Drilling to Expand Resources and Phase-Two Hasbrouck Permitting to Continue
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Aug. 3, 2017) -
NOT FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES
West Kirkland Mining Inc. (TSX VENTURE:WKM) ("West Kirkland" or the "Company") announces the execution of subscription agreements for a non-brokered private placement of common shares of the Company with three of its major shareholders for $1,447,500 at $0.075 per share (the "Private Placement").
West Kirkland intends to expand its efforts from permitting and engineering on its gold reserves to include exploration on its large Tonopah, Nevada land position. The initial permits to build and operate the Three Hills open-pit heap leach operations are in hand and the second, larger pit and leach pads at Hasbrouck are in the permit process. Adding open pit resources from exploration to the initial permitted pits and leach pads would have an important, positive impact on the already robust project.
Current Reserves are a Proven and Probable Mineral Reserve of 762,000 ounces of gold and 10.6 million ounces of silver. At a $ 1,225 gold price, a 2016 Pre-feasibility Study estimates a net present value at a 5% discount rate of US$ 102 million and an IRR of 38%. West Kirkland owns 75% of the project and has improved its share of the economics by buying a 1.1% royalty on the project. (Probable Reserves on a 100% basis are 41 million tonnes at 0.6 g/t gold, 8 g/t silver, per Mine Development Associates' Technical Report dated September 1, 2016, www.sedar.com).
The Company has agreed to issue 19,300,000 shares at a price of $0.075 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of $1,447,500. There are no finder's fees or commissions to be paid on the Private Placement, which was arranged by management. Following the Private Placement, Sun Valley Gold Master Fund, Ltd. and Ruffer LLP, on behalf of its clients, will hold approximately 33.71% and 16.99% respectively of the common shares of the Company. A third shareholder will beneficially own approximately 9.9% of the common shares of the Company following the private placement.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement for general working capital, targeted resource expansion drilling, regional exploration, and phase two permitting on its 75% interest in the Hasbrouck Project in Nevada. Clover Nevada LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Waterton Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, LP, ("Waterton"), owns the remaining 25% interest in the Hasbrouck Project. Waterton has been funding their 25% share of project expenditures since September, 2016.
The shares sold in the above noted Private Placement will be subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("Exchange") and will bear a four-month resale restriction from the date of closing, which the Company anticipates will occur as soon as possible after Exchange approval.
The securities offered pursuant to the Offerings have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
About West Kirkland Mining Inc.
West Kirkland owns a 75% interest in, and a 1.1% net smelter return royalty over the Hasbrouck Gold Project in Tonopah, Nevada. A Pre-feasibility Study was completed and updated in 2016 for two open-pit heap-leach mines comprising the Hasbrouck Gold Project. The Pre-feasibility Study along with construction-level drawings and all federal and state permits for the phase-one Three Hills Mine provides a ready-to-construct project. Permitting for the phase-two Hasbrouck Mine is well advanced.
On behalf of West Kirkland Mining Inc.
R. Michael Jones, Chief Executive Officer
For further information, please see the Company's website at www.wkmining.com or contact us by email at info@wkmining.com.
Authors and Qualified Persons Statement
Sandy McVey, P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer for West Kirkland, and a non-independent Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed the technical information contained in this news release and has verified the relevant data. Quality Control and Assay information is as previously disclosed in the Company's technical reports.
Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "postulate" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Forward-looking information in this news release includes, without limitation, the intended use of proceeds, the approval of the Exchange, closing date, the statements regarding the ability to achieve the recoveries and the processing capacity of the mines; regulatory processes and permitting; estimates of gold or other minerals grades; anticipated costs, anticipated sales, project economics, the realization of expansion and construction activities and the timing thereof; production estimates and other statements that are not historical facts. Information concerning mineral resource/reserve estimates and the economic analysis thereof contained in the prefeasibility study are also forward-looking statements in that they reflect a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered, and the results of mining it, if a mineral deposit were developed and mined. Although West Kirkland believes that such timing and expenses as set out in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations and estimates will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company's equity securities, the state of the market for gold or other minerals that may be produced generally, significant increases in any of the machinery, equipment or supplies required to develop and operate a mine, a significant change in the availability or cost of the labor force required to operate a mine, a significant increases in the cost of transportation for the Company's products, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies and other risks associated with the exploration and development of mineral properties. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Regarding the Use of Mining Terms
This press release has been prepared in accordance with the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resources and reserve estimates included in this press release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Industry Guide 7, and resource or reserve information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, "resources" and "reserves" established under NI 43-101 standards may not qualify as "resources" and "reserves" under U.S. standards. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. In addition, under U.S. standards, a "Final" or "Bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical average price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis to designate reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority. Disclosure of "contained ounces" in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves" by SEC standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth in this press release may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.
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.
Investor Relations:
Rob Bruggeman
(416) 884-3556
rbruggeman@wkmining.com