Harte Gold Provides Corporate and Operations Update

 

TORONTO, April 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HARTE GOLD CORP. (“Harte Gold” or the “Company”) (TSX: HRT / OTC: HRTFF / Frankfurt: H4O) is pleased to provide the following corporate and operations update:

Highlights

• Advanced discussions are underway with Appian and Sprott to refinance existing facilities with existing and/or potential new lenders, the Company expects a conclusion to be reached on these discussions by the end of April.
• Appointed Geoffrey Cohen, Senior Advisor, Appian Capital Advisory LLP, to the Board of Directors.
• As operations continue to ramp-up, the Company is achieving plan for the month of March.
• The Feasibility Study including a 2019 and life-of-mine update is nearing completion and a press release summarizing results of the study is expected this week.

Liquidity and Financing Update
The Company is in advanced discussions with existing lenders and/or potential new financing parties on the refinancing of its current debt facilities.  Included in such discussions, the Company is also working with its major shareholder Appian, to deliver a near-term liquidity solution providing financial flexibility as operations continue to ramp-up.

Operations Update
Over the first two months of 2019, the Company resolved severe winter month operational challenges that temporarily impacted mining activities and ramp-up of operations.  Contractor equipment failures and manpower issues in January and February caused a temporary slow-down to mining and unprecedented cold weather froze water in the tailings management facility, constraining process water supply and mill throughput. 

These issues have since been rectified.  In March, underground mining and process rates have significantly improved.  The Company is achieving plan and expects similar performance levels moving forward.

Operating performance for Q1 2019 is now being reviewed and additional information will be provided in the Company’s Q1 2019 MD&A, targeted for the middle of May.

The Company is also pleased to announce it is finalizing the maiden Sugar Zone Mine Feasibility Study and expects to publish the results shortly.   The Feasibility Study validates an 800 tpd operation with sufficient resources to support a 14 year mine life based on current Indicated Resources and examines the potential to further expand throughput in the future.  The Company expects to publish results of the Feasibility Study in the first week of April.

Change of Director
Effective immediately, Geoffrey Cohen, Senior Advisor to Appian, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of Harte Gold, replacing Richard Colterjohn, who has stepped off the Board.

Mr. Cohen is the Senior Advisor to Appian in North America. Prior to joining Appian, Mr. Cohen was Managing Director and Head of North American Mining Investment Banking at JPMorgan.  During this period, he originated and successfully executed M&A, debt and equity transactions valued at over US$40 billion.  Prior to joining JPMorgan in 2010, Geoff worked as a senior professional in the M&A groups of both global and domestic Canadian investment banks, where he focused on the natural resources sector.  Mr. Cohen holds a B.Sc. in Engineering from Queen’s University and an M.B.A. from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.

Mr. Roman commented “We thank Richard Colterjohn for his wise counsel and efforts on the Board and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Mr. Roman added “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Cohen to the Board of Directors.  I have personally known Geoff for many years and firmly believe his knowledge and experiences in corporate finance and strategy will be a valuable addition to the Company.”

About Harte Gold Corp.
Harte Gold is Ontario’s newest gold producer through its wholly owned Sugar Zone Mine in White River, Ontario.  Using a 3 g/t gold cut-off, the NI 43-101 compliant Mineral Resource Estimate dated February 19, 2019 contains an Indicated Mineral Resource of 4,243,000 tonnes grading 8.12 g/t for 1,108,000 ounces contained gold and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 2,954,000 tonnes, grading 5.88 g/t for 558,000 ounces contained gold.  Exploration continues on the Sugar Zone property, which encompasses 83,850 hectares covering a significant greenstone belt.

For further information, please contact:
Stephen G. Roman President and CEO Tel: 416-368-0999 Email: sgr@hartegold.com		Shawn Howarth Vice President, Corporate Development Tel: 416-368-0999 E-mail: sh@hartegold.com

The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.