VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 14, 2015) - Amarillo Gold Corp. (TSX VENTURE:AGC) ("Amarillo" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received the most recent drawdown from its gold-linked credit facility (the "Facility"). The Company entered into the Facility in September last year. The Facility's purpose is to finance the Company through the current adverse resource market conditions in an innovative way. It has consolidated many of the Company's obligations into a single structure and it provides a way for the Company to operate and continue with the mine permitting process at our flagship Mara Rosa project. By entering the Facility the Company has avoided raising funds via the market at a highly dilutive share price.
Under the Facility, the Company can borrow up to the value of 5,000 ounces of gold with tranches equal to 270 ounces of gold, as per the London Fix, at the end of the last business day of each quarter.
The most recent drawdown marks the fourth, using the Facility. There has now been a total of 3,391 ounces drawn to date. (The first draw down was larger to consolidate Company's obligations).
The creditors of the Facility are shareholders of the Company and we express our gratitude for their continued support.
Buddy Doyle CEO and President of the Company, commented, "The Gold Facility remains the most sensible financing alternative in this prolonged depressed market. Since publishing a positive PFS (Pre-Feasibility Study) in early 2012, the Company has focused work and funds to improve the Mara Rosa project. The PFS used a US $1200/troy ounce, price assumption and was economically robust at the time. Since then, there have been a number of significant improvements to the assumptions in the study. For example, a geotechnical study has raised the planned footwall pit slope reducing the strip ratio from 8.1:1 to 6.4:1 and further drilling intersected gold in an area previously treated as waste, extending the mineralization 150m to the north. The exchange rate has improved. A ratio of US $1: R$1.9 was used in the PFS; the current rate is US $1: R$3.0. It is notable that in terms of the local currency gold is at near record prices. The lower exchange rate has also made contract mining an attractive alternative to the original plan of a 100% owner fleet. The contract mining option would significantly cut the PFS capital expenditures. Not all changes have been positive; the price of electricity has increased. Also, it is likely that the tailings dam will have to be lined, adding cost. Our current focus is to obtain the LP ("license preliminary"), the first and most important part of the environmental permitting process. This process can alter the plan of the mine to satisfy the laws and requests of the state environmental department, SEMARH. It is therefore logical that a definitive Feasibility Study would only commence once mine plans are finalized within the LP. This Feasibility Study will incorporate and refine the improvements and changes to the project economics mentioned above. The Company would emphasize that obtaining the LP would be a major milestone for the Company. Having an economically robust permitted gold project in a stable, business-friendly jurisdiction that is build-ready, is indeed extremely rare".
More details on the terms of the Facility: It must be repaid on the earliest of
- A change of control of the Company,
- Three months following a declaration of commercial production at Mara Rosa,
- July 31, 2019, it can also be paid down anytime with cash or gold. If mining commences, there is a 5% NSR which extinguishes once the Facility is paid down. There is a right of first refusal on any financing below the price of $0.25.
The Facility bears a coupon of 12% and interest may be accrued in kind.
The Company will issue 239,302 warrants in association with the current drawdown as the Facility calls for 600 warrants to each lender for each $1,000 in value advanced. Each warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one common share in the capital of the Company. Each warrant has an exercise price of $0.25. The warrants and the common shares underlying the warrants are subject to a four-month hold period pursuant to Canadian securities laws. There are now 4,100,082 warrants in total issued in association with the Facility.
The qualified person for this News Release is Frank Baker
About Amarillo Gold Corp.
Amarillo Gold Corp. is focused on acquisition, discovery, and definition of gold resources in Brazil. The Company's principal projects are the Mara Rosa Project in the state of Goias, and the Lavras do Sul Project in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The Posse Deposit at Mara Rosa contains 1,174,900 ounces of measured and indicated gold contained in 20.85 MT at 1.75 g/t Au, and 156,400 ounces of gold inferred from 3.63 MT at 1.38 g/t Au (0.5 g/t cut-off grade) (NI 43-101 compliant resource as independently determined by Australian Exploration Field Services Pty. AEFS). The Mara Rosa Gold Project has received a positive economic assessment from a Pre Feasibility Study and is preparing to proceed to a bankable Feasibility Study.
The Posse Deposit was successfully mined by Western Mining Company (WMC) during the 1990s (mined areas are excluded from the above-stated resource figures), and is located in an area of excellent infrastructure: approximately 35 km NE of Yamana's Chapada open pit Cu-Au operation, some 80 km NE of Yamana's Pilar Au project (in Feasibility), 95 km NW of Votarintim's Niquelandia Ni laterite mine, 105 km from NE of Serra Grande's underground Au mine, and 105 km NNW of Anglo American's Ni laterite project at Barro Alto.
The Lavras do Sul Project is an advanced exploration stage property (190 sq. km.) comprising more than 19 prospects centered on historic gold workings, with encouraging gold mineralization discovered and defined by more than 16,000 metres of drilling. The initial resource estimate at the Butia prospect reported 215,000 ounces of gold indicated from 6.4 MT at 1.05 g/t Au, and 308,000 ounces of gold inferred from 12.9 MT at 0.74 g/t Au using a 0.3 g/t cut-off grade in a NI 43-101 compliant resource as independently determined by Atticus Consulting 2010. Lavras do Sul is also located near excellent infrastructure. The Company also has a portfolio of earlier stage projects and all properties under Amarillo's management are located in areas of good infrastructure and mining-friendly communities.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
AMARILLO GOLD CORP.
Neither 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.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:-
This news release contains Forward Looking Statements regarding our intentions and plans. Forward-looking statements in this news release include that we will receive the LP, and that our projects have potential for commercialization. Various factors may prevent or delay our plans, including but not limited to, contractor availability and performance, weather, access, mineral prices and success and failure of the exploration and development carried out at various stages of the program. Permission from the government and community is also required to proceed with future mining production. We may not be able to fulfill our obligations under the proposed gold loan and we may be unable to acquire sufficient financing to carry out our plans. Readers should review risk factors applicable to junior mining exploration companies generally to understand the variety of risks that can affect the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.