding issues that have impeded
investment on the McGarry Mine and Barber Larder properties—as well
as adjoining areas. These issues revolved around the tailings
deposited on the property from decades of gold production from the
abutting Kerr-Addison mine, which produced over 12 million ounces
of gold over its life of mine.
Orefinders successfully negotiated an agreement with the
Province of Ontario's Ministry of
Northern Development and Mines to resolve these issues, which has
completely reshaped the dynamic of the McGarry Mine and adjacent
Cadillac Larder-Lake break
properties.
April 30, 2018: Sale of
securities held in Pure Gold Mining Inc. for $815,506 in proceeds
By the end of
the quarter ended April 30, 2018,
Orefinders sold its equity holding in Pure Gold Mining Inc. –
received as part of Orefinders' sale of its Derlak project in
Red Lake in March 2017. Sale of these securities generated
$815,506 to revitalize Orefinders'
balance sheet to allow further acquisitions and development of its
current asset holdings.
April 23, 2018: Spin-off of
Mann Mine and MacMurchy property into Power Ore Inc., an
electrification metals company
Having acquired the
Mann cobalt-silver mine and the MacMurchy nickel property as part
of the Knight Gold project consolidation, Orefinders entered into a
Plan of Arrangement ('POA') to spin-off the two assets into a new,
electrification metals focused company called PowerOre Inc, in
consideration for Power Ore issuing 11 million shares to
Orefinders. Orefinders distributed 50% of these shares (5,500,000
shares) to its shareholders. Each shareholder received 1 share of
Power Ore for every 16 shares of Orefinders held.
Power Ore listed on the TSX Venture in June 2018 and is currently focused on developing
its Mann Mine project, as well as its new Opemiska Copper Complex
project within the electrification metals space, including copper,
cobalt and nickel.
April 3, 2018: Acquisition of
McGarry Mine
The acquisition of McGarry Mine in
April 2018 was another key milestone
for Orefinders. Situated on the Cadillac-Larder Lake break, and having significant
geological upside, the acquisition of the McGarry Mine meant that
Orefinders now owned three assets that can be considered 'flagship'
assets.
The McGarry Mine is a past producing gold mine and contains a
historical M&I resource of 447,000 tonnes at 7.89 g/t gold
(112,000 ounces), and an inferred resource of 157,000 at 5.83 g/t
Au (29,000 ounces). The McGarry Mine was also tied up in
environmental liabilities due to tailings from the neighbouring
Kerr-Addison mine—which historically produced >12 million ounces
of gold. Furthermore, with the McGarry Mine came an abundance of
drill data as well as ample infrastructure on site.
January 15, 2018: Completion of
positive Mirado PEA
The Mirado PEA was completed in
January 2018 and yielded extremely
positive results on the back of a successful bulk sampling program
in September 2016. The PEA envisioned
an open pit at the South Zone of Mirado where near surface
mineralization is present. The South Zone only covers ~5% of the
entire Mirado property.
Under this scenario, ore would be milled off-site under a
toll-milling agreement, and hence, the project would not need an
on-site processing or tailings facility. The PEA yielded an IRR of
158%, a post-tax NPV (5% discount) of $20.5
million, assuming a gold price of US$1,300, and a payback period of just 7
months.
November 30, 2017:
Transformational Acquisition and Consolidation of Shining Tree
District—Knight Gold Project
In November 2017, Orefinders completed the
acquisition and consolidation of the Knight Gold Project, located
in the Shining Tree region in Ontario's Abitibi. This transaction comprised
of three acquisitions of contiguous properties, from two
landholders as well as Premet Inc., a private company. Furthermore,
the consolidated land package is adjacent to Pan American
Silver/Tahoe Resources' 4 million ounce Juby project. This
transaction closed in January
2018.
The Knight Gold project consists of former producing mines in
Tyranite, Duggan and Minto and
Porphyry Lake. Along with these four assets, Orefinders also
acquired the Mann silver-cobalt project and the MacMurchy nickel
project.
March 6, 2017: Sale of
Red Lake
property
Given the success of the Mirado Bulk Sample
program, in March 2017 Orefinders
entered into an agreement with Pure Gold Mining to sell its Derlak
project, located in Red Lake,
Ontario.
Orefinders' sale of Derlak generated $1.3
million comprised of $500,000
cash, and $800,000 worth of Pure Gold
shares thus strengthening its balance sheet.
September 15, 2016: Mirado Bulk
Sample
Orefinders began their bulk sampling program at
Mirado on September 15, 2016. Ore
from the stockpile was trucked to IAMGOLD's Westwood mill. The bulk sampling program was
successfully completed on November 7,
2016 and yielded 1,414 ounces of gold.
The project involved sending over 1,000 eighteen-wheel trucks
full of ore to the Westwood mill,
and allowed Orefinders to gain concrete operational data on
logistics, processing and metallurgy—significant data points that
were critical in generating the projects Preliminary Economic
Assessment.
Furthermore, the bulk sample generated >$2 million in revenue to Orefinders enabling it
to proceed with near-term corporate development efforts.
WHAT WE WILL BE DOING MOVING FORWARD
We encourage our shareholders to read 'Why Invest in
Orefinders?' in order to understand management's perspective,
objectives and investment thesis for the Company.
Orefinders is well positioned to build upon its eventful year by
increasing its land position in Ontario's world renowned mining camps. We are
well capitalized and have no debt. We are always looking for the
right opportunities to invest our capital—projects that fit our
criteria—as today's price environment is conducive to growing
resources via acquisition (low risk), rather than growing resources
via drilling (high risk).
OREFINDERS' ASSET CRITERIA:
- Gold Only
- Abitibi Greenstone belt of Ontario and Quebec Focus
- Advanced Stage assets with well established geology
via pre-existing drilling/exploration that can be validated and
made compliant with minimal additional drilling
- Former Production or near-term production in
brownfields environments
- Geologic Upside. Each asset must provide upside
potential through additional discovery of deposits
- Assets must offer scale and synergies due to their
proximity to the existing Orefinders portfolio
- Assets are or will be drill ready and permitted
with detailed exploration and development plans
OREFINDERS EXISTING GOLD CAMPS: MIRADO, KNIGHT &
McGARRY
Orefinders currently owns three assets: Mirado, Knight and
McGarry Mines. Each meet our asset
criteria and are premier, advanced stage gold assets that will be
the next generation of Abitibi gold mines.
- Mirado - a near term producer with a robust
PEA.
- Knight - a consolidation of numerous past producers
with significant geological upside and potential for a
multi-million ounce deposit abutting Tahoe Resources' 4 million
ounce Juby gold project.
- McGarry – adjacent to the Kerr-Addison Mine, which
produced 12 million ounces, the McGarry itself produced in the
past. McGarry has significant resources with geological upside in
place; Orefinders was able to acquire this asset at a discount due
to an environmental liability overhang, which Orefinders has now
resolved with the Province of Ontario.
3D MODELS, PLANS & SECTIONS ALONG WITH OUR
GEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS AND EXPLORATION PLANS ARE AVAILABLE ON
OUR CORPORATE PRESENTATION OR AT WWW.OREFINDERS.CA
About Orefinders Resources Inc.
Orefinders is a Gold exploration and development company focused
exclusively within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The Company is
listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange under the symbol ORX.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release. Certain information in this press release may contain
forward-looking statements. This information is based on current
expectations that are subject to significant risks and
uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results might
differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking
statements. Orefinders' assumes no obligation to update the
forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual
results could differ from those reflected in the forward
looking-statements unless and until required by securities laws
applicable to Orefinders. Additional information identifying risks
and uncertainties is contained in filings by Orefinders with
Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available under
Orefinders' profile at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Orefinders Resources Inc.