Quick Review of Peru ASM Formalization
By means of a simplified explanation, in Peru, the mineral rights in the country are held by the federal government and they are leased out to third parties on an annual basis. Separately, as a generalization, surface rights in and around communities are held by those communities for their use, distribution and development as the local community sees fit.
Over the past several years, there has been a Federal-level initiative to Formalize ~80,000 REINFO permit holders (Translation: Artisanal small-scale production or processing). The Federal objective is to bring greater order, control, working and operating standards, fair taxation and infrastructure development for the Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) segment of the Peruvian mining industry. REINFO permit holders that Formalize will be allowed to keep operating.
The Federal deadline for Formalization has shifted several times, with the most recently planned date being December 31, 2024. Without a final formal structure to enact this change, the Federal Government recently pushed this Formalization date out to June 30, 2025.
Review of Lucero Mine Social Since Acquisition
Lucero is a past producing mine project (1989-2005) encompassing 10,813 hectares of contiguous land located in Chachas, Arequipa, Peru. Element79 Gold Corp completed a full corporate acquisition of Calipuy Resources Ltd. , a private company that held the mineral rights to the Lucero project, as well as a small-scale production permit (REINFO, permitting underground exploration and production) in June 2022. Through the end of 2022 and start of 2023, the Company worked with past Chachas administrations ("the Community") to obtain access to the Lucero mine and execute two exploration and sampling programs in 2023. [ 1 ], [ 2 ]
At the end of 2023, the terms of both the former mayor of Chachas and the former head of the local artisanal miner's association, Lomas Doradas ended. Past representations from the Community buoyed the Company's perspective on the probability of permit renewals through the first half of 2024. However, the new administration has been slow to enact new permits.
Through 2024, the Company continued with several community-development focused initiatives , opened a field office in Chachas, and carried out ongoing community efforts with its highly-reputable and well-known community team, This intensifying community relations work has helped the Chachas-region community at large to understand the Company's vision and ‘we all win together' mentality.
These efforts yielded a greater-community vote of over 75% approval on October 6 th , 2024 to have the local administration complete long-term surface access contracts with the Company for mutual benefit and growth as the mine is brought back to commercial production. Large parts of this approval are centered around the community understanding that there will be greater win-win benefits as Element79 Gold Corp continues developing the mine to restart production. In line with the newly extended deadline for the formalization of REINFOS is June 30, 2025, Lomas Doradas has requested to formalize 65 REINFO exploitation contracts with the Company, each with five-year terms.
Since this approval on October 6, 2024, the Company via its community relations team have been meeting with the Community leadership, and state-level authorities. The Community indicated that its goal was to have these contracts executed before the end of the year. Despite best efforts and getting closer to final agreements on terms, the Community has now pushed the completion of the contracts to the next General Assembly of April 2025.
The Company holds the Lucero Project including the mineral rights to the mine and exploration assets, and has signed a LOI for exclusive purchase rights to the Tailings as a significant business investment. The Company maintains their value as a significant opportunity for generating revenue in the near term.
Next Steps
Following guidance from the Company's field team at GAE, which has spent months in Chachas, holding face-to-face meetings with the various community leaders and heads of Lomas Doradas, as well as state-level administration, the Company plans to finalize agreements from both a legal and social perspective.
It has become clear that formally requesting Arequipa GREM (Development for Energy & Mines) and ARMA (State Environmental body) to act as institutional mediators is required to bring final long-term agreements between Element79 Gold Corp (via its wholly-owned subsidiary Minas Lucero del Sur), the Chachas Community, and the Lomas Doradas Association to completion.
It is currently estimated that within the first quarter of 2025, a few mine site visits and two to three mediation sessions by the GREM team in the same timeline, final agreements will be achieved. The Company is coordinating with legal counsel for these efforts and looks forward to having these key contracts complete for the General Assembly in April, as the rainy season ends. After the agreements are completed, the Company's core focus would shift to exploration and mining-related matters, preparing for 2025 campaigns to kick off.
About Element79 Gold Corp.
Element79 Gold is a mining company actively exploring and developing its portfolio of assets, including the high-grade, past-producing Lucero project in Arequipa, Peru, and properties along the Battle Mountain Trend in Nevada. The Company also holds an option to acquire the Dale Property in Ontario and is advancing the Plan of Arrangement spin-out process for its wholly owned subsidiary, Synergy Metals Corp.
For further details on this announcement and the Company's projects, please visit www.element79.gold .
Contact Information
For corporate matters, please contact:
James C. Tworek, Chief Executive Officer
E-mail: jt@element79.gold
For investor relations inquiries, please contact:
Investor Relations Department
Phone: +1.403.850.8050
E-mail: investors@element79.gold
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press contains "forward ‐ looking information" and "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward ‐ looking statements"). These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance, business prospects or opportunities that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management made considering management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the completion of the Spin-Out Arrangement, the completion of the Amalgamation, the completion of the Concurrent Financing, the Company's business strategy; future planning processes; exploration activities; the timing and result of exploration activities; capital projects and exploration activities and the possible results thereof; acquisition opportunities; and the impact of acquisitions, if any, on the Company. Assumptions may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Consequently, forward-looking statements cannot be guaranteed. As such, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, assumptions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward ‐ looking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "forecast", "potential", "target", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward ‐ looking statements". \
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