WINNEMUCCA, Nev., May 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (Nasdaq:
HYMC) ("Hycroft" or "the Company") announces quarterly
results for the three months ended March 31,
2024.
Diane R. Garrett, Hycroft's
President & CEO, commented: "The first quarter of the year
continued to build on the strong results produced from our
2022-2023 exploration drill program, which identified a new
high-grade silver discovery below the current resource pit that is
truly a game changer for the Hycroft Mine. This new discovery has
been very well received by the market and is bringing renewed
attention to this world-class asset at an opportune time when
commodity prices are also putting a spotlight on precious metals
companies.
"To underscore the excellent work and successful results by our
team, the market has responded positively and in addition, the
Company has been included on the Solactive Global Silver Miners
Total Return Index, effective May 1,
2024. Everything accomplished throughout the quarter has
moved Hycroft further up the value chain and I commend the team for
the meticulous and thoughtful work they delivered."
2024 FIRST QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS
Corporate Highlights
- Safety: During the first quarter of 2024, Hycroft
reported no lost time accidents ("LTI") and the total recordable
injury frequency rate ("TRIFR") for the trailing 12 months was
0.00. Hycroft continues to operate above one million work hours
without a LTI and a TRIFR of zero.
- Balance Sheet: The Company ended the quarter with
$57 million of unrestricted cash. On
January 5, 2024, the Company
voluntarily pre-paid $38 million of
its senior secured debt held by Sprott Resource Lending, leaving
$15 million in first lien debt.
- Equity Activities: The Company continued to
access its at-the-market offering program and sold an additional
517,688 shares of common stock for aggregate gross proceeds, before
commissions and offering expenses, of $1.2
million.
- Inclusion in Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return
Index: On March 28, 2024, it
was announced that Hycroft was selected for inclusion in the
Solactive Global Silver Miners Total Return Index, effective
May 1, 2024. The index includes
international companies active in exploration, mining and/or
refining of silver.
Operational Highlights
- Exploration: During the first quarter of 2024,
the Company continued its exploration drill program including
analyzing drill assay data and information compiled in 2023. The
2024 exploration drill program (the "2024 Drill Program") commenced
in February 2024 to follow up on the
high-grade underground silver discovery announced in November 2023. The current program is targeted to
define the structural framework of the two new high-grade silver
trends and target those areas that have not yet been drilled to
establish continuity and extent, laterally and at depth, of these
trends. The 2024 Drill Program currently includes approximately
5,200 meters of core drilling with the flexibility to expand the
program.
- Technical Update: Hycroft has been engaged in
trade-off studies and alternatives analyses to optimize the
development plan to build, mine and process gold and silver from
sulfide ore that yields the best economic return for shareholders.
Through this work, the Company identified that roasting the Hycroft
sulfide ore has the potential to generate by-product sulfuric acid
revenue that may create significant economic benefits for the
project in addition to the gold and silver. Sulfuric acid has
several commercial uses including in the production of lithium from
sedimentary style deposits, of which there are five such projects
in Nevada in addition to other
locations. There is also the potential to co-generate "green"
electricity as part of the process. Due to the potential to
generate meaningful by-product revenues through roasting, the
Company has initiated additional metallurgical studies to determine
if utilizing roasting technology instead of pressure oxidation
technology would deliver superior economics for the Hycroft
Mine.
Diane R. Garrett, President and
CEO of Hycroft, commented: "The market for sulfuric acid is in high
demand due to the lithium industry and the transition towards
green energy, electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. The
market is expected to grow substantially with not enough supply to
meet that demand. Paired with the significant gold and silver
resources we have, sulfuric acid with co-generation of electricity
could be an excellent complimentary by-product that could establish
Hycroft within the supply chain for the clean energy transition.
Trade-off analyses will be completed over the coming months and is
critical to ensuring value is maximized for the asset and
shareholders."
In addition, the recent high-grade silver discovery and ongoing
2024 exploration drilling is providing beneficial data towards the
potential of an underground starter mine. A higher-grade, smaller
start-up mine would mean less initial capital and higher economic
returns for shareholders in the early years of the operation. This
additional work is expected to be completed over the coming months
and as a result, the Company will provide updates on the
anticipated timing of the process flow sheet and the associated
technical report as information becomes available. Furthermore,
additional drill results in the newly discovered high-grade silver
underground system are pending with new drilling on-going and that
information is important to incorporate into the mine plan.
Ms. Garrett further stated: "All these components are integral
to building a right-sized plan for bringing the Hycroft Mine back
into production. It is vitally important to design and build the
best operation to ensure its long life. Prematurely going into
production without exploring every possible opportunity for
additional revenue and enhanced economic return is doing a
disservice to a world-class asset and our stakeholders. The
high-grade discovery is a game changer for Hycroft and we would
have missed this opportunity had we rushed to production before
that excellent work was completed by our technical team, comprised
of industry veterans with incredible knowledge and track records of
successful mine development. Taking a methodical approach, testing
and refining all options, takes time but has substantial benefits
and is being done to ensure value is created for our communities
and shareholders through long, sustainable operations."
The Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2024, is available
at www.sec.gov/edgar. See "Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements" below.
About Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation
Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation is a US-based gold and silver
company exploring and developing the Hycroft Mine, one of the
world's largest precious metals deposits located in northern
Nevada, a Tier-1 mining
jurisdiction. After a long history of oxide heap leaching
operations, the Company is focused on completing the technical
studies to transition the Hycroft Mine into a large-scale milling
operation for processing the sulfide ore. In addition, the Company
is engaged in a robust exploration drill program to unlock the full
potential of our expansive +64,000-acre land package, of which less
than 10% has been explored. In 2023, Hycroft announced the
discovery of a new high-grade silver system within the known
resource area and the delineation of two new high-grade silver
trends. These discoveries represent a significant new value driver
for the Hycroft Mine that the Company is following up on with
additional drilling in 2024.
For further information, please
contact info@hycroftmining.com or visit
our website at
www.hycroftmining.com.
Diane R. Garrett
President & CEO
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of
1933, as amended, Section 21E of the United States Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other
than statements of historical facts, included herein and public
statements by our officers or representatives, that address
activities, events or developments that our management expects or
anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking
statements, including but not limited to such things as future
business strategy, plans and goals, competitive strengths and
expansion and growth of our business. The words "estimate", "plan",
"anticipate", "expect", "intend", "believe" "target", "budget",
"may", "can", "will", "would", "could", "should", "seeks", or
"scheduled to" and similar words or expressions, or negatives of
these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable
language or any discussion of strategy or intention identify
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address
activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or
anticipates will or may occur in the future and are based on
current expectations and assumptions. Forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to (i) risks related to
changes in our operations at the Hycroft Mine, including risks
associated with the cessation of mining operations at the Hycroft
Mine; uncertainties concerning estimates of mineral resources;
risks related to a lack of a completed feasibility study; and risks
related to our ability to re-establish commercially feasible mining
operations; (ii) industry related risks including fluctuations in
the price of gold and silver; the commercial success of, and risks
related to, our exploration and development activities;
uncertainties and risks related to our reliance on contractors and
consultants; availability and cost of equipment, supplies, energy,
or reagents. The exploration target does not represent, and
should not be construed to be, an estimate of a mineral resource or
mineral reserve, as ranges of potential tonnage and grade (or
quality) of the exploration target are conceptual in nature; there
has been insufficient exploration of the relevant property or
properties to estimate a mineral resource; and it is uncertain if
further exploration will result in the estimation of a mineral
resource. These risks may include the following, and the
occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances alone or
in combination with other events or circumstances may have a
material adverse effect on the Company's business, cash flows,
financial condition, and results of operations. Please see our
"Risk Factors" outlined in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2023, and other reports filed with the
SEC for more information about these and other risks. You are
cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking
statements. Although we have attempted to identify important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other
factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or
intended. Although these forward-looking statements were based on
assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable when made, you
are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and that actual results, performance, or
achievements may differ materially from those made in or suggested
by the forward-looking statements in this news release. In
addition, even if our results, performance, or achievements are
consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this
news release, those results, performance or achievements may not be
indicative of results, performance or achievements in subsequent
periods. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Any
forward-looking statements made in this news release speak only as
of the date of those statements. We undertake no obligation to
update those statements or publicly announce the results of any
revisions to any of those statements to reflect future events or
developments.
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SOURCE Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation