GODALMING - Condor Gold ('Condor' or the 'Company') (AIM:CNR)(TSX:COG) announces that pursuant to receipt of notices for the exercise of options, relating to options granted in 2019 with an exercise price of 22p (the 2019 Options), from Jim Mellon, the Chairman of the Company, Mark Child the CEO and several employees and consultants, it is issuing 1,000,000 New Ordinary Shares with a nominal value of GBP0.001 each in the capital of the Company (Shares) at a subscription price of 22p per Share.
A total of 500,500 Shares are to be issued to the subscribing directors and PDMR who are holding for the long term as detailed below, whilst 499,500 of the 2019 Options have been exercised on a cashless basis with the resulting shares being immediately sold in the market to a third party at 22p per Share. The Company has received gross proceeds of GBP220,000.
Application has been made for the Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM (Admission), with Admission expected to occur on or around 18 July 2024.
The Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares, including the right to receive all dividends and other distributions declared after the date of their issue.
Director/PDMR Shareholding
Galloway Limited and Jim Mellon are to be issued 300,000 ordinary shares and will therefore now hold, in aggregate, 53,402,480 ordinary shares in the capital of the Company representing 26.12% of the Company's issued ordinary shares following the issue of the Shares. Galloway Limited is wholly owned by Burnbrae Group Limited which is, in turn, wholly owned by Jim Mellon, Condor's Chairman.
Mark Child, CEO, is to be issued 100,500 ordinary shares and will therefore now own 4,862,460 ordinary shares in the capital of the Company representing 2.38% of the Company's issued ordinary shares following the issue of the Shares.
Dave Crawford, CTO and a PDMR, is to be issued 100,000 ordinary shares and will therefore now own 105,000 ordinary shares in the capital of the Company representing 0.05% of the Company's issued ordinary shares following the issue of the Shares.
Total Voting Rights
Following Admission of the Shares, the Company will have 204,442,778 ordinary shares with a nominal value of GBP0.001 each in issue with voting rights and admitted to trading on AIM and the TSX. This figure may then be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculation by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules and National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Rules of the Canadian securities administrators.
The notification below, made in accordance with the requirements of the EU Market Abuse Regulations, provides further detail in respect of the transaction as described above.
Contact:
Mark Child
CEO
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7493 2784
About Condor Gold plc
Condor Gold plc was admitted to AIM in May 2006 and dual listed on the TSX in January 2018. The Company is a gold exploration and development company with a focus on Nicaragua.
The Company's principal asset is La India Project, Nicaragua, which comprises of a large, highly prospective land package of 588 sq km comprising of 12 contiguous and adjacent concessions. The Company has filed a feasibility study technical report dated 25 October 2022 and entitled 'Condor Gold Technical Report on the La India Gold Project, Nicaragua, 2022' (the '2022 FS') which is available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and was prepared in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. The 2022 FS indicated that La India Project hosts a high grade Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE') of 9,672 kt at 3.5g/t gold for 1,088,000 oz gold in the indicated mineral resource category and 8,642 kt at 4.3 g/t gold for 1,190,000 oz gold in the inferred mineral resource category. The open pit MRE is 8,693 kt at 3.2 g/t gold for 893,000 oz gold in the indicated mineral resource category and 3,026 kt at 3.0 g/t gold for 291,000 oz gold in the inferred mineral resource category. Total underground MRE is 979 kt at 6.2 g/t gold for 94,000 oz gold in the indicated mineral resource category and 5,615 kt at 5.0 g/t gold for 98,000 oz gold in the inferred mineral resource category.
The 2022 FS replaces the previously reported Preliminary Economic Assessment ('PEA') as presented in the Technical Report filed on SEDAR in October 2021 as the current technical report for the La India project.
The 2021 PEA considered the expanded Project inclusive of the exploitation of the Mineral Resources associated to the La India, Mestiza, America and Central Breccia deposits. The strategic study covers two scenarios: Scenario A, in which the mining is undertaken from four open pits, termed La India, America, Mestiza and Central Breccia Zone ('CBZ'), which targets a plant feed rate of 1.225 million tonnes per annum ('Mtpa') and Scenario B, where the mining is extended to include three underground operations at La India, America and Mestiza, in which the processing rate is increased to 1.4 Mtpa. The 2021 PEA Scenario B presented a post-tax, post upfront capital expenditure NPV of US$418 million, with an IRR of 54% and 12 month pay-back period, assuming a US$1,700 per oz gold price, with average annual production of 150,000 oz gold per annum for the initial 9 years of gold production. The open pit mine schedules were optimised from designed pits, bringing higher grade gold forward resulting in average annual production of 157,000 oz gold in the first 2 years from open pit material and underground mining funded out of cashflow. The 2021 PEA Scenario A presented a post-tax, post upfront capital expenditure NPV of US$302 million, with an IRR of 58% and 12 month pay-back period, assuming a US$1,700 per oz gold price, with average annual production of approximately 120,000 oz gold per annum for the initial 6 years of gold production. The Mineral Resource estimate and associated Preliminary Economic Assessment contained in the 2021 PEA are considered a historical estimate within the meaning of NI 43-101, a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify such historical estimate as current, and the Company is not treating the historical Mineral Resource estimate and associated studies as current, and the reader is cautioned not to rely upon this data as such. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Company believes that the historical Mineral Resource estimate and Preliminary Economic assessment is relevant to the continuing development of the La India Project.
In August 2018, the Company announced that the Ministry of the Environment in Nicaragua had granted the Environmental Permit ('EP') for the development, construction and operation of a processing plant with capacity to process up to 2,800 tonnes per day at its wholly-owned La India gold Project ('La India Project'). The EP is considered the master permit for mining operations in Nicaragua. Condor has purchased a new SAG Mill, which has mainly arrived in Nicaragua. Site clearance and preparation is at an advanced stage.
Environmental Permits were granted in April and May 2020 for the Mestiza and America open pits respectively, both located close to La India. The Mestiza open pit hosts 92 Kt at a grade of 12.1 g/t gold (36,000 oz contained gold) in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and 341 Kt at a grade of 7.7 g/t gold (85,000 oz contained gold) in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. The America open pit hosts 114 Kt at a grade of 8.1 g/t gold (30,000 oz) in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and 677 Kt at a grade of 3.1 g/t gold (67,000 oz) in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. Following the permitting of the Mestiza and America open pits, together with the La India open pit Condor has 1.12 M oz gold open pit Mineral Resources permitted for extraction.
Nominated Adviser
Beaumont Cornish Limited ('Beaumont Cornish') is the Company's Nominated Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter referred to in it.
Forward Looking Statements
All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are 'forward-looking information' with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to: the issuance of the Payment Shares, including the receipt of the approvals of AIM and the TSX; future development and production plans, projected capital and operating costs, mine life and production rates, metal or mineral recovery estimates, Mineral Resource, Mineral Reserve estimates at the La India Project, the potential to convert Mineral Resources into Mineral Reserves, the Company's plans to sell the assets of the Company or seek alternatives to an asset sale and the construction timeline of the La India project upon receipt of financing. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as: 'seek', 'anticipate', 'plan', 'continue', 'strategies', 'estimate', 'expect', 'project', 'predict', 'potential', 'targeting', 'intends', 'believe', 'potential', 'could', 'might', 'will' and similar expressions. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made including, among others, assumptions regarding: future commodity prices and royalty regimes; availability of skilled labour; timing and amount of capital expenditures; future currency exchange and interest rates; the impact of increasing competition; general conditions in economic and financial markets; availability of drilling and related equipment; effects of regulation by governmental agencies; the receipt of required permits; royalty rates; future tax rates; future operating costs; availability of future sources of funding; ability to obtain financing and assumptions underlying estimates related to adjusted funds from operations. Many assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.
Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, risks related to: mineral exploration, development and operating risks; estimation of mineralisation and resources; environmental, health and safety regulations of the resource industry; competitive conditions; operational risks; liquidity and financing risks; funding risk; exploration costs; uninsurable risks; conflicts of interest; risks of operating in Nicaragua; government policy changes; ownership risks; permitting and licencing risks; artisanal miners and community relations; difficulty in enforcement of judgments; market conditions; stress in the global economy; current global financial condition; exchange rate and currency risks; commodity prices; reliance on key personnel; dilution risk; payment of dividends; as well as those factors discussed under the heading 'Risk Factors' in the Company's annual information form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 dated March 29, 2022 and available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.
CONDOR GOLD PLC 
