Paramount Gold Nevada Executive Chairman: Franco-Nevada Agreement a Significant Endorsement

Paramount Gold Nevada (NYSEAMERICAN:PZG) Executive Chairman John W. Seaberg recently joined the Investing News Network to discuss his company’s progress at the Frost, Grassy Mountain and Sleeper mine projects.

According to Seaberg, 2019 is expected to be a busy year for the company as it works to advance through the permitting process. The Grassy Mountain project is located in Malheur County, Oregon, meaning that the company must receive approval from the county, state and federal level before it can move forward. At the moment, Paramount Gold is throwing all of its resources towards the advancement of the permitting process.

Paramount Gold Nevada also recently completed the acquisition of the Frost project in December of 2018. According to Seaberg, the geophysics of the Frost property are very similar to that of the Grassy Mountain Project. Both projects are expected to return high-grades, while the Sleeper project is recognized as an easily scalable project with lower grades overall. According to Seaberg, the Sleeper mine should be very profitable as long as the price of gold remains above $1,250 per ounce.

Below is a transcript of our interview with Paramount Gold Nevada Executive Chairman John W. Seaberg. It has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

Investing News Network: Please tell us your name, your company, and your role at the company. 

Paramount Gold Executive Chairman John Seaberg: Hi, my name is John Seaberg. I’m Executive Chairman of Paramount Gold, Nevada. Ticker symbol PZG on the New York Stock Exchange.

INN: What are the next steps for Paramount Gold on the Grassy Mountain project? 

JS: The conditional use permit was a key milestone in our permitting process. It’s actually the county level of permit. It’s a very strong endorsement from the county and the communities of our project. The next step is to get state approval and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). We have a county level, a state level and a federal level permitting process. We are now turning our attention to complete the Consolidated Permit Application, which we intend to file with the state in the third quarter of this year. We are also filing an amended plan of operations with the BLM. So, all hands are on deck for the permitting process.

INN: How is exploration at the nearby Frost project progressing? 

JS: The Frost project was a recent acquisition. We completed that in December of 2018. It’s got some very high-grade historical intercepts. We recently completed some geophysics on the Frost project and identified some very high priority targets. The geophysics look very similar to Grassy Mountain. We are in the process of obtaining the permits from the BLM and designing an exploration program that we hope to complete in the third quarter of this year.

INN: What does past production at the Sleeper gold project say about its future resource potential? 

JS: Sleeper is an interesting asset that is very strategic to the company. When I first joined the company about a year ago, we were not even talking about Sleeper. Sleeper produced over 1.7 million ounces in an open pit at US$7,000 per tonne from 1986 to 1996. A very profitable mine that produced significant free cash flow. Today, we still have four and a half million ounces in the total resource. Sleeper is almost a mirror opposite of Grassy Mountain.

Grassy Mountain is expected to be a high-grade underground operation. It will generate about 50 thousand ounces of gold and silver a year. What Grassy doesn’t have in scale, Sleeper does. We have over 4.5 million ounces at about 0.35 grams per tonne. So, it’s lower grade but it will be an open pit heap leach operation. We’ve completed the Preliminary Economic Assessment in 2015. At US$1,250 per ounce of gold, Sleeper makes a lot of money. We still have a lot of work to do, all of our attention and resources are focused on Grassy Mountain but it remains a core asset in our pipeline.

INN: How will Paramount Gold’s royalty agreement with Franco-Nevada benefit Paramount’s operations? 

JS: Our recent transaction with Franco-Nevada was very strategic to us. Franco-Nevada is one of the best names in the mining sector regardless of the size of the transaction. To recap, we sold the 2 percent royalty on Sleeper for US$2 million. It was important for us because it was a significant endorsement from a very reputable company. Again, regardless of the transaction size, Franco-Nevada does extensive due diligence and they were able to get comfortable with the Sleeper deposit.

In addition, it allows us to top up our treasury with US$2 million without having any dilution to our shareholders. We’re very conservative when it comes to issuing stock but this was a key transaction with a key stakeholder and a significant endorsement of both the project and management as well.

INN: What will Paramount Gold be focusing on to close out 2019? 

JS: In 2019, all efforts are on permitting at Grassy Mountain. The conditional use permit and the consolidated permit application are in process. Once that’s filed, then most of the work on our end is done, and it’s up to the state regulators to embark on their side of the permitting process. We’re also in the final stage of finalizing the agreement with Ausenco to complete a national instrument 43-101 compliant feasibility study at Grassy Mountain. So again, it’s taking the PFS and upgrading it to a full feasibility study.

Lastly, we’ll be focusing on the exploration efforts, first and foremost at Frost. Given additional resources, we will turn our attention to some high-priority targets that are within a mile or two of the Grassy Mountain complex. So, it’s exciting times for 2019; there are a lot of key milestones coming up for Paramount and we’re excited to be the first gold mining company to venture this far down the permitting path in Oregon.

This interview is sponsored by Paramount Gold Nevada (NYSEAMERICAN:PZG). This interview provides information which was sourced by the Investing News Network (INN) and approved by Paramount Gold Nevada in order to help investors learn more about the company. Paramount Gold Nevada is a client of INN. The company’s campaign fees pay for INN to create and update this interview.

INN does not provide investment advice and the information on this profile should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. INN does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company profiled.

The information contained here is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities. Readers should conduct their own research for all information publicly available concerning the company. Prior to making any investment decision, it is recommended that readers consult directly with Paramount Gold Nevada and seek advice from a qualified investment advisor.

This interview may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, receipt of property titles, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. The issuer relies upon litigation protection for forward-looking statements. Investing in companies comes with uncertainties as market values can fluctuate.