GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands,
March 29, 2021 /CNW/ - Vox
Royalty Corp. (TSXV: VOX) ("Vox" or the
"Company"), a high growth precious metals focused royalty
company, is pleased to announce that it has executed a binding
agreement with Horizon Minerals Limited ("Horizon") to
acquire two advanced Western Australian gold royalties for total
consideration of A$7,000,000. Vox
will pay upfront cash of A$4,000,000.
Contingent upon Vox receiving cumulative royalty payments in excess
of A$750,000 from the Janet Ivy Mine,
a milestone payment of A$3,000,000 is
payable, in cash or Vox shares, at the Company's sole discretion
(the "Transaction"). Any issuance of Vox shares in
connection with the milestone payment will require the approval of
the TSX Venture Exchange.
The royalty portfolio comprises a A$0.50/t royalty over the producing Janet Ivy
Mine ("Janet Ivy") operated by Norton Gold Fields Pty Ltd.
("Norton") and a 2.5% Net Smelter Return ("NSR")
royalty over part of the Otto Bore Gold Project ("Otto
Bore") operated by Northern Star Resources Ltd. (ASX: NST)
("Northern Star") (the "Royalties").
Transaction Highlights
- Provides exposure to the production stage Janet Ivy Mine with
significant near-term expansion potential post construction of the
15Mtpa heap leach project at Binduli (with first production
scheduled for March 2022).
- Strong additional near-term cashflow potential from Otto Bore,
which has been earmarked by former operator Saracen Mineral
Holdings Limited ("Saracen") to provide additional ore feed
to Northern Star's Thunderbox Mill, located 8km to the south of
Otto Bore and currently being expanded from 2.5Mtpa to 3.5Mtpa
production capacity.
- Increases Vox's exposure to established Western
Australian-based operating partners in Northern Star and Norton,
each of which operate multiple gold mines and the Thunderbox and
Paddington mills, respectively.
- Further strengthens Vox's first-mover position as the second
largest publicly traded holder of royalty interests in Australia with an expanded total of 33
Australian royalties; 80% of Vox's royalty and streaming assets are
located in "Tier 1" mining jurisdictions with low geopolitical risk
(Australia, Canada and USA).
Riaan Esterhuizen, Executive Vice
President of Australia stated:
"We are very excited to be adding these two high quality Western
Australian gold royalties to our portfolio. With strong near-term
catalysts expected to drive increased production at Janet Ivy and
commencement of production at Otto Bore, we look forward to the
progress of Northern Star and Norton over the coming months. The
fact that both Northern Star and Norton are established and
strongly capitalized Western Australian operators significantly
enhances execution capabilities and bodes well for these projects
being rapidly advanced."
Asset Overview – Janet Ivy Mine
The Janet Ivy Project is comprised of a single mining lease,
M26/446 and is located 10km to the west of Kalgoorlie. The deposit
has been intermittently mined since 2017 as an open-cut mine to
supplement baseload ore feed from the Enterprise open pit mine for
the Norton-owned Paddington Mill.1 The royalty is
uncapped and payable at a rate of A$0.50/t (dry tonnes mined and treated).
Norton's parent company, Hong
Kong and Shanghai-listed,
Zijin Mining Group Co., Limited ("Zijin") on April 28, 2020, announced that the Zijin Board of
Directors had approved the construction of the Binduli 15Mtpa heap
leaching project at Binduli, with the first phase at Binduli North
expected to be completed and first production to commence in
March 2022.2 Janet Ivy is
located in close proximity to Binduli North.
Janet Ivy JORC 2012 Compliant Resource & Reserve
Estimate as at January
2015
Indicated
|
Inferred
|
Total
|
Mt
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (oz)
|
Mt
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (oz)
|
Mt
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (oz)
|
8.36
|
0.87
|
234,000
|
5.25
|
0.92
|
155,000
|
13.61
|
0.89
|
389,000
|
Table 1: Janet Ivy
Resources at a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t
gold3
|
Probable
|
Mt
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (oz)
|
2.39
|
1.11
|
85,281
|
Table 1: Janet Ivy
Total Reserves at a cut-off grade of 0.7g/t
gold3
|
Norton in addition on their website report an
updated global Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resource estimate of
19.5Mt @ 0.89g/t Au for 561,000oz of gold and a remaining Probable
Ore Reserve of 1.75Mt @ 1.06g/t Au for 59,800 ounces of
gold.1
For more information on Janet Ivy, please visit the Norton
website at https://nortongoldfields.com.au/janet-ivy/.
Asset Overview – Otto Bore
The Otto Bore royalty tenure surrounds Northern Star's
Thunderbox Operations on the northern and eastern sides (Figure 3)
and is located 25km south-east of Leinster in Western Australia. The Otto Bore deposit is
located 8km north of the Thunderbox Plant at the northern end of
the royalty tenement package and strikes across mining leases
M36/462 (royalty-linked) and mining lease M36/177 (not
royalty-linked). The royalty is a 2.5% NSR royalty and applicable
to production between 42,000 and 100,00 ounces of gold.
Saracen (now merged with Northern Star) in August 2019 announced that the Thunderbox
underground (11Mt @ 2.0g/t for 710,000oz) mine would ramp up to
~2.0Mtpa and that the remaining ~800ktpa of mill capacity would be
filled by the Thunderbox C / D Zone, Kailis and Otto Bore open
pits, thereby supporting a progressive production profile up to
~170,000oz pa over the following 7 years.4 The
inclusion of Kailis and Otto Bore would assist mill throughput and
unit costs due to the very soft nature of the ore.4
Saracen and Northern Star also announced in the December 2020 Merger Scheme Booklet that they
were progressing plans to further expand the Thunderbox mill
capacity to 3.5Mtpa during FY22 (from 2.5Mtpa), with satellite open
pits with higher grade and/or soft oxide material (including Wonder
North and Otto Bore) planned to feed the increased mill
capacity.6
Otto Bore JORC 2012 Compliant Resource & Reserves
Estimate as at 30 June
2020(6)
Indicated
|
Inferred
|
Total
|
Mt
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (oz)
|
Mt
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (oz)
|
Mt
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (oz)
|
1.6
|
2.0
|
110,000
|
1.0
|
1.8
|
61,000
|
2.6
|
2.0
|
170,000
|
Table 3: Otto Bore
Resources at a cut-off grade of 0.3g/t gold in oxides and 0.5g/t
gold in fresh rock
|
Probable
|
Mt
|
Au (g/t)
|
Au (oz)
|
1.6
|
1.8
|
91,000
|
Table 4: Otto Bore
Reserves at a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t gold
|
The Resources reported are on a 100% basis for the full Otto
Bore deposit. The royalty tenure covers the approximate southern
half of the deposit, which includes the full ore reserve and an
unquantified portion of the additional resource.
For more information on Otto Bore, please visit the Northern
Star website at https://www.nsrltd.com/.
Transaction Closing
Closing of the Transaction is expected to occur in Q2 2021.
Closing of the Transaction will occur following satisfaction of
customary conditions. Vox will use current cash on hand to fund the
upfront payment of the Transaction.
Qualified Person
Timothy J. Strong, MIMMM, of
Kangari Consulting Limited and a "Qualified Person" under National
Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and
technical disclosure contained in this press release.
About Vox
Vox is a high growth precious metals royalty and streaming
company with a portfolio of over 40 royalties and streams spanning
nine jurisdictions. The Company was established in 2014 and has
since built unique intellectual property, a technically focused
transactional team and a global sourcing network which has allowed
Vox to become the fastest growing company in the royalty sector.
Since the beginning of 2019, Vox has announced 20 separate
transactions to acquire over 45 royalties.
Further information on Vox can be found at
www.voxroyalty.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking
statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with
respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections,
objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but
not always, using words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not
expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate"
"plans", "estimates" or "intends" or stating that certain actions,
events or results " may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be
taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact
and may be "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements
are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual events or results to materially differ from those
reflected in the forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements and information in this press
release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding
expectations for the acquired royalties and projects and estimates
of project success, and the ability of Vox to complete the
acquisition. Such statements and information reflect the current
view of Vox. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may
cause Vox's actual results, performance or achievements or other
future events, to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements.
Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or other
factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the
forward-looking information or statement prove incorrect, actual
results may vary materially from those described herein as
intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.
Vox cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not
exhaustive. When relying on the Company's forward-looking
statements and information to make decisions, investors and others
should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other
uncertainties and potential events.
Vox has assumed that the material factors referred to in the
previous paragraph will not cause such forward looking statements
and information to differ materially from actual results or events.
However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject
to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will
reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors. The
forward-looking information contained in this press release
represents the expectations of Vox as of the date of this press
release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date.
Readers should not place undue importance on forward looking
information and should not rely upon this information as of any
other date. While Vox may elect to, it does not undertake to update
this information at any particular time except as required in
accordance with applicable laws.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
Technical and Third-Party Information
Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this press
release is based on information publicly disclosed by project
operators based on the information/data available in the public
domain as at the date hereof and none of this information has been
independently verified by Vox. Specifically, as a royalty investor,
Vox has limited, if any, access to the royalty operations. Although
Vox does not have any knowledge that such information may not be
accurate, there can be no assurance that such information from the
project operators is complete or accurate. Some information
publicly reported by the project operators may relate to a larger
property than the area covered by Vox's royalty interests. Vox's
royalty interests often cover less than 100% and sometimes only a
portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral
resources and production of a property.
Technical References & Notes:
(1)
|
Norton website:
https://nortongoldfields.com.au/janet-ivy/
|
(2)
|
Zijin Mining Group
Co., Limited - Hong Kong Stock Exchange News Release titled
"Announcement in relation to Plan to Expand Gold Production of
Longnan Zijin and Norton Gold Fields" dated 28 April 2020
(https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2020/0428/2020042802915.pdf).
|
(3)
|
Norton Gold Fields
Limited: January 2015 Mineral Resource & Ore Reserve Update
dated 3 February 2015
(https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-resource-and-reserve-update-december-2014.2450318/).
Mineral Resource information is based on information compiled by
Peter Ruzicka and Brad Daddow with Mineral Reserves information
based on information compiled by Guy Simpson and Elizabeth Jones.
As at 3 February 2015 Peter Ruzicka, Guy Simpson and Elizabeth
Jones were all members of the Australian Institute of Mining and
Metallurgy and full-time employees of Norton Gold Fields Limited
while Brad Daddow was a member of the Australian Institute of
Geoscientists and a full-time employee of consulting group BM
Geological Services PL. Mineral resource estimate is as at 31
December 2014 and is compliant with the JORC Australasian Code for
Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore
Reserves 2012.
|
(4)
|
Saracen Mineral
Holdings Limited ASX News Release titled "Reserves increase 32%
to 3.3Moz underpinning 400,000ozpa for 7+ years" dated 01
August 2019
(https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-reserves-grow-32-to-3-3moz-underpinning-long-life-400kozpa.4886659/).
Mineral resource estimation is based on information compiled by
Daniel Howe, a Competent Person and as at 1 August 2019 a full-time
Saracen Mineral Holdings employee and member of the Australasian
Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the Australian Institute of
Geoscientists. Mineral resource estimate is as at 30 June 2019 and
is compliant with the JORC Australasian Code for Reporting of
Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves
2012.
|
(5)
|
Saracen Mineral
Holdings Limited ASX News Release titled "Strong start to FY20
exploration campaign paves way for further inventory
growth" dated 18 February 2020.
https://hotcopper.com.au/threads/ann-latest-drilling-paves-the-way-for-further-inventory-growth.5230048/.
|
(6)
|
Northern Star
Resources Ltd & Saracen Mineral Holdings Limited News Release
titled: "Scheme Booklet registered with ASIC; Independent Expert
concludes proposed merger is fair and reasonable, and in the best
interests of Saracen shareholders" dated 10 December 2020
(https://cdn-api.markitdigital.com/apiman-gateway/ASX/asx-research/1.0/file/2924-02320924-6A1011939?access_token=83ff96335c2d45a094df02a206a39ff4).
Mineral resource information for the Thunderbox Operations is based
on information compiled by Daniel Howe, a Competent Person and as
at 10 December 2020 a full-time Saracen Mineral Holdings employee
and member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
and the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Mineral resource
estimate is as at 30 June 2020 and is compliant with the JORC
Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral
Resources and Ore Reserves 2012.
|
SOURCE Vox Royalty Corp.