VANCOUVER, May 6, 2020 /CNW/ - Filo Mining Corp.
(TSXV: FIL) (Nasdaq First North Growth Market: FIL) ("Filo
Mining" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its results for
the three months ended March 31,
2020. PDF Version.
HIGHLIGHTS: CONTINUED EXPLORATION SUCCESS AT FILO DEL
SOL
The 2018/2019 field season proved transformational for the
Company, proving the existence of a significant porphyry
copper-gold system underlying Filo del Sol's current Mineral
Resource. Following up on that success, the Company planned
and executed an exploration program during the 2019/2020 field
season to further drill test the system, with a particular focus at
extending mineralization on strike and at depth below the area of
highest copper and gold grades.
The Company drilled eight diamond holes, two of which were
drilled to final depths of 1,141 metres and 1,106 metres. These two
holes, respectively FSDH032 and FSDH034, along with hole FSDH025
from the previous season, demonstrate the extent of this additional
mineralization, as the three holes span a north-south distance of 1
kilometer, and all three end in mineralization at depths in excess
of 1 kilometre below surface.
Commenting on the success of the Company's latest field
campaign, Lukas Lundin, Chairman,
stated, "Congratulations to the entire team at Filo. Our drill
results this season are truly exceptional and rank amongst the best
intercepts of my career. We are only beginning to get a sense
of the size and scale of the system at Filo del Sol."
Full assay results from the first five diamond holes of the
2019/2020 campaign have now been received, verified and released by
the Company, and are detailed in the table below. Highlights
include FSDH032 with an intercept of 762.7 metres at 1.10% Copper
Equivalent1 ("CuEq"), and FSDH034 with an intercept of
439.0 metres grading 0.84% CuEq; both these intersections lie
completely outside of the current Mineral Resource. Results of
these holes are provided in the following table:
Hole-ID
|
From
(m)
|
To
(m)
|
Length
(m)
|
Cu
(%)
|
Au
(g/t)
|
Ag
(g/t)
|
CuEq1
(%)
|
FSDH032
|
132.0
|
1,141.0
|
1,009.0
|
0.57
|
0.39
|
11.1
|
0.95
|
incl.
|
378.0
|
1,141.0
|
762.7
|
0.68
|
0.43
|
13.2
|
1.10
|
and incl.
|
492.0
|
702.8
|
210.8
|
0.90
|
0.54
|
19.5
|
1.46
|
FSDH033
|
96.0
|
552.0
|
456.0
|
0.48
|
0.44
|
18.7
|
0.96
|
incl.
|
200.0
|
226.0
|
26.0
|
2.03
|
0.81
|
2.8
|
2.64
|
and
incl.
|
264.0
|
284.0
|
20.0
|
0.03
|
0.42
|
223.1
|
2.19
|
and incl.
|
518.0
|
552.0
|
34.0
|
0.68
|
0.37
|
8.8
|
1.02
|
FSDH034
|
72.0
|
1,106.0
|
1,034.0
|
0.42
|
0.32
|
3.4
|
0.68
|
incl.
|
520.0
|
959.0
|
439.0
|
0.54
|
0.36
|
4.2
|
0.84
|
incl.
|
676.0
|
732.0
|
56.0
|
0.74
|
0.60
|
8.5
|
1.25
|
FSDH035
|
46.0
|
58.0
|
12.0
|
0.43
|
0.06
|
1.3
|
0.48
|
FSDH036
|
174.0
|
367.1
|
193.1
|
0.16
|
0.25
|
3.6
|
0.37
|
incl.
|
174.0
|
226.0
|
52.0
|
0.32
|
0.35
|
1.7
|
0.59
|
incl.
|
174.0
|
182.0
|
8.0
|
0.92
|
0.93
|
3.0
|
1.62
|
1 Copper Equivalent is calculated
based on US$ 2.80/lb Cu, US$ 1,400/oz Au and US$ 16/oz Ag.
The formula is: CuEq % = Cu % + (0.7292 * Au g/t) + (0.0083 *
Ag g/t). See the Company's News
Release dated April 20, 2020 for full details.
|
Adam Lundin, Filo Mining's CEO,
commented, "We have long believed that the mineralized system that
hosts the Filo del Sol deposit is extensive, and the drill
campaigns undertaken in the last two field seasons have confirmed
our belief. While we still have work ahead of us to define the
system's boundaries, it cannot be ignored that our three deepest
holes to date span a distance of 1 kilometer north-south and end in
mineralization over a kilometer below surface. Our team
remains excited about this potential beyond our current Indicated
Resource of 425 million tonnes."
Jamie Beck, President, added, "In
the midst of these outstanding results, we curtailed our drill
program earlier than planned due to the global novel coronavirus
outbreak, as health and safety remains our top priority. In
this time of economic uncertainty, it is reassuring to have the
continued financial support of the Lundin family trusts, our
largest shareholders. As part of our response to the COVID-19
pandemic, we are implementing immediate cost saving measures, while
planning to resume drilling next season as conditions allow.
The entire organization shares in our commitment to facing this
challenge together."
OUTLOOK
The exploration findings from the last two field seasons have
provided proof of concept that the Mineral Resource at Filo del
Sol, which forms the basis for the robust PFS, is further underlain
by a significant porphyry copper-gold system. Demonstrated by
drill results from the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 field seasons, the
extent of the additional mineralization extends well beyond the
depths of the current Mineral Resource. Full assay results are
still pending from the recent drill campaign, and will be made
available once received and verified by the Company.
As the Company continues to assess its options for unlocking
value at the Filo del Sol Project for its shareholders, it will
take into consideration this recent exploration success, as well as
the compelling investment thesis presented by the PFS.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
(In thousands of
Canadian dollars, except per share amounts)
|
|
|
|
Three months
ended
|
|
|
|
March
31,
|
|
|
|
|
2020
|
2019
|
Exploration and
project investigation
|
|
|
|
12,028
|
11,022
|
General and
administration ("G&A")
|
|
|
|
854
|
1,009
|
Net loss
|
|
|
|
12,643
|
12,092
|
Basic and diluted
loss per share
|
|
|
|
0.14
|
0.17
|
|
The financial
information in this table were selected from the Company's
condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three
months ended March 31, 2020 (the "Financial Statements"),
which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the
Company's website www.filo-mining.com.
|
SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(In thousands of
Canadian dollars)
|
|
March
31,
|
December
31,
|
|
|
2020
|
|
2019
|
Cash
|
|
6,485
|
|
13,753
|
Working
capital
|
|
1,443
|
|
12,735
|
Mineral
properties
|
|
7,110
|
|
7,312
|
Total
assets
|
|
15,878
|
|
23,750
|
|
The financial
information in this table were selected from the Financial
Statements, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and
the Company's website www.filo-mining.com.
|
The Company incurred a net loss of $11.8
million during the three months ended March 31, 2020, comprised primarily of
$11.9 million in exploration and
project investigation costs and $0.9
million in G&A costs, which were partially offset by a
gain of approximately $0.7 million
resulting from the use of marketable securities for the purposes of
facilitating intragroup funding transfers (the "Funding Gains").
For the comparative three months ended March
31, 2019, the Company reported a net loss of $12.1 million, consisting mainly of $11.0 million in exploration and project
investigation costs and $1.0 million
in G&A costs. Despite higher exploration and project
investigation costs during the first quarter of 2020, which
reflects the larger field program undertaken during the period
relative to the comparative period, the net loss for the period was
smaller overall, as a result of the partial offset provided by the
Funding Gains.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As at March 31, 2020, the Company
had cash of $6.5 million and net
working capital of $1.4 million,
compared to cash of $13.8 million and
net working capital of $12.7 million
as at December 31, 2019. The decrease
in the Company's cash and net working capital is due primarily to
funds used in operations.
As an exploration company with no sources of revenue, the
economic viability of the Company's long-term business plan is
impacted by its ability to obtain financing, and global economic
conditions impact the general availability of financing through
public and private debt and equity markets, as well as through
other avenues. Accordingly, the Company is cognizant of the current
deterioration of global financial markets coinciding with the
COVID-19 pandemic and will be reducing discretionary expenditures
and senior management salaries and exercising additional caution
and prudence in the management and deployment of its current
working capital. In this regard, the Company will continue to
evaluate and adjust its planned exploration and administrative
activities to ensure that adequate levels of working capital are
maintained.
ABOUT FILO MINING
Filo Mining is a Canadian exploration and development company
focused on advancing its 100% owned Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver
deposit located in Chile's Region
III and adjacent San Juan Province, Argentina. Filo Mining is a member of the
Lundin Group of Companies. Filo Mining is listed on the TSX Venture
Exchange ("TSXV") and Nasdaq First North Growth Market under the
trading symbol "FIL".
QUALIFIED PERSONS
The scientific and technical disclosure for the Filo del Sol
Project included in this news release have been reviewed and
approved by Bob Carmichael, P.Eng.
and James Beck, B.A.Sc., P. Eng. Mr.
Carmichael is Filo Mining's Vice President of Exploration and a
Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of
Disclosure of Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Beck is Filo
Mining's President and is also a Qualified Person under NI
43-101.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The technical information relating to the pre-feasibility study
is based on a technical report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report,
Pre-feasibility Study for the Filo del Sol Project" dated
February 22, 2019, with an effective
date of January 13, 2019 (the
"Technical Report"). The Technical Report was prepared for Filo
Mining by Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. ("Ausenco"). The
Qualified Persons, as defined under NI 43-101, responsible for the
Technical Report are Scott Elfen, P.E., Ausenco; Robin Kalanchey, P.Eng., Ausenco; Bruno Borntraeger, P.Eng., Knight Piesold Ltd.;
Fionnuala Devine, P.Geo., Merlin
Geosciences Inc.; Ian Stillwell, BGC
Engineering Inc.; Neil Winkelmann,
FAusIMM, SRK Consulting (Canada)
Inc.; James N. Gray, P.Geo.,
Advantage Geoservices Limited; and Jay
Melnyk, P.Eng., AGP Mining Consultants, all of whom are
independent of Filo Mining. The Technical Report is available for
review under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on
the Company's website at www.filo-mining.com.
The Company's consolidated financial statements for the year
ended December 31, 2019 and related
management's discussion and analysis are available on the Company's
website at www.filo-mining.com or under its profile on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
The Company's certified advisor on Nasdaq First North Growth
Market is Pareto Securities AB, +46 8 402 50 00,
certifiedadviser.se@paretosec.com.
The information contained in this news release was accurate at
the time of dissemination, but may be superseded by subsequent news
release(s). The Company is under no obligation nor does it
intend to update or revise the forward-looking information, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
This information was submitted by Filo Mining Corp. for
publication, through the agency of the contact person set out
below, on May 6, 2020 at 21:30 Eastern Time.
On behalf of Filo Mining,
Adam Lundin, CEO
Filo Mining Corp.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements made and information contained herein in this
press release constitutes "forward-looking information" and
forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable
securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking
information") concerning the business, operations, financial
performance and condition of Filo Mining. The forward-looking
information contained in this press release is based on information
available to the Company as of the date of this press release.
Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the
Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to
update this forward-looking information. Generally, any
statements that express or involve discussions with respect to
predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives,
assumptions or future events or performance, (often, but not
always, identified by words or phrases such as "plans", "expects"
or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled",
"estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "projects" , "estimates",
"budgets", "scheduled", "forecasts", "assumes", "intends",
"strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential", "possible",
"anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or
variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could",
"would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "will occur" or
"will be achieved" or the negative connotations thereof and similar
expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be
forward-looking statements.
All statements other than statements of historical fact may be
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is
necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently
subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance
or achievements of the Company to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information,
including but not limited to: risks and uncertainties relating to,
among other things, the inherent uncertainties regarding Mineral
Reserve and Resource estimates, cost estimates, changes in
commodity prices, currency fluctuation, financings, unanticipated
resource grades, infrastructure, results of exploration activities,
cost overruns, availability of materials and equipment, timeliness
of government approvals, taxation, political risk and related
economic risk and unanticipated environmental impact on operations
as well as other risks, and uncertainties and other factors,
including, without limitation, those referred to in the "Risks and
Uncertainties" section of the Company's most recent MD&A and/or
Annual Information Form, under the heading "Risks Factors", and
elsewhere, which may cause the actual results, level of activity,
performance or achievements of the Company to be materially
different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking
information.
The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the
forward-looking information included in this press release are
reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations
will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information
should not be unduly relied upon. Information contained in
this press release is as of the date of this press release.
In particular, this press release contains forward-looking
information pertaining to the assumptions used in the PFS for the
Filo del Sol project, the assumptions used in the Mineral Reserves
and Resources estimates for the Filo del Sol project, including,
but not limited to, geological interpretation, grades, metal price
assumptions, metallurgical and mining recovery rates, geotechnical
and hydrogeological conditions, as applicable; ability to develop
infrastructure; assumptions made in the interpretation of drill
results, geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits;
expectations regarding access and demand for equipment, skilled
labour and services needed for exploration and development of
mineral properties; and that activities will not be adversely
disrupted or impeded by exploration, development, operating,
regulatory, political, community, economic and/or environmental
risks. In addition, this press release contains
forward-looking information pertaining to: the Company's expected
timing of results related to the 2019/2020 field program at its
100% owned Filo del Sol Project; potential upside at the Filo del
Sol Project, including the extent and significance of the porphyry
copper-gold system underlying the current Mineral Resource;
assumptions and interpretations around prospectivity of the
Tamberias West area; the ability of the Company to secure
additional financing and/or the quantum and terms thereof; support
of the Lundin Family Trusts; exploration and development plans and
expenditures; the timing and nature of studies and any potential
development scenarios; opportunities to improve project economics;
the success of future exploration activities; potential for
resource expansion; potential for the discovery of new mineral
deposits; ability to build shareholder value; expectations with
regard to adding to its Mineral Reserves or Resources through
exploration; expectations with respect to the conversion of
inferred resources to an indicated resources classification;
ability to execute planned work programs; estimation of commodity
prices, Mineral Reserves and Resources, estimations of costs, and
permitting time lines; ability to obtain surface rights and
property interests; currency exchange rate fluctuations;
requirements for additional capital; government regulation of
mining activities; environmental risks; unanticipated reclamation
expenses; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance
coverage; and other risks and uncertainties.
Forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions that
the Company believes are reasonable, including that the current
price of and demand for commodities will be sustained or will
improve, the supply of commodities will remain stable, that the
general business and economic conditions will not change in a
material adverse manner, that financing will be available if and
when needed on reasonable terms and that the Company will not
experience any material labour dispute, accident, or failure of
plant or equipment. These factors are not, and should not be
construed as being, exhaustive. Although the Company has
attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in
forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause
results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended.
There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate, as the Company's actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements, as a
result of the factors discussed in the "Risk and Uncertainties"
section of the Company's most recent management's discussion and
analysis and elsewhere and in the "Risk Factors" section in the
Company's most recent Annual Information Form, which are available
under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. All of
the forward-looking information contained in this document is
qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.
Statements relating to "Mineral Resources" are deemed to be
forward looking information, as they involve the implied
assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, that the
Mineral Resources described can be profitably produced in the
future.
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 news release
SOURCE Filo Mining Corp.