FALCON GOLD CORP. (FG: TSX-V), (3FA: GR), (FGLDF: OTCQB); (the "Company") announces that it has repriced its non-brokered private placement previously announced on October 17, 2023 (the "Private Placement") and increased the number of units ("Units") offered.
The price per Unit of the Private Placement has been repriced from $0.025 per Unit to $0.03 per Unit and the gross proceeds has increased from up to $150,000 to $300,000. Accordingly, the number of Units offered has increased from up to 6,000,000 to 10,000,000.
Each Unit consists of one common share in the capital of the Company ("Share") and one Share purchase warrant ("Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional Share for a period of two years from the date of issuance at a price of $0.05 per Share. The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for general working capital purposes.
Karim Rayani, CEO and director, intends to acquire 1,666,667 Units under the Private Placement, which participation would be considered to be a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101"). Such participation is expected to be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101.
The Private Placement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. All shares issued pursuant to this offering and any shares issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants will be subject to a four-month and one day hold period from the closing date.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Falcon Gold Corp.
"Karim Rayani" Karim Rayani
Chief Executive Officer, Director
Telephone: (604) 716-0551
Email: info@falcongold.ca
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, 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. This news release may contain forward looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, 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. 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.
Ontario has always been a premier jurisdiction for mining in Canada. However, one of Ontario’s earliest gold camps in the province’s northwestern region is showing signs of high-grade revitalization.
The town of Atikokan in Ontario is known for its two massive iron ore pits mined in the middle of the Second World War and operated until the late 1970s. The earliest gold exploration dates back to the 1800s, with significant production reaching upwards of approximately 52,000 ounces of gold and 174,000 ounces of silver in that period. With over 50 occurrences, prospects and producers of gold since Atikokan’s initial discovery, the gold camp boasts exploration potential for investors worldwide.
One such mining exploration company with a project in Atikokan is Falcon Gold (TSXV:FG, FWB:3FA, OTCQB:FGLDF). Its flagship Central Canada gold and polymetallic project leverages strategic positioning 20 kilometers east of Agnico Eagle’s Hammond Reef gold deposit. The world-class deposit currently has an estimated 3.32 million ounces of gold mineral reserves at 0.84 grams per ton (g/t) gold grading and an indicated mineral resource at 2.3 million ounces. The Central Canada project has a high potential to mimic this exceptional high-grade gold mineralization with further exploration and discovery.
Falcon Gold conducted a 17-hole drill program at the Central Canada project totaling 2,942.5 meters of core. The weighted average grade of the main gold zone is 1,570 parts per billion (ppb) gold or 1.57 g/t gold and within the main zone intersections, the first meter of core returned 5.68 g/t gold. The company also completed sampling on the J.J. Walshe mine trend in 2021 which returned five grab samples ranging from 11.2 g/t gold to 79.7 g/t gold. Assay results highlight several gold-bearing zones across the property previously undocumented including the Sugar Shear (22.9 g/t gold), Monte (3.63 g/t gold), Honey (1.04 g/t gold), and Hoist Zone.
The company’s portfolio of mineral projects also includes those in prolific mining jurisdictions of Ontario, British Columbia and Argentina. In April 2021, Falcon created the Argentina-based Falcon Gold LatamARG S.A. to manage its South American exploration and development operations. This creation came at an optimal time with the company’s acquisition of the Esperanza gold-silver-copper project in La Rioja, Argentina. Falcon intends to explore further interests in South America’s mining-friendly jurisdictions.
Falcon currently has approximately 90,000 hectares of prospective ground in Newfoundland which are strategically located and contiguous to companies like First Mining Gold, Sokoman Minerals-Benton JV, Gander Gold, Exploits Discovery, Vulcan Minerals and Marvel Discovery.
In 2022, Falcon entered into two separate agreements to acquire a 100-percent interest in two battery metals projects in the province of Ontario and Quebec, collectively known as the Timmins West and Outarde Nickel projects northwest of Baie Comeau, Quebec. The first purchase agreement covers five mining claims totaling 1,940 hectares within the Kamiskotia Gabbroic Complex (KGC), a gabbroic to anorthositic intrusive mafic to ultramafic body that has documented nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization. The second purchase agreement comprises 93 claims covering 5,138 hectares located 120 kilometers northwest of Baie-Comeau, Quebec.
In November 2022, Falcon completed the spin-out of its subsidiary Latamark Resources Corp. The arrangement entitles Falcon shareholders to one common share in Latamark for every 5.8 common shares held in Falcon. Latamark will also issue 5 million Latamark shares to Falcon, as part of the arrangement.
Company Highlights
Falcon Gold Corp is a mineral exploration company focused on exploring, expanding and developing its robust portfolio of highly prospective precious metal projects in prolific mining jurisdictions in the Americas.
The company operates a robust project portfolio with its flagship Central Canada gold and polymetallic project hosting excellent road access, gold mineralization and strategic positioning near Agnico Eagle’s Hammond Reef gold deposit, which contains a multi-million estimated gold resource.
In addition to Central Canada Gold Mine, which currently holds an estimated 3.32 million ounces of gold, Falcon Gold holds 15 additional projects in other prime mining jurisdictions, including Springpole West, Burton and Timmins West in Ontario; Spitfire & Sunny Boy and Gaspard gold projects in British Columbia; The Great Burnt, Gander North/South, Valentine Gold South, Victoria West, and Golden Brook in Newfoundland; Viernes and Area 51 Properties in Latin America; and Outarde, HSP south and Hope Advance in Quebec.
Falcon acquired a 100-percent interest in two battery metals projects in Ontario and Quebec, collectively known as the Timmins West and Outarde Nickel Projects.
Falcon has completed a spin-out of its Latin American asset, the Esperanza gold project, located in La Roja Province, Argentina.
The company has a world-class management team consisting of several mining, finance and geological heavyweights with years of experience in a diverse portfolio of related industries.
Key Projects
Ontario
Central Canada Gold & Polymetallic Project
The flagship Central Canada gold and polymetallic project consists of three key claims: the original Central Canada property, Hammond South and Hammond West. The total area spans 10,392 hectares over a historic producer with shaft and mill site capabilities and sits 21.5 kilometers each of Atikokan and 160 kilometers west of Thunder Bay. The project is accessible via highway and road access and leverages mining-friendly conditions.
Central Canada has two geological regimes. Its northern claims contain a greenstone rock underlay dating back to the Archean age. The southern claims of the property are covered by Sapawe Lake and underlain by iron formation and greenstone rock units that host Falcon’s gold and cobalt occurrences. Historical drill intersection results highlight mineral grades upwards of 0.64 percent copper, 0.15 percent cobalt, 1.1 percent zinc and 0.35 g/t gold over a true width of 40 meters.
Falcon has conducted an extensive 17-hole drilling program totaling 2,942.5 meters of core. Every hole successfully intersected a highly altered felsic porphyry rock unit with significant pyrite, arsenopyrite, lead telluride and visible gold mineralization. The company expects to complete more concrete resource calculations and use sampling and logging results to undergo fire assay gold analysis to assess the project’s full potential.
Springpole West Property
The Springpole West Property in Red Lake Ontario covers 13.5 kilometers of a mafic volcanic-sedimentary rock contact representing a property-wide fault zone that is silicified and intermittently gold-bearing. The property is directly tied to First Mining Gold Corp.’s Springpole Gold Deposit, which is reported as one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Canada, and contains the same geological terrain as that world-class gold deposit. First mining in the property reported an indicated resource of 139.1 Mt grading 1.04 g/t gold and 5.4 g/t silver, containing 4.67 million ounces of gold and 24.19 million ounces of silver as well as an inferred resource of 11.4 Mt averaging 0.63 g/t gold and 3.1 g/t silver, containing 230,000 ounces of gold and 1.12 million ounces of silver.
On June 20, 2023, Falcon announced that the exploration has commenced at its Springpole West property in the Red Lake mining district. Two-phase surface exploration program that will include a GPS-controlled Magnetometer surface survey, and a soil Geochemistry.
Burton Gold Property
The Burton gold property consists of six patented and 16 unpatented mining claims covering approximately 356 hectares in Esther Township, Ontario. The property has an advantageous positioning within the very actively explored Swayze Greenstone Belt renowned for hosting lode gold mines. The property also leverages close proximity to IAMGOLD Corp.’s Cote Lake deposit, which has an indicated resource of 35 million tonnes averaging 0.82 g/t gold. IAMGOLD has 51 percent interest while Falcon Gold holds 49 percent interest in the Burton Gold property.
Historical diamond drill intercepts at Burton include 9.34 g/t silver over an intersection length of 7.75 meters at the main Shaft zone and 12.47 g/t silver over an intersection length of 3.13 meters at the East zone.
Timmins West
The Timmins West Property, located 20 km northwest of Timmins, Ontario, comprises five mining claims that cover a total of 1,940 hectares within the Kamiskotia Gabbroic Complex (KGC). The KGC is an intrusive mafic to ultra-mafic body, varying from gabbroic to anorthositic, and is known to contain nickel-copper-cobalt mineralization. A grab sample from an outcrop in 2004 reported concentrations of 0.44 percent nickel, 0.64 percent copper, and 0.033 percent cobalt within 10 percent pyrrhotite. The property is situated 40 kilometers southwest of the Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Project, currently under development by Canada Nickel (TSXV:CNC).
British Columbia
Spitfire and Sunny Boy Property
The Spitfire & Sunny Boy property spans 502 hectares in south-central British Columbia, 16 kilometers east of Merritt. The property boasts excellent infrastructure and access with narrow but high-grade veining and gold mineralization.
Sampling from 1974 revealed the main showing, Master Vein, hosted high-grade gold mineralization up to 1,433 g/t gold. 2020 work program and channel samples have returned upwards of 122 g/t gold over a meter and 59.8 g/t gold over 2.2 meters. The asset has the potential to host additional vein structures downslope from the Master vein, which Falcon intends to explore in future development programs.
The company’s 2021 backpack drilling results highlighted samples that averaged 59.8 g/t gold (1.74 oz/ton gold) over 2.2 meters which included a 1-meter interval assaying 122 g/t (3.56 oz/ton) gold. The Cliff Vein was discovered downslope from the Master Vein, approximately 25 meters lower in elevation. A grab sample of the Cliff vein assayed up to 22.8 g/t gold.
Gaspard Gold Project
The Gaspard property covers 7,969 hectares in the Clinton Mining District of central British Columbia. The property has year-round access with a robust network of active logging roads and favorable positioning nearby Williams Lake’s regional supply center for mining, logging and ranching.
The property is located approximately 26 kilometers south of the Blackdome gold mine project, which reportedly has indicated resources of 144,500 tonnes grading 11.29 g/t gold and 50.01 g/t silver. Gaspard has the potential to mimic this widespread mineralization and high-grade precious metal yield with its prospective anomalous grades of stream sediment samples.
Quebec
Outarde Property
The Outarde property located Northwest of Baie-Comeau in Quebec is a nickel-copper-cobalt project consisting of 93 claims covering 5,138 hectares. The property forms part of the De La Blanche Mafic Plutonic Suite, a large folded gabbro-norite suite of rocks. Grab sampling has produced results of 1.28 percent nickel, 1.38 percent copper and 700 ppm cobalt.
HSP South Property
Falcon Gold acquired the HSP nickel-copper PGE project covering 22,302 hectares of strategic ground approximately 135 kilometers of prospective contact of the Havre St. Pierre Anorthositic Complex (HSAP) where Go Metals Corp recently announced the discovery of “wide intervals of nickel and copper sulphides”. The most westerly block of the Falcon Gold claims covers the southwest extension of the anorthositic complex, on a prospective fold nose structure and is located less than 2.2 kilometers from prominent airborne TDEM anomalies identified by Go Metals and host to the nickel-copper mineralization.
Falcon is one of the largest mineral claim holders in the HSP area. The company plans airborne EM surveys to cover the entire land position including claims contiguous to Go Metals HSP discovery project.
Hope Advance Property
Comprising 76 claims (approximately 33 sq. km.) in the Nickel North area of Quebec, this area has been in the news recently with the announced option agreement between 1844 Resources and Nickel North Exploration. 1844 Resources has the option to acquire from Nickel North, 100-percent interest in the Hawk Ridge Property by paying $6 million in cash and issuing 10 million shares over the term of the five year option agreement.
Portions of the Falcon Property are located 4 kilometers along strike from the Falco 7 historical resource and 2 kilometers along strike from the Hopes Advance historical resource. Highlights of the Hope Advance include a historical drill hole located on the Falcon property and about 4 kilometers west of the Falco 7 historical resource intersected 10.4 meters of 0.51 percent copper and 0.16 percent nickel.
The Falcon Gold Property contains numerous electromagnetic anomalies that have not been investigated by previous drilling.
South America
Viernes Property
The Viernes property in Antofagasta, Chile is located within a world-class cluster that’s been extensively developed by Yamana, BHP-Rio Tinto and Antofagasta Minerals, among others.
The property is highly prospective and is adjacent to the epithermal vein-hosted gold-silver producing El-Peñón mine in which Viernes may host similar geochemical and structural features. Yamana’s latest 43-101 compliant resource and reserve estimates published in March 2021 states total proven and probable mineral reserves of 921,000 ounces of gold and 29.2 million ounces of silver.
Area 51
Area 51 comprises 4,000 hectares of exploration claims located in the Inca Del Oro mining district, Atacama Region, northern Chile. The Inca Del Oro mining district is situated along Chile's Paleocene Age mineral belt, known to host multiple porphyry, skarn and epithermal mineral deposits. The project benefits from road access, proximity to infrastructure, and existing mine operations as well as year-round working conditions. Multiple mining and exploration projects in the vicinity include the Inca de Oro porphyry Cu-Mo-Au-Ag deposit (460 million tonnes grading 0.40 percent copper, PanAust, 2012, S&P Global ) and the Delirio deposit (17.4 million tonnes grading 0.47 percent copper, 2021 Santiago Metals, S&P Global).
The Area 51 exploration claim group is surrounded by other exploration and mining companies including Freeport McMoran, Newmont, Solaris Resources, and Mirasol Resources. The project has potential for copper and gold mineralization evidenced by the occurrence of multiple historical mine workings exhibiting mineralization, and hydrothermal alteration footprints over volcanic calderas.
Newfoundland
Golden Brook JV
The Golden Brook is a large land package hosting crustal-scale structures. Falcon has formed a strategic partnership with Marvel Discovery Corp. with the goal of exploring prospective claims recently acquired in the Hope Brook and Baie Verte Brompton Districts. The combined total of both projects covers 115,170 hectares and will be explored together on a 50-50 joint venture basis.
The Hope Brook Zone is 10 kilometers away from Sokoman-Benton’s new high-grade lithium discovery. The 35 grab and chip samples noted in the Sokoman-Benton NR (September 16th, 2021) were collected over a 2-kilometer distance. Initial permits for the first phase of exploration on the company’s Hope Brook project include high-resolution magnetic gradiometry surveys and prospecting crews to the area.
The Baie Verte Zone is linked to more than 100 gold prospects and zones and is located near the Four Corners Project held by Triple Nine Resources. The Four Corners Project consists of iron-titanium-vanadium mineralized rock which has been outlined for 3,000 meters in strike with intercepts 200 meters wide and 600 meters vertically. The project contains sufficient tonnage and grades to warrant developing a world-class mineral resource.
Great Burnt Property
The 2,275-hectare Great Burnt Property is hosted within the Great Burnt greenstone belt. The Great Burnt greenstone belt is host to the Great Burnt Copper Zone with an indicated resource of 381,300 tonnes at 2.68 percent copper and inferred resources of 663,100 tonnes at 2.10 percent copper. Drilling in 2020 by Spruce Ridge Resources reported 8.06 percent copper over 27.2 meters (TSXV:SHL press release dated March 18, 2021). The Great Burnt greenstone belt also hosts the South Pond A and B copper-gold zones and the End Zone copper prospect within a 14-kilometer mineralized corridor.
Gander Zone (North-South)
The Gander Zone properties consist of the two claim groups within Gander North and one claim group as Gander South totaling 412 claims covering 10,150 hectares. The Gander North property covers 406 claims totaling 10,150 hectares located 25 kilometers due East of New Found Gold’s Queensway Project and is contiguous to Gander Gold’s Project. Exploration by Gander Gold on their Gander North Project has returned spectacular results from soil geochemistry sampling surveys as evidenced in recent published results of 1,432 ppb gold in northeast-trending zones. The Gander South property is hosted within the Exploits Subzone of the central Newfoundland gold belt and is proximal to major structure, the Dog Bay-AppletonGrub Line fault system, a crustal-scale fault zone that extends from the north coast of Newfoundland, southwest through Gander. These structural corridors are intimately associated with recent gold discoveries including New Found Gold’s Queensway project.
Valentine Gold South
The Valentine Gold South consists of 605 claims covering 15,300 hectares contiguous to Marvel Discovery Corp, Matador Mining, and Tru Precious Metals Corp (TRU). and lies within the Cape Ray-Valentine Lake structural corridor which hosts Marathon Gold Corp.’s Valentine Project with reserves and resources of 7.1 million ounces of gold. The Valentine gold deposits include 3.09 Moz gold measured and indicated: 54.9 NT @1.75 g/t gold and 0.906 Moz gold inferred and 16.77 NT @1.78 g/t gold.
Victoria West
Victoria West consists of 166 claims or 4,150 hectares) and is contiguous to Marvel Discovery Corp, Benton Resources, Buchans Minerals Corp., and a significant land package staked by Shawn Ryan. In 2011, Buchans Minerals and Benton Resources completed prospecting activities in the immediate area that identified abundant mineralized quartz vein material containing trace to several percent sulphides. Analytical results of the grab samples assayed between 1.65 to 18.24 g/t gold and between 5.4 to 87.1 g/t silver in subcrop samples. Grab samples from outcrop assayed up to 8.52 g/t gold and 30.7 g/t silver.
Management Team
Karim Rayani - Chairman and CEO
For the past 15 years, Karim Rayani has focused on financing domestic and international mineral exploration and development. Most recently, Rayani was head of Bloomberry Capital Group, a Vancouver-based merchant bank and capital advisory firm. He worked independently as a management consultant and financier. He is currently chair of R7 Capital Ventures Ltd; director of Fiber Crowne Manufacturing Inc., chair of District 1 Exploration Corp. Rayani has developed an extensive network of contacts throughout North America and Europe, focusing on corporate development and finance.
Brian Crawford - Chief Financial Officer
Brian Crawford holds a B. Com. from the University of Toronto and has extensive experience as a senior financial executive with public and private companies and as a partner in a national firm of chartered professional accountants. Crawford founded and/or co-founded several companies currently listed on the TSXV or the CSE. Crawford currently serves as a director, corporate secretary, and/or CFO of several TSX Venture Exchange or Canadian Securities Exchange listed companies including Colibri Resource Corporation, Searchlight Resources Inc., CBLT Inc., and Tempus Capital Inc.
James Farley - Director
James Farley has been involved in the capital markets for over 25 years, initially as a financial advisor and subsequently as a private businessman. He is currently a business consultant for the mining and oil and gas industries, specializing in health safety and environmental management.
Michelle Suzuki - Director
Michelle Suzuki has spent the last 25 years as an advisor with a focus in publishing and media relations. She has managed investor communication campaigns for Canada's largest digital content providers for hundreds of C-Suite clients throughout North America, from life sciences, and technology to mining companies.
In the Canadian markets, she is widely known for her experience in these fields working with many top CEOs, senior investor relations executives, investment broker-dealers and newsletter writers on digital syndication helping educate on the importance of mining and the future of the industry.
Ian Graham - Geological Advisor
Ian Graham is an accomplished mining executive with over 20 years of international experience exploring and developing mineral deposits. He has spent over half of his career working for major mining companies, including roles at Rio Tinto and Anglo-American. Graham possesses industrial mineral experience and is well known for his successes within the diamond sector.
From 1990 to 1994, Graham acted as principal geologist in exploration for Anglo-American and partner in De Beers Group’s South Africa division. In 1994, he joined Rio Tinto in Canada as the evaluation manager for the Diavik diamond mine, then went on to become chief geologist for diamonds with Rio Tinto’s Project Generation Group. During his 15 years at Rio Tinto, Graham was involved with the evaluation and pre-development of several projects, including the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories and the Resolution copper deposit in Arizona.
Glayton Dias - Exploration Manager
Glayton Dias is a geologist with 12 years of experience both domestically and internationally, developing, managing and exploring mineral deposits from early-stage to mine development and 3D ore estimation. Most recently his work has been focused on the Spences Bridge Gold Belt, having been posted as a project manager for the Shovelnose Deposit currently developed by Westhaven Resources with a resource of 791,000 ounces of gold and 3,894,000 ounces of silver Indicated (Reference below). Prior to being a Project Manager for Westhaven, he worked as a consulting geologist for Ximen Resources on its multi-metallic Treasure Mountain deposit, exploration manager for Avant and Gdgeo, leading projects in world-class deposits as Andrade (Arcelor Mittal), Germano (Samarco) and Serra das Eguas (Magnesita SA).
Dias knowledge and experience in precious and base metal projects on high-grade epithermal low sulfidation including porphyry copper-gold geology will be value add as we start up operations again at both Spitfire-Sunny Boy, Gaspard projects in B.C., and our South America projects.
Falcon Gold Corp. (TSX-V:FG)(FRA:3FA)(OTCQB:FGLDF); ("Falcon" or the "Company") previously announced the completion of the option and work requirements on the Central Canada project to earn its 100% interest in the project located in the Hutchinson Township, Atikokan, Ontario dated June 9, 2023
Falcon has successfully met all cash, share, and exploration expenditures over the 4-year option period for the project. Falcon has the right to purchase half of the 2% NSR (Net Smelter Royalty) for a payment of $1,000,000, leaving the vendors with 1%. With annual production pre-payments of $10,000 which will be deducted against future royalty payments. The Company has renegotiated the annual pre-production payments from $10,000 yearly to $5,000 yearly.
The Company previously announced on February 2, 2022, and April 6, 2022, the planning and expansion of phase 3 drilling to commence. However, due to increased water levels in rivers the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry issued a flood warning late May, rising water levels blocked access to the project. Falcon is planning to return to the Central Canada project to complete its previously planned phase 3 program drill program in 2024. Due to the weather and drill crew availability delays the company focused resources on its Newfoundland property portfolio during 2023.
Phase III drilling will be up to 2,000 meters (m) at the historic Central Canada Mine Project in the Atikokan mining camp in northwestern Ontario. To date, Falcon has completed 17 diamond drill holes totaling 2942.5m since 2020. A portion of the Phase III drilling will include 3 holes totaling approximately 1,000m targeting the J.J Walshe Zone (Central Canada Mine Trend) (Figure 1) at vertical depths between 200 and 300m. This will potentially extend the gold bearing zones beyond the current drilled depth of 160m.
Figure 1.Falcon Gold's Central Canada property with gold-bearing zones discovered to date.
Fifteen drill holes of Falcon's 2020 programs intersected the J.J. Walshe Zone, and parallel mineralization within the Central Canada Mine tren. Highlights include 10.1 g/t Au over 3.0 m starting at 67.0m and 18.6 g/t Au over 1.0 m (with visible gold) from 104 in CC20-01; 3.1 g/t Au over 2.5 m from 33 m in CC20-02; 0.6 g/t Au over 10 m from 93.0 m and 7.2 g/t Au over 1 m from 114.0 m in CC20-07; 2.8 g/t Au over 7.5 m from 158.1 m in CC20-09; 0.9 g/t Au over 6.8 m from 44.1 m in CC20-14; 1.35 g/t Au over 4.1 m starting at 59.5 m downhole in CC20-15; 0.5 g/t Au over 12.4 m from 9.8 m in CC20-17 and 1.57 g/t Au over 14.8 m starting at 89.6 m downhole in CC20-12. This interval contained visible gold which assayed 20.50 g/t Au over 30 cm. Hole CC20-12 also contained 10.8 g/t Au over 30 cm starting at 112.4 m downhole.
Karim Rayani, Falcon's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Historical drilling to date has been shallow at the Central Canada Mine Trend (CCMT). Falcon's drilling to date has also been shallow confirming grades and widths and controls to gold mineralization. Falcon has been successful in intersecting 4 parallel zones along the CCMT and we feel it prudent to test these zones at greater depths below the old workings. We are also pleased to be expanding the drill program to the Monte Zone and the No. 2 Vein where our 2021 mapping and prospecting program confirmed gold-bearing structures and lithologies that have yet to be drilled."
The Central Canada Mine Trend has now been traced for 275 m in strike length and to a depth of 160 m (Hole CC20-09). The J.J. Walshe zone is open at depth along strike with potential for parallel mineralized zones. The planned program will add understanding to the structural controls on mineralization in addition to exploring for a down dip extension of the mineralization.
The remaining 1,000 m of drilling will be focused on the Monte Zone and the No. 2 Vein.
The newly documented Monte Zone is located approximately 1 km east-northeast of the J.J. Walshe shaft. Sampling in the summer of 2021 returned grab samples between 0.09 g/t Au to 3.63 g/t Au. Mineralization occurs within a sericite-ankerite-chlorite volcanic schist altered felsic volcanic schist with thin millimetre scale quartz veins and disseminated pyrite. The shear zone is exposed in several places by historic trenches.
Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. Falcon's flagship project, the Central Canada Gold Mine, is approximately 20km southeast of Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef Gold Deposit which has currently estimated 3.32 million ounces of gold (123.5 million tonnes grading 0.84 g/t gold) mineral reserves, and 2.3 million ounces of measured and indicated mineral resources (133.4 million tonnes grading 0.54 g/t gold). The Hammond Reef gold property lies on the Hammond shear zone, which is a northeast-trending splay off the Quetico Fault Zone ("QFZ") and may be the control for the gold deposit. The Central Gold property lies on a similar major northeast-trending splay of the QFZ.
The Company holds multiple additional projects: The Viernes Gold/Silver/Copper project in Antofagasta Chile; The Springpole West Property in the world-renowned Red Lake mining camp; a 49% interest in the Burton Gold property with Iamgold near Sudbury Ontario; in B.C., the Spitfire-Sunny Boy, Gaspard Gold claims; the Great Burnt, Gander North/South, Valentine Gold South, Victoria West, and Golden Brook acquisitions adjacent to First Mining, Matador, Benton-Sokoman's JV, and Marvel Discovery in Central Newfoundland; and most recently Battery Metals projects in Ontario and Quebec, The Timmins West and Outarde Property.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
This news release may contain forward looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, 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.
This news release may contain forward looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, 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.
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.
Falcon Gold Corp. (TSX-V:FG)(GR:3FA)(OTCQB:FGLDF); ("Falcon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the company has received assay results from the late spring, early summer 2023 exploration program conducted over the Gun Flap Hill project located in Southern Newfoundland. The project covers the northwestern portion of the Golden Brook Property, and is located approximately 160 kilometers southwest of Deer Lake. Samples from the first pass reconnaissance program have identified multiple anomalies from rock samples, including
Copper-Tantalum-Vanadium anomaly
Anomalous Gold
Nickel-Chromium anomaly
Multiple Critical and Rare Element anomalies including Lithium, Tantalum, Cerium, Lanthanum and Strontium
Prospecting surveys were completed by the company in late May and early June 2023 over predetermined target locations within the largely unexplored Gun Flap Hill project, as part of the company's Q2 2023 Reconnaissance Program. The program was developed to investigate the gold potential of the property through initial prospecting along predefined traverses over a number of priority target areas that were identified in 2022 on the basis of geophysical, geological and structural analysis completed by Falcon. The comprehensive review identified multiple areas deemed prospective in the northwestern part of the Golden Brook Property. A total of 57 rock samples were collected by the prospecting team and submitted to Eastern Analytical Ltd. In Springdale, Newfoundland, an ISO 17025 Certified Analytical Testing Facility, for 34 Element ICP Analysis. Sample collection included chip and grab samples from locations deemed of interest by the in-field personnel. Assay results identified anomalous gold (>5ppb) in three locations in association with quartz vein within granite host. The exploration program further identified multiple anomalous critical and rare metals, and the highlights from this sampling include the following:
Two sample stations returned anomalous Nickel-Chromium up to 410ppm Ni and 765ppm Cr.
One sample station returned anomalous Copper-Tantalum-Vanadium reporting 280ppm Cu, 19ppm Nb, 23ppm Ta, and 1180ppm V.
Two sample stations identified anomalous Lithium (up to 71ppm Li) associated with anomalous Cerium (up to 130ppm Ce), Lanthanum (up to 63ppm La), and Lead (up to 73ppm Pb).
Multiple sample stations returned anomalous Strontium (up to 1531ppm Sr), Zirconium (up to 281ppm Zr) and Barium (up to 3552ppm Ba) proximal to the anomalous Lithium sample stations.
The nickel-chromium anomalies are preliminary in nature and should not be considered conclusive evidence of a mineral occurrence. The results represent new information for the area in which the samples were collected, and there are no previously documented nickel or chromium anomalies historically recorded within the public domain from the areas in which the exploration work was conducted. The highly anomalous results are interpreted by the company to be associated with unexplored gabbroic intrusive rocks emplaced within the Gun Flap Hill project area. The newly identified base metal anomalies are under further review by the company. A follow-up survey that includes detailed local geology mapping, additional prospecting and targeted sampling is being considered for a fall 2023 exploration program.
Falcon interprets the multiple critical and rare earth element anomalies to be associated with undocumented pegmatites emplaced in relation to unexplored granite rocks in the project area. The potential for pegmatites in the vicinity of the Gun Flap Hill project was first documented during regional mapping in the early 1980's by the Mineral Development Division, of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Mines and Energy which identified an undisclosed number of pegmatites emplaced within deformation zones of granite plutons west of the project. The critical and rare earth element anomalies represent new information for the area in which the samples were collected, and there are no previously documented rare earth anomalies historically recorded in the public domain from the areas in which the samples were collected. The newly identified anomalies are under further review by the company to better determine their significance, and to develop an exploration program for further follow up.
Mr. Karim Rayani, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our Gun Flap Hill Property was originally staked to explore its gold potential due to its close proximity to the Cape Ray Fault zone, which hosts the nearby former Hope Brook Mine. The anomalous gold values are significant in that they identify three areas of anomalous gold within the Cape Ray Fault deformation zone, and results greater than 5ppb gold in the province are considered anomalous enough to require follow up work. I must state again these were reconnaissance surveys conducted within an extensive and largely unexplored area, and to have found new areas of Nickel and Chromium and REE mineralization in previously undocumented areas serves to highlight the highly prospective nature of this land position. We feel the Hope Brook Property holds tremendous potential for new exciting discoveries, and we are very excited to see a new critical element discovery for battery elements in the camp as we prioritize projects for our fall exploration campaign."
The Cape Ray Fault Zone has historically been recognized as being fertile for gold. The property is located in proximity to several gold prospects (Wilding Lake, Cape Ray), an advanced stage gold deposit (Valentine), and a former gold mine (Hope Brook). The Company had originally acquired the Golden Brook for its gold potential. Within this immediate area, the most significant deposit is the former Hope Brook Gold Mine, which was in production from 1987 to 1997, producing 752,163 ounces of gold. The Hope Brook deposit now owned by First Mining, and has since been optioned to Big Ridge Exploration Corp., which has outlined an additional 6.33 million tonnes at an average grade of 4.68 grams per tonne gold for 954,000 ounces of gold in the indicated and inferred categories. Falcon has applied for financial assistance for the Golden Brook (Hope Brook) project through Newfoundland's Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) Program.
Qualified Person
Greg Robinson, P. Geo, an independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this news release on behalf of the Company.
Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. Falcon's flagship project, the Central Canada Gold Mine, is approximately 20km southeast of Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef Gold Deposit which has currently estimated 3.32 million ounces of gold (123.5 million tonnes grading 0.84 g/t gold) mineral reserves, and 2.3 million ounces of measured and indicated mineral resources (133.4 million tonnes grading 0.54 g/t gold). The Hammond Reef gold property lies on the Hammond shear zone, which is a northeast-trending splay off the Quetico Fault Zone ("QFZ") and may be the control for the gold deposit. The Central Gold property lies on a similar major northeast-trending splay of the QFZ.
The Company holds multiple additional projects: The Esperanza Gold/Silver/Copper mineral concessions located in La Rioja Province, Argentina; The Viernes Gold/Silver/Copper project in Antofagasta Chile; The Springpole West Property in the world-renowned Red Lake mining camp; a 49% interest in the Burton Gold property with Iamgold near Sudbury Ontario; in B.C., the Spitfire-Sunny Boy, Gaspard Gold claims; the Great Burnt, Gander North/South, Valentine Gold South, Victoria West, and Golden Brook acquisitions adjacent to First Mining, Matador, Benton-Sokoman's JV, and Marvel Discovery in Central Newfoundland; and most recently Battery Metals projects in Ontario and Quebec, The Timmins West and Outarde Property.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: completion of the Spin-Out. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. There is no assurance any of the conditions for closing will be met. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Falcon Gold Corp. (TSXV:FG)(FRA:3FA)(OTCQB:FGLDF) and Marvel Discovery Corp. (TSXV:MARV)(FRA:04T)(OTCQB:MARVF) together (the Alliance) are pleased to announce that they have applied for drill permits to carry out activities on their Golden Brook prospects within the Hope Brook Property in southern Newfoundland. Two permit applications have been submitted, one for portable drilling across the property that will expand current prospecting permits and allow for portable drill-testing of targets across the entire property, and a second permit was submitted to diamond drill test prospects within the Kraken-Hydra trend, a trend represented by a 10km area of limited exploration between Benton-Sokoman's Kraken Li-Ta discoveries and the Hydra Cesium Discovery (see Sokoman's news release May 18, 2023). The portable drill permit application provides the opportunity to enhance the preliminary reconnaissance prospecting project completed in late spring and early summer, which identified the potential for pegmatites from the nearby Kraken pegmatite field to extend into the adjacent tenure held by Falcon. Though bedrock exposure in the area is limited, initial reconnaissance prospecting has resulted in the discovery of a new and previously unrecognized swarm of pegmatite and aplite dykes, and assay results from the sampling project are anticipated by early August. The diamond drill permit application includes 6 drill pad locations with 1,000 meters of drilling planned for 12 drill holes. The inaugural drill program will test for potential lithium, tantalum, and cesium-bearing pegmatites along the Kraken-Hydra trend. The Hope Brook Property covers a key central portion of the structural corridor along which the Kraken and Killick pegmatite dykes, Li-Ta soil anomalies, and Hydra Cesium Pegmatite Dyke have all been reported by Sokoman (see Sokoman's news release March 28, 2023). Falcon has applied for financial assistance for the Hope Brook project through Newfoundland's Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) Program.Mr. Karim Rayani, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "An extreme fire season in Nfld last summer coupled with helicopter availability shortages meant delaying our inaugural exploration campaign until the spring of this year, and we took advantage of this current program to conduct regional scale prospecting and soil sampling efforts and eagerly await results from the assay lab. We have always been keen on our Lithium prospect, which we staked prior to the Lithium and Cesium discoveries by Sokoman and where our desktop studies showed high potential for the continuation of trends onto our ground. To have found a new swarm of pegmatite dykes is extremely encouraging and we are now gearing up for detailed soil sampling and portable drill testing to further define anomalous areas in advance of our inaugural diamond drilling campaign
Figure 1. Location of Falcon's, and Marvel's Hope Brook gold joint venture property contiguous to Benton-Sokoman's joint venture.Figure 2. Location of Falcon's, and Marvel's claims showing highly prospective structural corridor and magnetic features similar to the Kraken Pegmatite Swarm.
About the Alliance
Falcon and Marvel formed a strategic alliance on (November 17, 2021) that combines both companies' Hope Brook District properties covering a combined 63,450 hectares to be explored on a 50-50 Joint Venture basis. The Hope Brook Property is hosted within the Exploits subzone of the central Newfoundland gold belt. The property covers extensions of, or are proximal to, two major structures linked to several significant gold prospects (Cape Ray; Matador Mining) and deposits (Hope Brook; First Mining) in southern Newfoundland. Rock lithologies and structures on the property are also related to those associated with Marathon Gold's Valentine gold deposits, Sokoman's Moosehead gold project and New Found Gold's Queensway gold project. The combined land position straddles both the eastern and western extents of recent land acquisitions by the Benton/Sokoman JV partnership, with the JV now controlling areas of considerable structural complexity marked by large-scale fold and fault structures, which provide important structural controls (traps) for gold mineralization within this area. The Falcon-Marvel strategic partnership originally included the Baie Verte Brompton Line (BVBL) Properties, and both companies announced the option of the BVBL property to Carmanah Minerals Corporation on June 8, 2023.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Greg Robinson, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. Falcon's flagship project, the Central Canada Gold Mine, is approximately 20km southeast of Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef Gold Deposit which has currently estimated 3.32 million ounces of gold (123.5 million tonnes grading 0.84 g/t gold) mineral reserves, and 2.3 million ounces of measured and indicated mineral resources (133.4 million tonnes grading 0.54 g/t gold). The Hammond Reef gold property lies on the Hammond shear zone, which is a northeast-trending splay off the Quetico Fault Zone ("QFZ") and may be the control for the gold deposit. The Central Gold property lies on a similar major northeast-trending splay of the QFZ.
The Company holds multiple additional projects: The Esperanza Gold/Silver/Copper mineral concessions located in La Rioja Province, Argentina; The Viernes Gold/Silver/Copper project in Antofagasta Chile; The Springpole West Property in the world-renowned Red Lake mining camp; a 49% interest in the Burton Gold property with Iamgold near Sudbury Ontario; in B.C., the Spitfire-Sunny Boy, Gaspard Gold claims; the Great Burnt, Gander North/South, Valentine Gold South, Victoria West, and Golden Brook acquisitions adjacent to First Mining, Matador, Benton-Sokoman's JV, and Marvel Discovery in Central Newfoundland; and most recently Battery Metals projects in Ontario and Quebec, The Timmins West and Outarde Property.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: completion of the Spin-Out. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. There is no assurance any of the conditions for closing will be met. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Marvel Discovery Corp. (TSXV:MARV), (FRA:O4T), (OTCQB:MARVF); and Falcon Gold Corp. (TSXV:FG), (FRA:3FA), (OTCQB:FGLDF) together (the Alliance) are pleased to announce that Falcon Gold has applied for drill permits to carry out activities on their Golden Brook prospects within the Hope Brook Property in southern Newfoundland. Two permit applications have been submitted by Marvel's JV Partner, Falcon Gold, one for portable drilling across the property that will expand current prospecting permits and allow for portable drill-testing of targets across the entire property, and a second permit was submitted to diamond drill test prospects within the Kraken-Hydra trend, a trend represented by a 10km area of limited exploration between Benton-Sokoman's Kraken Li-Ta discoveries and the Hydra Cesium Discovery (see Sokoman's news release May 18, 2023
The portable drill permit application provides the opportunity to enhance the preliminary reconnaissance prospecting project completed in late spring and early summer, which identified the potential for pegmatites from the nearby Kraken pegmatite field to extend into the adjacent tenure held by Falcon. Though bedrock exposure in the area is limited, initial reconnaissance prospecting has resulted in the discovery of a new and previously unrecognized swarm of pegmatite and aplite dykes, and assay results from the sampling project are anticipated by early August. The diamond drill permit application includes 6 drill pad locations with 1,000 meters of drilling planned for 12 drill holes. The inaugural drill program will test for potential lithium, tantalum, and cesium-bearing pegmatites along the Kraken-Hydra trend. The Hope Brook Property covers a key central portion of the structural corridor along which the Kraken and Killick pegmatite dykes, Li-Ta soil anomalies, and Hydra Cesium Pegmatite Dyke have all been reported by Sokoman (see Sokoman's news release March 28, 2023). Marvel JV Partner, Falcon Gold, has applied for financial assistance for the Hope Brook project through Newfoundland's Junior Exploration Assistance (JEA) Program.
Mr. Karim Rayani, Chief Executive Officer, commented, "An extreme fire season in Nfld last summer coupled with helicopter availability shortages meant delaying our inaugural exploration campaign until the spring of this year, and we took advantage of this current program to conduct regional scale prospecting and soil sampling efforts and eagerly await results from the assay lab. We have always been keen on our Lithium prospect, which we staked prior to the Lithium and Cesium discoveries by Sokoman and where our desktop studies showed high potential for the continuation of trends onto our ground. To have found a new swarm of pegmatite dykes is extremely encouraging and we are now gearing up for detailed soil sampling and portable drill testing to further define anomalous areas in advance of our inaugural diamond drilling campaign."
Figure 1. Location of Marvel's and Falcon's Hope Brook gold joint venture property contiguous to Benton-Sokoman's joint venture.Figure 2. Location of Marvel's and Falcon's claims showing highly prospective structural corridor and magnetic features similar to the Kraken Pegmatite Swarm.
About the Alliance
Marvel and Falcon formed a strategic alliance on (November 17, 2021) that combines both companies' Hope Brook District properties covering a combined 63,450 hectares to be explored on a 50-50 Joint Venture basis. The Hope Brook Property is hosted within the Exploits subzone of the central Newfoundland gold belt. The property covers extensions of, or are proximal to, two major structures linked to several significant gold prospects (Cape Ray; Matador Mining) and deposits (Hope Brook; First Mining) in southern Newfoundland. Rock lithologies and structures on the property are also related to those associated with Marathon Gold's Valentine gold deposits, Sokoman's Moosehead gold project and New Found Gold's Queensway gold project. The combined land position straddles both the eastern and western extents of recent land acquisitions by the Benton/Sokoman JV partnership, with the JV now controlling areas of considerable structural complexity marked by large-scale fold and fault structures, which provide important structural controls (traps) for gold mineralization within this area. The Falcon-Marvel strategic partnership originally included the Baie Verte Brompton Line (BVBL) Properties, and both companies announced the option of the BVBL property to Carmanah Minerals Corporation on June 8, 2023.
Qualified Person The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Greg Robinson, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About Marvel Discovery Corp.
Marvel, listed on the TSX Venture Exchange for over 25 years, is a Canadian based emerging resource company. The Company is systematically exploring its extensive property positions in:
Newfoundland (Slip, Gander North, Gander South, Victoria Lake, Baie Verte, and Hope Brook - Au Prospects)
Atikokan, Ontario (BlackFly - Au Prospect)
Elliot Lake, Ontario (East Bull - Ni-Cu-PGE Prospect)
Quebec (Duhamel -Ni-Cu-Co prospect & Titanium, Vanadium, and Chromium Prospect)
Prince George, British Columbia (Wicheeda North - Rare Earth Elements Prospect)
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: completion of the proposed Arrangement. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. There is no assurance any of the conditions for closing will be met. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
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.
Falcon Gold Corp. (TSX-V:FG)(GR:3FA)(OTCQB:FGLDF); ("Falcon" or the "Company") the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Kemp to the Board of Directors, Aaron holds a Civil Mining Engineering degree with diplomas in Mine Ventilation and Geomechanics from the University of Chile
Mr. Kemp holds an impressive track record in the mining sector, particularly in Latin American jurisdictions. His expertise spans various aspects of mine engineering roles, including project management, resource estimation, environmental sustainability, operational optimization, and mine development. Mr. Kemp has earned recognition for his contributions and achievements. He holds a bachelor's degree in mining engineering and is a member of several industry associations dedicated to promoting best practices and sustainable mining.
For the past 7 years, Aaron has been overseeing producing operations, currently, he is an Advanced Mine Specialist for CODELCO a state-owned copper mining company based in Santiago Chile. It is the largest copper producing company in the world producing 11% of the world supply. Mr. Kemp overseas the operations (leading approximately 240 people per shift). Prior to this posting, he was the mine manager for Altiplano Metals Group where he was responsible for permitting and approvals with the Chilean Government for development and mine approvals of several projects.
Mr. Kemp's appointment as a member of Falcon Gold's Board of Directors signifies the company's commitment to strengthening its leadership team with exceptional talent. With his deep knowledge of the mining industry and extensive experience in Latin America, he is expected to play a pivotal role in driving Falcon Gold's growth and capitalizing on emerging opportunities.
"Falcon welcomes Aaron Kemp to our Board of Directors", stated, Karim Rayani, Chief Executive Officer, "His wealth of experience in mine engineering, combined with his deep understanding of Latin American jurisdictions, will be invaluable to our company's growth strategy. We are confident that Mr. Kemp's expertise will play a pivotal role in advancing our operations, expanding our footprint, and unlocking the full potential of our gold exploration and production efforts."
"I am honored to join Falcon Gold's Board of Directors and contribute to the company's exploration and development plans," said Aaron Kemp. "I look forward to leveraging my expertise in mine engineering, coupled with my understanding of Latin American jurisdictions, to drive operational excellence, foster strong stakeholder relationships, and maximize shareholder value."
Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. Falcon's flagship project, the Central Canada Gold Mine, is approximately 20km southeast of Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef Gold Deposit which has currently estimated 3.32 million ounces of gold (123.5 million tonnes grading 0.84 g/t gold) mineral reserves, and 2.3 million ounces of measured and indicated mineral resources (133.4 million tonnes grading 0.54 g/t gold). The Hammond Reef gold property lies on the Hammond shear zone, which is a northeast-trending splay off the Quetico Fault Zone ("QFZ") and may be the control for the gold deposit. The Central Gold property lies on a similar major northeast-trending splay of the QFZ.
The Company holds multiple additional projects: The Esperanza Gold/Silver/Copper mineral concessions located in La Rioja Province, Argentina; The Viernes Gold/Silver/Copper project in Antofagasta Chile; The Springpole West Property in the world-renowned Red Lake mining camp; a 49% interest in the Burton Gold property with Iamgold near Sudbury Ontario; in B.C., the Spitfire-Sunny Boy, Gaspard Gold claims; the Great Burnt, Gander North/South, Valentine Gold South, Victoria West, and Golden Brook acquisitions adjacent to First Mining, Matador, Benton-Sokoman's JV, and Marvel Discovery in Central Newfoundland; and most recently Battery Metals projects in Ontario and Quebec, The Timmins West and Outarde Property.
Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements which reflect the expectations of management. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward-looking statements in this press release relate to, among other things: completion of the Spin-Out. Actual future results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. There is no assurance any of the conditions for closing will be met. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these times. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.
Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Gold is above US$2,000 per ounce again, and John Feneck of Feneck Consulting believes it's set to move higher.
"I think the gold setup here is beautiful ... I've been very guarded on the price of gold — I've never talked new highs ever, I've never said US$2,500 this or US$5,000 that," he told the Investing News Network. "(But) we are saying as a result of what happened October 7 that you are going to see a new all-time high in gold next year, which is new for us."
Feneck noted that the banking crisis earlier this year added a new floor for the yellow metal; since then, the Israel-Hamas war, which broke out almost two months ago, has created even more safe-haven demand for gold.
"If it wasn't for Bitcoin doing so well, (artificial intelligence) doing so well, tech doing so well in general you'd have an all-time high probably already in our view," he said. "But it'll just happen next year. We get more time to build positions."
In terms of gold, he mentioned Cartier Resources (TSXV:ECR) and US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU) as companies he's interested in, as well as Silver Tiger (TSXV:SLVR,OTCQX:SLVTF) on the silver side. Feneck is also looking outside the precious metals sector — his uranium holdings include Denison Mines (TSX:DML,NYSEAMERICAN:DNN), Uranium Royalty (TSX:URC,NASDAQ:UROY), Forum Energy Metals (TSXV:FMC,OTCQV:FDCFF) and the Global X Uranium ETF (ARCA:URA)
Watch the interview above for more from Feneck on gold, silver and uranium, as well as thoughts on First Tellurium (CSE:FTEL,OTCQV:FSTTF), Golden Metal Resources (LSE:GMET,OTCQB:GMTLF), Talon Metals (TSX:TLO,OTC Pink:TLOFF) and Power Nickel (TSXV:PNPN,OTCQB:PNPNF).
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Forum Energy Metals is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
White Gold Corp. (TSX.V: WGO, OTCQX: WHGOF, FRA: 29W) (the " Company ") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of: (i) flow-through common shares at a price of C$0.33 per share (each a "FT Share "); and (ii) common shares in the capital of the Company at a price of C$0.30 per common share (each a " Common Share "), and for total gross proceeds of approximately C$5,116,000 (the " Offering ").
"We are very appreciative for the continued support for our exciting and impactful exploration activities to advance our significant gold deposit and other recent high-grade gold discoveries on our district scale land package in the prolific and under explored White Gold District." stated David D'Onofrio, Chief Executive Officer.
Pursuant to an investor rights agreement between the Company and Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (TSX: AEM, NYSE: AEM) (" Agnico ") dated December 13, 2016, Agnico has indicated that it intends to maintain its pro rata interest in the Company at 19.85% on a post-offering basis through the acquisition of Common Shares.
The gross proceeds received from the sale of the FT Shares will be used to incur "Canadian exploration expenses" as defined in subsection 66.1(6) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the " Tax Act ") on the Company's properties in the White Gold District of the Yukon Territory, and renounced to subscribers in the Offering with an effective date no later than December 31, 2023. Such Canadian exploration expenses will also qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" as defined in subsection 127(9) of the Tax Act. The net proceeds from the sale of the Common Shares will be used for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
Participation by Agnico in the Offering will be considered a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61- 101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (" MI 61-101 "). The Company will be exempt from the requirements to obtain a formal valuation or minority shareholder approval in connection with Agnico's participation in the Offering in reliance of sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101. A material change report will be filed in connection with the participation of Agnico in the Offering less than 21 days in advance of the closing of the Offering, which the Company deemed reasonable in the circumstances so as to be able to avail itself of potential financing opportunities and complete the Offering in an expeditious manner.
Closing of the Offering is expected to occur on or about December 8, 2023 and is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the " TSXV "). The securities issued pursuant to the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus one day from the closing date of the Offering in accordance with applicable securities legislation.
About White Gold Corp. The Company owns a portfolio of 17,584 quartz claims across 30 properties covering approximately 350,000 hectares representing over 40% of the Yukon's emerging White Gold District. The Company's flagship White Gold project hosts four near-surface gold deposits which collectively contain an estimated 1,152,900 ounces of gold in Indicated Resources and 942,400 ounces of gold in Inferred Resources ( 1) . Regional exploration work has also produced several other new discoveries and prospective targets on the Company's claim packages which border sizable gold discoveries including the Coffee project owned by Newmont Corporation with Indicated Resources of 2.14 Moz at 1.23 g/t Au, and Inferred Resources of 0.23 Moz at 1.01 g/t Au (2) , and Western Copper and Gold Corporation's Casino project which has Measured and Indicated Resources of 7.6 Blb Cu and 14.5 Moz Au and Inferred Resources of 3.3 Blb Cu and 6.6 Moz Au (3) . For more information visit www.whitegoldcorp.ca.
(1) See White Gold Corp. technical report titled "2023 Technical Report for the White Gold Project, Dawson Range, Yukon, Canada ", Effective Date April 15, 2023, Report Date May 30, 2023, NI 43-101 Compliant Technical Report prepared by Dr. Gilles Arseneau, P.Geo., available on SEDAR+. (2) See Newmont Corporation 10-K: Annual report for the year ending December 31, 2022, in the Measured, Indicated, and Inferred Resources section, dated February 23, 2023, available on EDGAR. Reserves and resources disclosed in this Form 10-K have been prepared in accordance with the Regulation S-K 1300, and do not indicate NI43-101 compliance. (3) See Western Copper and Gold Corporation technical report titled "Casino project, Form 43-101F1 Technical Report Feasibility Study, Yukon Canada", Effective Date June 13, 2022, Issue Date August 8, 2022, NI 43-101 Compliant Technical Report prepared by Daniel Roth, PE, P.Eng., Mike Hester, F Aus IMM, John M. Marek, P.E., Laurie M. Tahija, MMSA-QP, Carl Schulze, P.Geo., Daniel Friedman, P.Eng., Scott Weston, P.Geo., available on SEDAR+.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "proposed", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, the Offering, including all regulatory approvals; the use of proceeds from the Offering; the Company's objectives, goals and exploration activities conducted and proposed to be conducted at the Company's properties; future growth potential of the Company, including whether any proposed exploration programs at any of the Company's properties will be successful; exploration results; and future exploration plans and costs and financing availability.
These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: the expected benefits to the Company relating to the exploration conducted and proposed to be conducted at the White Gold properties; the receipt of all applicable regulatory approvals for the Offering; the completion of the Offering on the terms described herein, or at all; failure to identify any additional mineral resources or significant mineralization; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, including to fund any exploration programs on the Company's properties; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of gold, silver, base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining and mineral exploration; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); the unlikelihood that properties that are explored are ultimately developed into producing mines; geological factors; actual results of current and future exploration; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated; soil sampling results being preliminary in nature and are not conclusive evidence of the likelihood of a mineral deposit; title to properties; and those factors described in the most recently filed management's discussion and analysis of the Company. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information, or the material factors or assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information, will prove to be accurate. The Company does not undertake to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
Contact Information: David D'Onofrio Chief Executive Officer White Gold Corp. (647) 930-1880 ir@whitegoldcorp.ca
Franco-Nevada Corporation (" Franco- Nevada ") (TSX: FNV) (NYSE: FNV) notes that its partner, First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (" First Quantum "), has issued an update reporting that due to the continued illegal blockades at the Punta Rincon port and roads to the site, the Cobre Panama mine has suspended commercial production and is applying a program of preservation and safe maintenance of the plant and facilities.
For more detailed information, please refer to First Quantum's news release dated November 28, 2023 .
Franco- Nevada further notes that its revised 2023 GEO guidance issued on November 20, 2023 , remains unchanged as it assumed no further contributions from Cobre Panama from such date.
Forward- Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, respectively, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the safe maintenance and preservation of facilities at Cobre Panama, and Franco-Nevada's revised guidance for 2023. The outcome of these matters could have a material adverse impact on the revenue Franco-Nevada derives from its streaming arrangements relating to Cobre Panama and on Franco-Nevada's results of operations and financial condition. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.
For additional information with respect to risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to Franco-Nevada's business and assets, please refer to Franco-Nevada's most recent Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on www.sedarplus.com and Franco-Nevada's most recent Annual Report filed on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on www.sec.gov . The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only and Franco-Nevada does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Strike Gold: A Comprehensive Guide for Savvy Investors
The Investing News Network (INN) spoke with analysts, market watchers and insiders about which trends will
impact gold in the coming months.
✓ Trends
✓ Forecasts
✓ Top Stocks
Table of Contents:
Gold Price Update: Q1 2023 in Review
Gold Price Update: Q2 2023 in Review
Gold Price Update: Q3 2023 in Review
Lobo Tiggre: Gold Stocks are My Highest-Conviction Trade for 2024
Tavi Costa: Gold Price Breakout is "Inevitable," Don't Lose Focus Now
Top 10 Gold-mining Companies
A Sneak Peek At What The Insiders Are Saying
“When gold turns, it can turn very, very dramatically, this time in particular because so many people are underinvested in gold and gold stocks.”
— Adrian Day, Adrian Day Asset Management
“I do think probably in the first half of 2023, gold and silver and miners are going to put in what I think is going to be a major bottom — a supercycle bottom that's going to lead to a multi-year rally.”
— Chris Vermeulen, TheTechnicalTraders.com
“Gold is in a bull market in every currency in the world except the US dollar.”
— Rick Rule, Rule Investment Media
Who We Are
The Investing News Network is a growing network of authoritative publications delivering independent,
unbiased news and education for investors. We deliver knowledgeable, carefully curated coverage of a variety
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Gold has seen a thunderous start to 2023 — thanks to significant economic disruptions, it's jumped in value while continuing to play a key role as a safe haven.
The precious metal's run has created tremendous opportunities for gold bulls, especially as it appears to be stabilizing above the US$2,000 per ounce mark, with experts pointing to potentially higher points this year.
Here the Investing News Network (INN) provides a recap of what happened in the gold market in the first three months of 2023.
Narrative changing after disappointing 2022
Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments, told INN that many investors were disappointed with gold last year due to its flat performance, even with high levels of inflation.
“(Investors) just got really frustrated with it and it hadn't really worked. Now it's starting to work and people are taking another look at it,” Taylor said.
The expert added that since the US dollar was up and enjoyed a strong period last year, it “offset a lot of the inflation reasons for people to own gold.”
But heading into this year, Taylor said, the gold investment cycle has seen new life.
The financial expert explained that even as central banks prepare to pause or slow the pace of their rate hikes, inflation remains higher than they would like.
“We're starting to hear more and more concerns that there's potential stagflation,” Taylor said. “When you get stagflation, that's the perfect snare for gold.”
More investors appreciating gold in 2023
Shree Kargutkar, managing partner at Sprott (TSX:SII,NYSE:SII), told INN that despite gold's success so far in 2023, he still doesn’t think most investors have exposure to the yellow metal.
“I would say the average investor today is not really invested in gold. Rather, the average investor today is a speculator as far as the bullion is concerned,” Kargutkar said.
The Sprott expert explained that holdings in precious metals bullion exchange-traded funds have declined approximately 15 percent from their peak in the second half of 2020.
“People have actually been reducing their allocation to gold. And the average investor has been spectating for admission,” Kargutkar said.
When discussing the role of gold in an investor’s portfolio, Taylor cautioned that he doesn’t think gold should take a dominant role. “But having a sleeve of real asset exposure in the 5 to 10 percent range is probably not a bad, bad percentage to look at,” he said.
For his part, Kargutkar said the recent move in gold could create a bigger spotlight for the asset class. “My guess is it will probably make people want to perhaps take a second look at the metal as an important constituent of a portfolio,” he said.
US banking crisis boosts gold's safe-haven appeal
Gold’s tremendous rise can be attributed to a variety of factors in the global economic spectrum, but a major driver has been the fallout from US banking issues.
Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank faced serious bank runs after losing the confidence of their users, leading to two of the biggest bank collapses in US history.
This chaos was accompanied by the emergency rescue acquisition of Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) by UBS (NYSE:UBS), which was in part organized by Swiss authorities.
The pressure points these events created caused panic to settle into the economic landscape, allowing gold to fulfill its role as a safe haven for the investing class.
Gold first crossed the US$2,000 level in March, and has found some stability above the coveted price mark.
Gold price chart, January 1, 2023, to April 20, 2023.
Aside from banking issues, gold continues to be affected by moves from the US Federal Reserve.
Following its meeting in March, the central bank announced a 25 basis point rate hike, saying it remains committed to its goal of curbing inflation. Investors are now watching closely to see what it will do at its next meeting in May.
Economists polled by Reuters are expecting to see another 25 basis point interest rate increase from the central bank, despite recent data points from the consumer price index and the producer price index.
Both price markers show inflationary pressures are easing — in fact, the March drop in the producer price index was the biggest decline since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Even so, inflation is still far from the Fed's target of 2 percent.
At the same time, the Fed may not be able to hike much further. Its latest meeting minutes indicate that it expects a “mild recession” in the second half of 2023, spurred by the banking crisis outlined earlier.
“Given their assessment of the potential economic effects of the recent banking-sector developments, the staff’s projection at the time of the March meeting included a mild recession starting later this year, with a recovery over the subsequent two years,” the central bank states in its meeting recap.
The Fed's next meeting runs from May 2 to 3.
Investor takeaway
After what many deemed a weaker year for gold in 2022, 2023 has been incredibly bullish for the precious metal.
EY's Theo Yameogo told INN it’s important to remember the nature of the market, and how these jumps have come and gone in the past. “It's just a reminder that this is cyclical,” he said.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
Gold remained at historically high levels in the second quarter, although it fell below US$2,000 per ounce.
The US Federal Reserve was in focus during Q2, with investors closely watching the American economy for hints on the central bank's next move. While the summer is often a slower time, some experts believe it's a good chance to position.
Here the Investing News Network (INN) presents a recap of the Q2 period for the gold market.
How did the gold price perform in Q2?
The gold price spent a decent amount of time above US$2,000 in Q2, but has since pulled back.
The yellow metal remained near or above that level through April and May, but in June its price strength began to decline. It finished the second quarter around US$1,920, although by mid-July it was back up around US$1,970.
Gold price chart, January 1, 2023, to July 20, 2023.
Actions from the US Federal Reserve continue to impact gold, and at its June meeting it left interest rates unchanged at 5 to 5.25 percent. The decision came after 10 consecutive increases from the central bank.
Fed officials have said the goal is to take time to review the effects of its aggressive hiking strategy.
Since the June meeting, experts have been debating what the Fed will do next. While some market watchers are surprised the Fed has been able to raise rates as far as it has and don't think it will be able to go much further, the latest "dot plot" projections from Fed officials tell another story — they show two more hikes of 25 basis points each are possible in 2023.
In the gold space, there's a broad consensus that a change in tactics from the Fed could provide a price boost.
As part of its half-year update, the World Gold Council said global economies appear to be nearing the end of their tightening cycles. “As monetary policy likely transitions from tightening to on-hold, market consensus is for a mild contraction in the US this year, and slow growth in developed markets,” the organization states in its report.
“In this context and following gold’s positive returns in H1, we expect gold to remain supported on the back of range bound bond yields and a weaker dollar,” the World Gold Council also notes.
According to the association, gold has been one of the only true positive investment assets so far in 2023, especially as the economy was hit with uncertainty in North America from several staggering bank runs.
Gold ETF inflow streak ends in June
In another report, the World Gold Council states that June brought the end of a three month streak for inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are often seen as a safer way to get exposure to the market.
Gold ETFs saw outflows of US$3.7 billion in June, concentrated in Europe and in North America.
“The early June strong equity market performance in key markets likely shifted focus away from risk-off assets such as gold,” the World Global Council said, noting that global gold ETF holdings fell 56 metric tons to 3,422 metric tons.
“And the majority of outflows occurred when the gold price dropped during the second half of the month amid hawkishness from major central banks in the face of obstinate inflationary pressure.”
Summer offers gold investors time to position
John Feneck, portfolio manager and consultant at Feneck Consulting, recently told INN that investors should take advantage of the summer doldrum months to better position themselves in the gold space.
"Summertime and in December as well, when people aren't doing their homework, is when we're doing most of our work, because this is when you can pick up some huge bargains. If you feel like doing something with them and disposing of them later next year or the year after, you're going to make some considerable money we think," he said.
Watch the full interview with Feneck above.
Investor takeaway
The Q2 period offered a bit of a stopping point for gold as the Fed broke off from its rate hike strategy. Now investors are looking ahead at the second half of the year for catalysts that could push it above US$2,000 once again.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
The gold price began Q3 on a relatively high note, but was approaching US$1,800 per ounce by its end.
The yellow metal was pushing back toward the US$2,000 mark at the start of the period, but wasn't able to maintain that level. The quarter culminated in a precipitous decline that saw gold break through support.
What has caused gold to retreat so quickly? Read on to learn more about what factors have affected its price over the last three months, and about significant gold-related news released during that time.
How did the gold price perform in Q3?
Gold tends to underperform in when interest rates are high, which was the case in Q3. At its July meeting, the US Federal Reserve raised rates for the 11th time since March 2022, adding 25 basis points for a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent — the highest in 22 years. The gold price fell steadily in the two weeks after the decision, slumping to US$1,885.70 on August 17.
After seeing some support from mid-August to mid-September, gold went into a tailspin to close the quarter at US$1,848.80. The drop came as the Fed announced on September 20 that it would hold rates steady, and as Chair Jerome Powell suggested the central bank is in a good position to deliver a “soft enough” landing.
Central banks continue buying gold
While higher rates continued to put pressure on gold this past quarter, global central bank buying has helped maintain the precious metal's price level. July and August saw central banks pick up 55 metric tons (MT) and 77 MT of gold respectively, bringing the total to 219 MT for the three months ended in August.
Leading the way is China, which has purchased 155 MT of the yellow metal since the start of the year as it tries to minimize its US dollar exposure. Its central bank currently holds gold reserves of 2,165 MT, accounting for 4 percent of global reserves.
With the Russia-Ukraine war on its doorstep, Poland has also been a significant buyer of gold, adding another 18 MT in August and bringing its yearly total to 88 MT. That moves it closer to its intended buying target of 100 MT for the year.
Sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 have renewed the BRICS nations' interest in finding an alternative to the US dollar as the global reserve currency.
Member nations Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa are keen to break from the US dollar, but it’s China in particular that has been working for several years to establish its own currency as an alternative, with increasing uptake. When the BRICS countries met from August 22 to 24, some market participants believed they might announce a new BRICS currency — perhaps one backed by gold or another commodity. But ultimately no such announcement was made at the meeting.
Many analysts believe the idea is untenable unless China and India are able to find common ground and resolve long-standing differences — and even if they did so, a BRICS currency wouldn't necessarily be backed by gold.
“The lack of information out there is extremely important in understanding what you’re looking at. There’s a lack of information because there is a lack of development,” Jeffrey Christian, managing partner at CPM Group, explained to the Investing News Network (INN) in the lead-up to the BRICS meeting.
“They do see a desire to cooperate among themselves to counter decades of hegemonic activity by the US and to a lesser extent Europe,” he continued. “But the idea of a central currency makes no sense. None of the countries really want to tie their currencies to Russia. The idea of a different currency backed by gold is a non-starter.”
M&A activity makes headlines
The massive deal between gold giants Newmont (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM) and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM,TSX:NCM) inched closer to completion through the third quarter. The deal, which will see Newmont acquire 100 percent of Newcrest, reached significant milestones as the companies received key approvals from Australia, Japan and Papua New Guinea.
Newmont shareholders met on October 11 to vote, with 96 percent of them voting in favor of the transaction. Newcrest shareholders are set to vote on October 13. Newmont has been trading lower since it announced its intention to acquire Newcrest on February 5, while Newcrest's share price has reacted more favorably.
Though this may be the biggest gold deal of the year, 2023 continues to be hot and is on track to bring in the highest level of mergers and acquisitions for the mining sector in a decade.
Other notable M&A announcements in the sector during Q3 include the completion of a merger between GCM Mining and Aris Gold on September 26 to create Aris Mining (TSX:ARIS,NYSE:ARMN). The resultant company has operations in Colombia and produced 60,193 ounces of gold in its most recent quarter.
Aside from that, Canada’s Silvercorp Metals (TSX:SVM,NYSEAMERICAN:SVM) announced on August 6 that it has entered into a binding scheme implementation deed to acquire Australia’s OreCorp (ASX:ORR). The acquisition would give Silvercorp a US$630 million market cap and access to OreCorp’s multimillion-ounce Nyanzaga gold project in Northwest Tanzania. The project is expected to produce 240,000 ounces of gold per year once complete.
David Erfle, editor and founder of Junior Miner Junky, told INN at the end of Q3 that he sees growth potential in gold stocks, but with limited interest from retail investors, more M&A activity is necessary to bring interest to the market.
“A lot of (companies) are at the feasibility stage, or the construction stage or the finance stage, and their market cap is two or three or sometimes four times less than the equity it would take to build the mine,” he said. “What I'd like to see is several of these companies merge, so you have one company with a handful of these projects — maybe $150 million, $200 million in the bank, access to capital and also tack on a big board US listing. Then you're more liquid, you're more attractive."
Biggest IPO of the year is golden
July 7 brought Indonesia’s biggest initial public offering (IPO) this year and one of the world’s best-performing IPOs so far in 2023: PT Amman Mineral Internasional (IDX:AMMN). The company raised the equivalent of over US$713 million in its IPO, and shares have since surged 250 percent in value, giving the firm a market cap of US$29 billion.
The company's most significant asset, Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara — which includes the Batu Hijau mine, the second largest gold mine in Indonesia — was purchased from Newmont in 2016. The copper-gold mine produced 172,000 ounces of the yellow metal during the first half of the year.
So, why has gold retreated?
Even though there have been strong gold sector developments over the past three months, larger economic trends have made investments like Treasuries more attractive and have dulled gold's luster. The yellow metal's relatively flat growth over the past few years has also prompted investors to look for more immediate gains elsewhere.
With the US economy and dollar staying strong and no relief from high interest rates until at least 2024, it's not looking good for investors who hope gold will break through US$2,000 in the coming months.
However, the Fed has indicated that it's tracking the economy closely and has acknowledged that a recession hasn't been completely avoided. The central bank will meet again from October 31 to November 1 to determine whether another hike will be needed and to outline its steps for the beginning of next year.
Investor takeaway
Following a solid start to the year for gold, the third quarter brought setbacks for the metal, which is subject to both broad market forces and investor appetites. While retail and institutional investors may continue to shy away from gold for interest-bearing assets, central bank buying looks set to persist and may be a factor in price stabilization in Q4.
At the same time, Q4 has already brought a great deal of geopolitical instability. The invasion of Ukraine remains an issue for investors and, if it worsens, it could push the price of gold higher. Additionally, a burgeoning conflict in Israel has already pushed the price of the yellow metal up nearly 1 percent since hostilities began on October 7.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
Lobo Tiggre: Gold Stocks are My Highest-Conviction Trade for 2024
In a recent interview, Lobo Tiggre, editor and founder of IndependentSpeculator.com, shared his highest-conviction trade for 2024. While he's still a uranium bull, he sees the most opportunity in gold stocks next year.
Back in July, Tiggre's focus had narrowed to uranium and he was feeling bearish on gold in the near term. But now he sees various factors lining up for gold, including a US recession, geopolitical concerns, inflation and central bank buying.
"Maybe it means a little bit more for me to say I'm looking at (gold)," he told the Investing News Network. "I'm looking at the recession — it's here on a global level and I think it's here in disguise in the US. But I think the disguise falls."
Watch the interview above for more from Tiggre on gold, as well as uranium and silver. You can also click here for the Investing News Network's full New Orleans Investment Conference playlist on YouTube.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
Tavi Costa: Gold Price Breakout is "Inevitable," Don't Lose Focus Now
Speaking at the New Orleans Investment Conference, Tavi Costa, partner and portfolio manager at Crescat Capital, discussed sentiment in the resource sector, including where he sees opportunity today.
"Everyone is sort of waiting for this breakout in gold, otherwise there's no party," he said on the sidelines of the event. "Everyone is just waiting patiently, and in my view it's going to happen — it's inevitable that we're going to see a breakout. Then other commodities should follow, and then the valuations of companies should be rerated."
In terms of timing, Costa said that back in 2018 he started looking closely at CAPEX trends among mining companies. "You can kind of see when that bottoms out you tend to see a bull market in commodities. You just don't know on the macro side what the trigger is going to be, but the foundation of the thesis is there," he explained.
"I feel like everything is really coming together right now, (but) the sentiment is really bearish," Costa continued. "I am not that way at all. I'm extremely bullish, I'm really focused right now ... you don't want to lose focus at the wrong time."
Moving forward, he expects to see the traditional 60/40 portfolio fall by the wayside. "Those two allocations need to be redefined," he said. "I think commodities are going to play a role there. I think gold is going to be one of those assets that is going to be competing with Treasuries, just like central banks have been changing their allocation." Notably, he pointed out that recent research shows 70 percent of advisors have portfolios with less than 1 percent gold.
"I think (gold is) going to be one side. And then a basket of commodities will probably take the other side. And I would say emerging markets, especially rich resource economies like Brazil, will probably take a part of the equity market portion."
Watch the interview above for more of Costa's thoughts on gold and the resource sector. You can also click here for the Investing News Network's full New Orleans Investment Conference playlist on YouTube.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
Regardless of how the gold price is doing in any given year, the top gold-mining companies are always making moves.
Right now, the yellow metal is in the limelight — stimulated by increasing global inflation, geopolitical turmoil and recession fears, the price of gold has broken past the US$2,000 per ounce level multiple times in 2023.
Rising demand for gold alongside concerns over gold mine supply have pushed the metal to record highs in recent years, and market watchers are eyeing world's top gold-mining companies to see how they respond to current market dynamics.
According to the most recent US Geological Survey data, gold production increased by approximately 2 percent in 2021, and by a mere 0.32 percent in 2022. China, Australia and Russia were the top three countries to produce gold last year.
But what were the top gold-mining companies by production in 2022? The list below was compiled by the team at Refinitiv, a leading financial markets data provider. Read on to find out which companies produced the most gold last year.
Newmont was the largest of the top gold-mining companies in 2022. The firm holds significant operations in North and South America, as well as Asia, Australia and Africa. Newmont produced 185.3 metric tons (MT) of gold in 2022.
In early 2019, the miner acquired Goldcorp in a US$10 billion deal; it followed that up by starting a joint venture with Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) called Nevada Gold Mines; is 38.5 percent owned by Newmont and 61.5 percent owned by Barrick, which is also the operator. Considered the world’s biggest gold complex, Nevada Gold Mines was the top-producing gold operation in 2022 with output of 94.2 MT.
Newmont’s gold production guidance for 2023 is set at 5.7 million to 6.3 million ounces (161.59 to 178.6 MT).
Barrick Gold lands in second place on this list of top gold producers. The company has been active on the M&A front in the last five years — in addition to merging its Nevada assets with Newmont in 2019, the company closed its acquisition of Randgold Resources the prior year.
Nevada Gold Mines is not Barrick's only asset that is a top-producing gold operation. The major gold company also holds the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republican and the Loulo-Gounkoto mine in Mali, which produced 22.2 MT and 21.3 MT, respectively, of the yellow metal in 2022.
In its annual report for 2022, Barrick notes that its full-year gold production was slightly less than its stated guidance for the year, rising a little over 7 percent from the previous year’s level. The company has attributed this shortfall to lower production at Turquoise Ridge due to unplanned maintenance events, and at Hemlo due to the temporary water inflows that impacted mining productivity. Barrick has set its 2023 production guidance at 4.2 million to 4.6 million ounces (119.1 to 130.4 MT).
Agnico Eagle Mines produced 97.5 MT of gold in 2022 to take the third spot on this top 10 gold companies list. The company has 11 operating mines in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico, including 100 percent ownership of two of the world's top gold-producing mines — the Canadian Malartic mine in Quebec and the Detour Lake mine in Ontario — which it acquired from Yamana Gold (TSX:YRI,NYSE:AUY) in early 2023.
The Canadian gold miner achieved record annual production in 2022, and also increased its gold mineral reserves by 9 percent to 48.7 million ounces of gold (1.19 million MT grading 1.28 grams per MT gold). Its gold production for 2023 is expected to reach 3.24 million to 3.44 million ounces (91.8 to 97.5 MT). Based on its near-term expansion plans, Agnico Eagle is forecasting production levels of 3.4 million to 3.6 million ounces (96.4 to 102.05 MT) in 2025.
Coming in fourth on this top gold-mining companies list is AngloGold Ashanti, which produced 85.3 MT of gold in 2022. The South African company has nine gold operations in seven countries across three continents, as well as numerous exploration projects around the world. AngloGold's Kibali gold mine (a joint venture with Barrick as the operator) in the Democratic Republic of Congo is the fifth largest gold mine in the world, having produced 23.3 MT of gold in 2022.
In 2022, the company increased its gold production by 11 percent over 2021, coming in at the top end of its guidance for the year. Its production guidance for 2023 is set at 2.45 million to 2.61 million ounces (69.46 to 74 MT).
Polyus produced 79 MT of gold in 2022 to take fifth place among the top 10 gold-mining companies. It is the largest gold producer in Russia and holds the highest proven and probable gold reserves globally at more than 101 million ounces.
Polyus has six operating mines located in Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East, including Olimpiada, which ranks as the world's third largest gold mine by production. The company expects to produce approximately 2.8 million to 2.9 million ounces (79.37 to 82.21 MT) of gold in 2023.
Gold Fields comes in at number six for 2022 with gold production for the year totaling 74.6 MT. The company is a globally diversified gold producer with nine operating mines in Australia, Chile, Peru, West Africa and South Africa.
Gold Fields and AngloGold Ashanti recently joined forces to combine their Ghana exploration holdings and create what the companies claim will be Africa's biggest gold mine. The joint venture has the potential to produce an annual average of 900,000 ounces (or 25.51 MT) of gold over the first five years.
The company’s production guidance for 2023 is in the range of 2.25 million to 2.3 million ounces (63.79 to 65.2 MT). This figure excludes production from Gold Fields' Asanko joint venture in Ghana.
Kinross Gold has six mining operations across the Americas (Brazil, Chile, Canada and the US) and East Africa (Mauritania). Its largest producing mines are the Tasiast gold mine in Mauritania and the Paracatu gold mine in Brazil.
In 2022, Kinross produced 68.4 MT of gold, which was a 35 percent year-on-year increase from its 2021 production level. The company attributed this increase to the restart and ramp-up of production at the La Coipa mine in Chile, as well as to higher production at Tasiast after the resumption of milling operations that were temporarily suspended in the prior year.
Newcrest Mining produced 67.3 MT of gold in 2022. The Australian company operates a total of five mines across Australia, Papua New Guinea and Canada. Its Lihir gold mine in Papua New Guinea is the world's seventh largest gold mine by production.
According to Newcrest, it has one of the largest group gold ore reserves in the world. With an estimated 52 million ounces of gold ore reserves, its reserve life is approximately 27 years. The number one gold-producing company on this list, Newmont, made a proposal to combine with Newcrest in February; the deal closed successfully in November.
Better known for its copper production, Freeport-McMoRan produced 56.3 MT of gold in 2022. The vast majority of that production originates from the company's Grasberg mine in Indonesia, which ranks as the world's second largest gold mine by production.
In its Q3 results for this year, Freeport-McMoRan states that long-term mine development activities are underway at Grasberg's Kucing Liar deposit. The company anticipates that the deposit will ultimately produce more than 6 billion pounds of copper and 6 million ounces of gold (or 170.1 MT) between 2028 and the end of 2041.
Zijin Mining Group rounds out this top 10 gold companies list with production of 55.9 MT of gold in 2022. The company's diverse metals portfolio includes seven gold-producing assets in China, and several others in gold-rich jurisdictions such as Papua New Guinea and Australia.
In 2023, Zijin presented its revised three year plan through 2025, as well as its 2030 development goals, one of which is to move up the ranks to become a top three to five producer of gold and copper.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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