ASCENDANT RESOURCES TO POSTPONE REPORTING FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2019 RESULTS DUE TO DELAYS CAUSED BY COVID-19

 

TORONTO, March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ascendant Resources Inc. (TSX: ASND) ("Ascendant" or the "Company”) is postponing the reporting of its fourth quarter and full year 2019 results, associated filings, its Annual Information Form, and the conference call scheduled for March 26, 2020 due to logistics caused by the COVID-19. The Company will report results as soon as possible and is afforded the postponement by a 45-day extension announced by the Ontario Securities Commission under the “Ontario Instrument 51-502”, dated March 23, 2020.

Recent global events pertaining to COVID-19 has impacted the Company and its consultant’s ability to rely on timely information for its financial reporting obligations.

Ensuring a safe and healthy working environment for our workforce is a primary focus for Ascendant and we continue to implement and enforce additional precautionary health and safety measures. The Company continues to pursue the best available paths to manage operational risk and preserving capital during this very difficult time.

The Company ratifies that management and the Company’s insiders remain subject to an Insider Trading Black Out period as per its internal Insider Trading Policy and confirms that there have been no material business developments since November 2019 when the Company filed its third quarter interim financial results.

About Ascendant Resources Inc.

Ascendant is a Toronto-based mining company focused on its 100%-owned producing El Mochito zinc, lead and silver mine in Honduras and its high-grade Lagoa Salgada VMS project located in the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal.

After acquiring the El Mochito mine in December 2016, Ascendant spent two years implementing a rigorous and successful optimization program restoring the historic potential of El Mochito, a mine in production since 1948, to deliver record levels of production with profitability restored. With steady state production achieved, the Company was able to drive further metal production growth in 2019 as it focused on grade improvements and now remains focused on further cost reduction and operational improvements to drive profitability in 2020. Given the significant land package of approximately 11,000 hectares in Honduras and an abundance of historical data, there are several near-mine and regional targets providing longer term exploration upside which could lead to further Mineral Resource growth.

The Company is engaged in exploration and the advancement of the Lagoa Salgada project with the goal of building upon the defined Mineral Resources and robust results of the maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment completed in January 2020 and advancing the project towards construction. Ascendant holds a 21.25% interest in the Lagoa Salgada project through its 25% position in Redcorp - Empreendimentos Mineiros, Lda, (“Redcorp”) and has an earn-in opportunity to increase its interest in the project to 80%. Mineral & Financial Investments Limited owns the additional 75% of Redcorp. The remaining 15% of the project is held by Empresa de Desenvolvimento Mineiro, S.A. (EDM), a Portuguese Government owned company supporting the strategic development of the country’s mining sector. The Company’s interest in the Lagoa Salgada project offers a low-cost entry to a potentially significant exploration and development opportunity, already demonstrating its mineable scale.

Ascendant Resources is also engaged in the ongoing evaluation of producing and development stage mineral resource opportunities, on an ongoing basis. The Corporation's common shares are principally listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "ASND". For more information on Ascendant Resources, please visit our website at www.ascendantresources.com.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information please contact:
Katherine Pryde
Director, Communications & Investor Relations
Tel: 888-723-7413
info@ascendantresources.com

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All information contained in this news release, other than statements of current and historical fact, is forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "guidance", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "strategy", "target", "intends", "objective", "goal", "understands", "anticipates" and "believes" (and variations of these or similar words) and statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" "occur" or "be achieved" or "will be taken" (and variations of these or similar expressions). Forward-looking information is also identifiable in statements of currently occurring matters which may continue in the future, such as "providing the Company with", "is currently", "allows/allowing for", "will advance" or "continues to" or other statements that may be stated in the present tense with future implications. All of the forward-looking information in this news release is qualified by this cautionary note.

Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements regarding its ability to file its fourth quarter/annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, its associated filings and the Company’s Annual Information Form, and its ability to preserve capital under the market conditions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Forward-looking information is not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Forward-looking information is based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates and analyses that, while considered reasonable by Ascendant at the date the forward-looking information is provided, inherently are subject to significant risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results and events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. The material factors or assumptions that Ascendant identified and were applied by Ascendant in drawing conclusions or making forecasts or projections set out in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to file its fourth quarter/annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2019, its associated filings and the Company’s Annual Information Form and to preserve capital under the market conditions triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to, risks generally associated with the mining industry, such as economic factors (including future commodity prices, currency fluctuations, energy prices and general cost escalation), uncertainties related to the development and operation of Ascendant's projects, dependence on key personnel and employee and union relations, risks related to political or social unrest or change, rights and title claims, operational risks and hazards, including unanticipated environmental, industrial and geological events and developments and the inability to insure against all risks, failure of plant, equipment, processes, transportation and other infrastructure to operate as anticipated, compliance with government and environmental regulations, including permitting requirements and anti-bribery legislation, volatile financial markets that may affect Ascendant's ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, the failure to obtain required approvals or clearances from government authorities on a timely basis, uncertainties related to the geology, continuity, grade and estimates of mineral reserves and resources, and the potential for variations in grade and recovery rates, uncertain costs of reclamation activities, tax refunds, hedging transactions, as well as the risks discussed in Ascendant's most recent Annual Information Form on file with the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com.

Should one or more risk, uncertainty, contingency, or other factor materialize, or should any factor or assumption prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Accordingly, the reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Ascendant does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this news release or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.