Announces Sale of Additional Royalties
"The Board of Directors and Management would like to thank the Magino team for their hard work to achieve the commercial production milestone and celebrate the dedication of all employees, contractors, and community partners that have supported construction of the newest gold mine in
In declaring commercial production, management considers several factors, including substantial completion of construction and development activities in accordance with design, and a production ramp-up period which achieves certain design criteria. The design criteria includes an ability to deliver sufficient ore to the plant and various plant metrics including, tonnes per operating hour (crushing and grinding circuits), availability and recovery rates to ensure that the plant flowsheet is operating.
"Plant commissioning and ramp-up proceeded largely on plan from June through August, ramping up from approximately 50% of nameplate capacity to 80%, placing the plant on track for commercial production in September. However, 20 days of unplanned downtime in September, delayed the ramp-up. This was the result of two events, the first centered on the
Third quarter consolidated production was 53,911 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs"), including pre-commercial production of 10,693 GEOs from the
As a result of the slower than planned ramp-up of Magino to commercial production, the Company will bolster its balance sheet through the sale to Franco-Nevada Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries (Franco-Nevada) of an additional 1% net smelter return royalty ("NSR") on its
The technical information contained in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of, and has been reviewed and approved by Mr.
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities laws concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and are based on a number of assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Many of these assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of Argonaut and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.
Factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from results anticipated by such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to the availability and changing terms of financing, variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in market conditions, changes in inflation, risks relating to the availability and timeliness of permitting and governmental approvals; risks relating to international operations, fluctuating metal prices and currency exchange rates, changes in project parameters, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, risks related to the anticipated performance of material equipment, the impact of COVID-19 and other human health concerns and the impact and effectiveness of governmental responses to them, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated.
These factors are discussed in greater detail in Argonaut's most recent Annual Information Form dated
Although Argonaut has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Argonaut undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered if the property is developed. Comparative market information is as of a date prior to the date of this document. Further, the forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date of this press release.
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