Morien Provides Project and Corporate Update

 

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Jan. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Morien Resources Corp. ("Morien" or the "Company") (TSXV:MOX), today provided an update with respect to the Company’s projects and ongoing corporate activities.

Donkin Coal Mine

Kameron Collieries ULC (“Kameron”), an affiliate of The Cline Group LLC, and owner/operator of the Donkin Coal Mine (“Donkin” or the “Donkin Mine”) in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, has temporarily suspended production at Donkin due to a roof collapse in an older part of the mine. The incident occurred on December 28, 2018 during Kameron’s scheduled holiday shutdown and no workers were injured. Kameron has been directed by the Nova Scotia Department of Labour to review a variety of engineering and operational measures designed to monitor, control and prevent future mine roof falls. Production at Donkin is expected to resume after Kameron and government inspectors are satisfied that the appropriate measures are in place. Kameron’s top priority is the safety of its 128 employees and contractors and it will resume operations as soon as practicable. Morien welcomes Kameron and the Nova Scotia government’s commitment to safety and will provide further updates as they become available.

Kameron continues improvements in productivity. In December 2018, it installed a continuous haulage Flexible Conveyor Train (“FCT”) coal mining system to replace part of Donkin’s shuttle car fleet. The FCT was approved by the Nova Scotia Department of Labour in December and is expected to significantly increase production volumes in 2019 once production resumes and hence export sales.

In 2018, Kameron signed a multi-year, thermal coal offtake agreement with local power utility, Nova Scotia Power Inc., for a portion of Donkin production. The majority of Donkin coal is and will be sold overseas either as a high quality metallurgical coal and/or as a low ash, high-energy thermal coal.

On January 4, 2019, it was reported that Provincial Energy Ventures Ltd. (“PEV”) is proceeding with the first phase of its $75 million expansion of its export facility in Sydney, Cape Breton. PEV is located approximately 30 kilometres from the Donkin Mine and is currently responsible for handling all of the exported coal from Donkin. Once complete, the PEV port will be capable of accommodating larger, Capesize vessels and is expected to have the capacity to export up to 3 million tonnes of Donkin coal annually. A new, dedicated coal haul road that will by-pass certain communities along the truck route between the Donkin Mine and PEV is expected to be complete in Q2 2019. 

Morien owns a gross production royalty for the Donkin Mine of 2% on the revenue from the first 500,000 tonnes of coal sales per calendar quarter, net of certain coal handling and transportation costs, and 4% on the revenue from any coal sales from quarterly tonnage above 500,000 tonnes, net of certain coal handling and transportation costs. The royalty is payable to Morien on a quarterly basis over the anticipated 30+ year mine life. Morien’s royalty payments from Kameron have increased from $4k in Q2 2017 to $241k in Q3 2018.

Production at Donkin is anticipated to reach annual sales volumes of 2.7 to 3 million tonnes over the next two years. While it is assumed that production at Donkin will resume in a timely manner, the timing of production recommencement is unknown at present and may delay the rate of production increases. Should Kameron’s production schedule change, Morien management will provide revised guidance when supporting information becomes available, which could be materially different from prior guidance. Using a wide range of coal pricing (CAD $65 to $115 per tonne), annual royalty payments could be in the order of CAD $5.0 to $9.0 million at full production of approximately 3 million tonnes per year. These values are only estimates based on assumptions Morien management consider reasonable, as of Q1 2019, and would only be achieved if and when Donkin reaches permitted production levels ⁽¹⁾. Actual results and royalties received, if any, subject primarily to production rates and coal pricing, may vary from those estimated by Morien. As a public company, Morien incurs general and administrative expenses that are necessary for the collection of the aforementioned royalties. See the advisory below regarding Forward-Looking Statements.

(1) The above technical disclosures are consistent with the information in the technical report titled “Technical Report, Donkin Coal Project, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada” dated November 2012, found on Morien’s SEDAR profile.

Black Point Aggregate Project

Morien owns a 50+ year production royalty on the Black Point Aggregate Project (“Black Point”) in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, owned by Vulcan Materials Company (“Vulcan”), the United State’s largest aggregate producer. Black Point is permitted and, although production has not yet begun, Morien is currently receiving advanced quarterly minimum royalties of CAD $25,000, which will be credited against future production royalties. In April 2018, Vulcan was granted a 2-year extension by the Nova Scotia provincial government for Black Point and must commence work on Black Point by April 2020 unless granted a further extension.

Project Generation

Morien continues to search for royalty assets to complement its existing royalty portfolio. The Company is focused on acquiring long-life, cash-flowing royalties in the industrial mineral and bulk commodity market segments in North America.

Land Holdings

Morien is currently pursuing options for the sale of 1,054 acres of land in Georgia, USA.

Normal Course Issuer Bid

Morien’s Normal Course Issuer Bid (“NCIB”) purchased 1.6 million common shares between April 2018 and January 8, 2019. Since the NCIB started in 2015, Morien has purchased 9.9 million, or 17%, of its common shares at an average price of $0.36 per share. Morien considers its common shares to be trading at prices that do not reflect the underlying value of its royalty portfolio, its strong and growing financial position and its growth opportunities. Morien intends to renew its NCIB after the current NCIB expires on January 31, 2019. The Company’s cash position allows for continued share purchases without adversely affecting its other opportunities. However, future purchases will be based on market conditions, share price, best use of available cash, and other factors. All common shares acquired under the NCIB are cancelled.

Quarterly Dividend

In 2018, Morien paid quarterly dividends of $0.0025 per common share. It is Morien’s intention to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.0025 per common share in Q1 2019. The Company anticipates increasing the quarterly dividend amount commensurate with Donkin Mine production expansion, having regard to the stability of cash flow and the need to maintain flexibility to secure new royalty assets. However, the declaration, amount and timing of any future dividends will be subject to the Board's determination that the payment of a dividend is in the best interest of Morien and its shareholders, having regard to the Company’s cash reserves, anticipated financial requirements, legal requirements for the declaration of dividends and other conditions existing at such time, including forward production guidance from Kameron.

Corporate Update

The Company granted options to Susanne Willett, Morien’s Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to the Company’s stock option incentive plan and related to Susanne’s appointment to the CFO position in Q3 2018. The option grant consisted of 200,000 options, each exercisable for one common share of the Company until January 7, 2024 at an exercise price of $0.48. The options vested immediately.

Qualified Person

Dawson Brisco, P.Geo. (Nova Scotia), President and CEO of Morien, is a Qualified Person as that term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

About Morien

Morien is a Canada based, dividend paying, mining development company that holds royalty interests in two, long life, world class, tidewater accessed projects. The Donkin Coal Mine commenced production in 2017 and the Black Point Aggregate Project was permitted in 2016 and is progressing toward a development decision. Morien’s management team exercises ruthless discipline in managing both the assets and liabilities of the Company. The Company’s management and its Board of Directors consider shareholder returns to be paramount over corporate size, number or scale of assets and industry recognition. Morien has 53,131,114 issued and outstanding common shares and a fully diluted position of 57,523,614. Further information is available at www.MorienRes.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this news release may constitute "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable securities laws. These statements reflect Morien's current expectations of future revenues and business prospects and opportunities and are based on information currently available to Morien. Morien cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, many of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Morien currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties described in Morien’s annual information form filed with the Canadian Securities regulators on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) on April 26, 2016. Morien cautions that its royalty revenue will be based on production by third party property owners and operators who will be responsible for determining the manner and timing for the properties forming part of Morien’s royalty portfolio. These third party owners and operators are also subject to risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted herein including: volatility in financial markets or general economic conditions; capital requirements and the need for additional financing; fluctuations in the rates of exchange for the currencies of Canada and the United States; prices for commodities including gold, coal and aggregate; unanticipated changes in production, mineral reserves and mineral resources, metallurgical recoveries and/or exploration results; changes in regulations and unpredictable political or economic developments; loss of key personnel; labour disputes; and ineffective title to mineral claims or property. There are other business risks and hazards associated with mineral exploration, development and mining. Although Morien believes that the forward-looking information contained herein is based on reasonable assumptions, readers cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with such statements. Morien expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information in this news release, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All dollar values discussed herein are in Canadian dollars. Any financial outlook or future-oriented financial information in this news release, as defined by applicable securities laws, has been approved by management of Morien as of the date of this news release. Such financial outlook or future-oriented financial information is provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such outlook or information should not be used for purposes other than for which it is disclosed in this news release.

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.

For more information, please contact:
Dawson Brisco, President & CEO
Phone: (902) 403-3149,
dbrisco@MorienRes.com
or
John P.A. Budreski, Executive Chairman
Phone: (416) 930-0914
www.MorienRes.com