Atlantic Gold - New Life of Mine plan at MRC boosts gold production above 200,000 ozs

 

Maintains industry lowest quartile AISC over new Life of Mine
at CAD$692 / oz. Au (USD$555 / oz. Au)

Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted

VANCOUVER, Jan. 29, 2018 /CNW/ - Atlantic Gold Corporation (TSX-V: AGB) ("Atlantic" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of the Phase 2 Life of Mine Expansion Pre-Feasibility Study (the "Study"), led and prepared by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. ("Ausenco"), in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") in respect of the Company's Moose River Consolidated Gold Mine ("MRC"), located in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Highlights

Figure 1 – MRC Consolidated Operations Forecast Life of Mine Production Schedule  

• Production ramping up to + 200,000 ounces of gold production per annum, maintaining our industry lowest quartile cash costs at an all-in sustaining cash cost ("AISC") of CAD$692 / oz. (USD$555 / oz.)
  
  
• The Study demonstrates the economic viability of mining the 100% owned Fifteen Mile Stream ("FMS") and Cochrane Hill ("CH") deposits as satellite operations to the Touquoy central processing facility with an initial incremental after-tax net present value ("NPV") of $188 million at a 5% discount rate.
  
  
• The Study adopts the 2015 feasibility output for Touquoy and Beaver Dam and incorporates production capital and operating expenditures for the development of FMS and CH deposits. It is also based on the maiden Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves outlined in Table 7 below for FMS and CH. The current Phase 3 expansion drilling program (the "Phase 3 Expansion Program") is not completed and therefore the Study excludes any results from this program.
  
  
• Given the robust results of the Study, the Company is proposing the staged development of both FMS and CH including the submission of the Environmental Impact Statement for both projects in H2 2018.
  
  
• A staged approach is proposed for the integration of the FMS and CH deposits into the production schedule of the fully-commissioned processing facility at MRC's Touquoy plant for final processing. The concept of a central processing facility at Touquoy forms the basis of the Company's planned future development in the region. Two pre-concentration plants will be built in sequence with the concentrate from both locations transported to the MRC's Touquoy plant for final processing in the existing circuit.
  
  
• Pre-concentration will be achieved by a processing sequence which includes crushing, grinding, gravity concentration and flotation. The result will be the production of up to 160,000 tonnes per annum of concentrate for transportation to the Touquoy facility, maintaining high overall recoveries. The pre-concentration process is a relatively benign one, and offers potential environmental permitting advantages as well as significant savings in transportation costs. One of the additional drivers of the pre-concentration concept is the fact that metallurgical testwork has demonstrated high gold recoveries by gravity processes. Expanded crushing and grinding capacity will be required regardless to process ore from FMS and CH, and there are clear advantages in locating these facilities at each deposit versus at Touquoy.
  
  
• Conventional open pit mining methods are proposed with a maiden Proven & Probable Mineral Reserve of 432,000 ounces for FMS and 393,000 ounces for CH (see Table 7 below). Waste to ore ratio is an industry low 2.0:1 for FMS and 2.9:1 for CH.
  
  
• The expansion capital expenditures will also be staged, starting with the development of FMS followed by CH approximately one year later. The capital expenditure requirements and financing will be managed with cashflow from operations at Touquoy and additional debt capacity from a larger production base, minimizing the need for additional equity financing. The Company does not intend to undertake any meaningful capital spending on development until 2020 at the earliest.
  
  
• Drilling is ongoing at FMS and CH with the aim of supporting upgrades of some or all of the Inferred Mineral Resources to higher confidence categories, and potentially extending the known mineralization limits. When the Phase 3 Expansion Program is completed, the results are expected to support an updated Mineral Resource estimate for the FMS and CH deposits.

Table 1 – Initial Incremental Economics of the Phase 2 Expansion Study (FMS and CH Deposits) 

 

Chairman and CEO Steven Dean commented, "We are very excited to issue the results of this study representing the initial estimation of the new life of mine plan at MRC for the Phase 2 expansion. This represents a placeholder which we expect will be added to as a result of the expected mineralization extensions from the drill programs at FMS and CH. Stay tuned for further updates during the course of 2018 from the Phase 3 drill program and planned updated resource estimates."

Phase 2 Expansion Description

MRC commenced operations with the first gold pour and initial production from the Company's Touquoy deposit in October 2017. The Phase 1 Life of Mine in the July 2015 Feasibility Study (with an effective date of July 2, 2015) was forecast to produce on average 87,000 oz. gold / year over a minimum 8.5 year mine life at an AISC of C$690/oz., and incorporated only 2 of the 4 deposits (Touquoy and Beaver Dam) into the Life of Mine plan.  The central processing facility is now built and is in production at Touquoy.

The Phase 2 expansion study demonstrates the potential to add significantly to Phase 1 Life of Mine production by incorporating the additional satellite deposits at FMS and CH, both located within trucking distance of the central processing facility at Touquoy and readily accessible by highway.

Study

The Study incorporates maiden Mineral Reserve estimates for the FMS and CH deposits. Mineral Resource estimates for these projects were included in a technical report released in September, 2017, entitled "Moose River Consolidated Phase 2 Project, Nova Scotia Canada, NI 43-101 Technical Report" with an effective date of July 20, 2017.

The Company engaged a team of specialized consultants, led by Ausenco, with the assistance of Moose Mountain Technical Services ("MMTS") in respect of mine design and pit optimization as well as compiling the economic results for the Study.  The Company also engaged Knight Piesold Ltd. in respect of the design of the Tailings Management Facility, Mr. Neil Schofield, a principal of FSSI Consultants (Australia) Pty Ltd. ("FSSI") in respect of the resource modelling, James Millard in respect of environmental and permitting aspects of the CH and FMS components of the Study and Jeffrey Parks of GHD Ltd. ("GHD") in respect of environmental and permitting aspects of the Touquoy and Beaver Dam components of the of the Study.

Table 2 – Initial Phase 1 + Phase 2 Economics

 

Mine Plan

The mining operations are planned to be typical of similar small-scale open pit operations in flat terrain. They are conventional drill-blast-load-haul open pit operations with excavators and haul trucks supported by ancillary equipment. Ore control drilling is planned in advance of mining activities to better delineate the mill feed material in upcoming benches. An ore control system is planned to provide field control for the loading equipment to selectively mine ore grade material separately from the waste. Direct mining and mine maintenance is planned as an Owner's fleet. Mining operations are based on 365 operating days per year with two 12 hour shifts per day. 

Process Plant

Ore treatment at both locations will be essentially the same, with some differences in equipment sizes to suit ore properties such as ore hardness. The ore will be crushed in a three-stage crushing unit, essentially the same as that installed at Touquoy.  A ball mill will grind the ore to a P₈₀ of approximately 240 micrometers for FMS and 350 micrometers for CH. A part of the cyclone underflow will be screened and the undersize will be treated in two centrifugal gravity separators. The concentrate will be collected in custom made tote containers.  It is expected that gold recovered in gravity concentrate will be significant and at times represent up to 60% of total gold production. The cyclone overflow will be treated in a split circuit with conventional flotation and hydrofloat separation to produce a concentrate. The concentrate will be cleaned, thickened and filtered. The tailings will be pumped to a conventional tailings management facility.

Both concentrates will be trucked to the Touquoy processing facility, the gravity concentrate in tote boxes, the flotation concentrate as a bulk solid. The gravity concentrate will be treated in a new intensive cyanide leach unit and gold recovered from new electrowinning cells. The flotation concentrate will be fed into the cyclone feed pump of the existing circuit and gold will be recovered in the existing carbon-in-leach ("CIL") circuit. An extra tank will be provided in the CIL circuit to allow for increased volume throughput but the carbon treatment and gold recovery circuit has sufficient existing capacity. The overall recovery of gold from ore to final product is estimated to be 92-93%.

Pre-Concentration Flowsheet for FMS and CH

Production Profile

The table below sets out gold production from the MRC over the Study Life of Mine:

Table 3 – MRC Consolidated Operations Forecast Life of Mine Production Table

 

Economic Highlights

Fifteen Mile Stream

Table 4 – FMS Economic Highlights

 

Cochrane Hill

Table 5 – CH Economic Highlights

 

MRC Phase 2 Expansion – Sensitivity Analysis on NPV5

Table 6 – MRC Phase 2 Expansion – Sensitivity Analysis on NPV5 (base case is bolded)

 

Permitting and Development Status

Baseline environmental studies in respect of the proposed FMS and CH mine sites and have been in progress for about nine months.  Following completion of another 4 months of seasonal observations, results will be incorporated into environmental impact statements ("EIS") to be submitted to provincial and federal regulators, and to the public, for approval.

As a first step in the approval process, the company will file the Project Description with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency ("CEAA") once the NI 43-101 compliant Technical Report associated with the Study is completed. The company plans on filing the EIS for both FMS and CH later in 2018.  The 365 day review period starts after the EIS submission is considered compliant with Federal guidelines for Environmental Assessment ("EA"). Aboriginal consultation is integrated into the EA process.

Once the Environmental related approvals are in place, an Industrial Approval and the grant of a Mineral Lease will be sought from Nova Scotia Environment and the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, respectively.

Mineral Reserve Estimates

Mineral Reserves from the MRC Consolidated Operations, with an effective date of January 24, 2018, have been developed by MMTS and are classified using the 2014 Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. The Mineral Reserves are based on an engineered open pit mine plan developed for each of the included four deposits.

Table 7 – Summary of MRC Mineral Reserves

 

Any known legal, political, environmental, or other risks that could materially affect the potential development of the Mineral Reserves are detailed below in the section entitled "Forward-Looking Statements".

Within the designed pits at FMS and CH, Inferred Mineral Resources are assumed to be waste.  This Inferred material totals 2.03 million tonnes at 1.18 g/t Au containing 77,000 ounces Au.  The Phase 3 Expansion Program is designed to tighten the drill spacing in these areas currently classified as Inferred so as to meet the drill spacing requirements for consideration for confidence category upgrades.

The Mineral Resource estimates for Touquoy, Beaver Dam (MRC Phase 1) are presented in Table 8, and for FMS and CH (MRC Phase 2 Expansion) in Table 9.

Table 8 – Summary of MRC Phase 1 Mineral Resources

 

Table 9 – Summary of MRC Phase 2 Expansion Mineral Resources

 

The balance of inferred resources at FMS and CH are the subject of the current Phase 3 Expansion Program and will be updated during the course of 2018.

Operating Costs

Mine operating costs for FMS and CH have been estimated from the current Touquoy Pit unit costs.  Processing, mining and concentrate haulage form the basis of the operating costs and also incorporate cost data from the processing facilities currently operating at Touquoy.

Table 10 – MRC Phase 1 + Phase 2 Operating Cost Summary

 

Capital Costs

The estimated pre-production capital cost for FMS is $123 million and for CH is $136 million. Pre-production costs include contingency, owner's costs, EPC costs, new mine equipment and infrastructure. Estimates incorporate current data from the recently constructed processing facilities at Touquoy. The modifications required at Touquoy to treat the gravity and flotation concentrates from FMS and CH are estimated at $4.3 million and this amount is included in the estimated capital costs for FMS.  Incremental sustaining capital expenditures for the MRC Phase 2 Expansion are estimated at $48.2 million.

Table 11 – Initial Capital Costs of MRC

 

Next Steps

Phase 3 Expansion Program

The Company is nearing the completion of its Phase 3 Expansion Program at FMS and CH. The objectives of the Phase 3 Expansion Program are to:

• Tighten drill spacing within the designed pit limits;
• identify additional mineralization immediately peripheral to the estimated Mineral Resources at FMS and CH;
• potentially support upgrade of some or all of the previously-estimated Inferred Mineral Resources to higher-confidence categories at CH and at FMS – particularly at the Hudson and Plenty zones; and
• seek additional mineralization that may be contained within the 350 m gap between the Plenty and Egerton-MacLean zones at FMS.

A total of 28,000 m in 228 diamond drill holes of a planned program of 35,000 m in 315 holes, has been drilled to date. Up until the end of 2017, a total of 185 holes for 21,000 m had been drilled at FMS, with the first drilling for 2018 having just re-commenced.  At Cochrane Hill, 6,900m in 44 holes have been drilled and drilling here has now largely been completed.  Results from the Phase 3 Expansion Program released to date can be found under the Company's press releases dated December 20, 2017, January 17, 2018, and January 24, 2018.  Mineralization identified from the results of this Phase 3 Expansion Program will be used to support an update of the Mineral Resource estimates for FMS and CH.  The Company currently plans to have the updated estimates completed during H2 2018..   

http://files.newswire.ca/1485/Drill-plan-mapsJAN26.pdf

Over the coming months, the Company will be focused on:

• completing the Phase 3 Expansion Program
• completing the updated study that will incorporate the results from the Phase 3 Expansion Program
• advancing environmental permitting at Beaver Dam, CH and FMS.

Technical Disclosure

Internal data verification programs have included review of QA/QC data, re-sampling and sample reanalysis programs, and database verification for issues such as overlapping sample intervals, duplicate sample numbers, or lack of information for certain intervals.  Validation checks are performed on data used to support estimation, and comprise checks on surveys, collar co-ordinates, lithology data, and assay data.

A review of the Touquoy database was conducted in 2007 by external consultants, Hellman and Schofield. 

In the opinion of the QP, sufficient verification checks have been undertaken on the databases to provide confidence that the databases are reasonably error free and may be used to support Mineral Resource estimation.

Report Filing

A technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects in respect of the Study will be filed on SEDAR www.sedar.com and the Company's website www.atlanticgoldcorporation.com within 45 days of the date of this news release.

Qualified Persons

Each of the qualified persons below has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in the Study and in this press release in their area of expertise and are independent of the Company aside from James Millard.

The Qualified Persons that will prepare the technical report on the Study include: Paul Staples, P.Eng. (Ausenco), Marc Schulte P.Eng., (MMTS), Tracey Meintjes, P.Eng. (MMTS), Daniel Fontaine P.Eng. (Knight Piesold Ltd), Neil Schofield, MAIG (FSSI), James Millard, P.Geo (the Company) and Jeff Parks P.Geo (GHD).

Mr. Wally Bucknell, F.AusIMM, Director of Exploration for the Company has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release that is not derived from the Study.

Conference Call Details

Atlantic Gold Corporation is hosting a live Q&A conference call on Tuesday, January 30^th at 10:00 am Eastern time (7:00 am Pacific time) with the Atlantic executive team.  Participants may join the call by dialing:

Participant Dial-in Numbers:

 

Additional International Dial-in Numbers: UK: 08006522435, Switzerland: 0800312635, Germany: 08007240293, Hong Kong: 800962712

Please provide the company name (Atlantic Gold Corporation) to the operator.  A recorded playback of the call will be available one hour after the call's completion until February 28th, 2018 by dialing:

Toll Free - North America (+1) 888 390 0541

Enter the playback passcode: 517484#, an MP3 recording will also be available on the Atlantic website.

A Phase 2 Life of Mine Expansion Study "Teach In" for analysts and institutional investors will be held on Tuesday, January 30^th from 11:30am – 1:30pm in Toronto at the Shangri-la Hotel, 188 University Ave, in the King Room (level 3). In attendance from Atlantic Gold will be Chairman and CEO Steven Dean, COO Maryse Bélanger, CFO Chris Batalha, and IR Manager Sean Thompson.

Further updates will be provided in due course.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Steven Dean
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Alternative Performance Measures
Reference is made in this news release to cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs.  Such costs are alternative performance measures.  These costs comply with the guidelines set out

in the Company's news release dated January 19, 2018 under "Non-IFRS Performance Measures" with the exception that the all-in sustaining costs exclude estimates for Corporate G&A and non-cash accretion and amortization of any reclamation liabilities. 

About Atlantic

Atlantic is a well-financed, growth-oriented gold development group with a long term strategy to build a mid-tier gold production company focused on manageable, executable projects in mining-friendly jurisdictions.

Atlantic owns Canada's newest open pit gold mine Moose River Consolidated in Nova Scotia with first gold pour and initial production achieved in October 2017.

Phase 1 Life of Mine production guidance for 2018 is between 82,000-90,000 oz. gold at All-In-Sustaining-Costs (AISC) between $CAD675/oz.-$735/oz. (US$540-588/oz.) as stated in the Company's news release (January 19, 2018).

The Phase 2 Life of Mine Expansion will have gold production ramping up to + 200,000 ounces per annum while maintaining the company's industry lowest quartile cash costs at all-in sustaining cash cost (AISC) of CAD$692/oz. Au (USD$555/oz. Au) as stated in the Company's news release (January 29, 2018).

The company's planned future development of the region will be based on a central processing facility concept with staged integration of satellite deposits into the production schedule and staged capital expenditures for expansion opportunities managed with cashflow from operations at Touquoy and additional debt capacity as a long term low cost gold producer.

 A Phase 3 expansion is expected to come from success of its expected extensions of mineralization and definition drilling program at its FMS and CH deposits, and a regional program commencing in March 2018 systematically drilling 80kms of prospective structure targeting the Atlantic model for disseminated style gold deposits amenable to open pit mining.

Atlantic is committed to the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility and continually invests in people and technology to manage risks, maximize outcomes and returns to all stakeholders.

Neither the 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.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This release contains certain "forward looking statements" and certain "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this press release, and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding discussions of future plans, guidance, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, the activities contemplated in this news release and the timing and receipt of requisite regulatory, and shareholder approvals in respect thereof. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements related to proposed exploration and development programs, grade and tonnage of material and resource estimates. These forward looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary. Important factors that may cause actual results to vary include without limitation, the timing and receipt of certain approvals, changes in commodity and power prices, changes in interest and currency exchange rates, risks inherent in exploration estimates and results, timing and success, variations to the geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral reserves and mineral resources), changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications, cost escalation, unavailability of materials, equipment and third party contractors, delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters), political risk, social unrest, and changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets. In making the forward-looking statements in this press release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, the assumptions that: (1) market fundamentals will result in sustained gold demand and prices; (2) the receipt of any necessary approvals and consents in connection with the future development of any properties; (3) the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of any mineral properties; and (4) sustained commodity prices such that any properties put into operation remain economically viable. Information concerning mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates also may be considered forward-looking statements, as such information constitutes a prediction of what mineralization might be found to be present if and when a project is actually developed and / or is in production. Certain of the risks and assumptions are described in more detail in the Company's audited financial statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2016 and for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. The actual results or performance by the Company could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements relating to those matters. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what impact they will have on the results of operations or financial condition of the Company. Except as required by law, the Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update, alter or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

SOURCE Atlantic Gold Corporation

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