28 July 2022
SolGold plc
("SolGold" or the "Company")
Business Activity Update
The Board of Directors of SolGold (LSE & TSX: SOLG) is pleased to provide an update on the progress of activities within its exploration portfolio and the Cascabel project.
SolGold's regional exploration programme is focused on a number of highly prospective projects where extensive and systematic geological and geochemical field programmes are underway to rank the priority drill targets, notably at the Company's Porvenir and Helipuerto projects located in southern Ecuador.
Porvenir is the Company's second priority after Cascabel and SolGold has engaged M3 to progress the Porvenir project Pre-Economic Assessment ("PEA") that is on track for completion by year-end. Additionally, field programmes are continuing at numerous satellite targets to the Cacharposa deposit that comprises a Mineral Resource of 397Mt at 0.44% CuEq in the Indicated category and contained metal content of 1.40Mt Cu and 1.80Moz Au (1.75Mt CuEq). Cacharposa is the second Resource to be defined by SolGold as part of its strategy to define a multi project portfolio over the length of Ecuador.
Regional exploration activity has identified the Helipuerto project as the next most important target for the Company. The Helipuerto concessions lie on the southern margin of the Solaris Resources discovery at Warintza where Solaris has published an in-pit Mineral Resource of 579Mt at 0.59% CuEq in the Indicated category. Geophysical, geochemical and geological analysis indicates extension of the Warintza system into SolGold ground and SolGold is expediting the delivery of drilling and environmental permits to drill test extensions to the mineralised system. An initial focus at Helipuerto is on the delineation of the size and tenor of the Tinkimints copper prospect including mapping and sampling of the area directly south of Solaris's Warintza copper-gold porphyry deposit.
SolGold is investigating a number of strategic initiatives to provide the Company with funding options for the development of Cascabel and progression of regional projects.
Cascabel Project
Following the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Cascabel Project which was announced in April 2022, SolGold has continued to develop the funding path to achieve the next milestones in the form of delivering the PFS Addendum (targeting Q4 2022) and the Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") (targeting H2 2023. The purpose of the proposed funding exercise is to finance completion of the Cascabel DFS, further de-risk the project and realise its world class, Tier 1 potential. The Company is targeting total potential pre-tax NPV uplift of approximately US$1-1.8bn at the Cascabel project from the continued evaluation of optimisations and other upside opportunities to be incorporated within the upcoming studies.
In addition to the cash position of approximately US$26m as at 30 June 2022, SolGold continues to consider, and has had discussions with its major shareholders regarding possible financing structures and options to obtain funding to further progress the Cascabel development, including a potential equity raise. SolGold also continues to assess potential alternative funding structures which may involve strategic investors. The funds raised would be allocated to financing the completion of the Cascabel DFS, regional exploration and general corporate purposes through to the second half of 2023 to maintain momentum on development plans.
Upon completion Cascabel will be a significant, multi-decade and very low cost producer of copper that can help enable Ecuador's emergence as the next copper frontier at a time when the world needs copper the most as we transition to a net zero carbon emissions future.
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