ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, March 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ – Montage Gold Corp. (“Montage” or the “Company”) (TSXV: MAU) (OTCQX: MAUTF) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement, pursuant to which the Company sold an aggregate of 50,300,000 common shares of the Company (the “Common Shares”) at a price of C$0.70 per Common Share for gross proceeds of approximately C$35.2 million (the “Offering”), which was upsized from C$20.0 million.
Martino De Ciccio, CEO of Montage Gold, commented, “We are very pleased with the strong investor demand received for our upsized non-brokered private placement, led by a significant investment from the Lundin Family along with notable investments from directors and officers of Montage. We look forward to progressing our strategy of building a premier multi-asset African gold producer, with our Koné project at the forefront.”
The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to advance the Koné project towards construction decision, conduct further exploration on nearby targets, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
As part of the private placement, a trust controlled by the Lundin Family subscribed for approximately 50% of the Offering and certain directors and officers of Montage subscribed for an aggregate of 7.4% the Offering. The Common Shares issued pursuant to the Offering are subject to a four-month hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws commencing on the date hereof and expiring on July 13, 2024. The Offering remains subject to the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Insiders of the Company participated in the Offering. Pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“MI 61-101”), the Offering constitutes a “related party transaction” given the fact that insiders of the Company subscribed for Common Shares. The Company is relying on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101, specifically: (i) the valuation requirement of MI 61-101 by virtue of the exemption contained in Section 5.5(b), as the Common Shares are not listed on a market specified in MI 61-101, and (ii) the minority shareholder approval requirement of MI 61-101 by virtue of the exemption contained in Section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61- 101, as the fair market value of the Common Shares issued does not exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization (as determined under MI 61-101). A material change report was not filed by the Company at least 21 days before the closing of the Offering, as the Company was seeking to close expeditiously to confirm funds for the Offering. In the view of the Company, this approach is reasonable in the circumstances. The Offering was approved by all of the independent directors of the Company.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
ABOUT MONTAGE GOLD
Montage Gold Corp. (TSXV: MAU) is a Canadian-listed company focused on becoming a premier multi-asset African gold producer, with its flagship Koné project, located in Côte d’Ivoire, at the forefront. Based on the Feasibility Study published in 2024, the Koné project ranks as one of the highest quality gold projects in Africa with a long 16-year mine life, low AISC of $998/oz over its life of mine, and sizeable annual production of +300koz of gold over the first 8 years. Over the course of 2024, the management team will be leveraging their extensive track record in developing projects in Africa to progress the Koné project towards a construction launch, thereby unlocking significant value for all its stakeholders.
TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE
The Koné and Gbongogo Main Mineral Resource Estimates were carried out by Mr. Jonathon Abbott of Matrix Resource Consultants of Perth, Western Australia, who is considered to be independent of Montage Gold. Mr. Abbott is a member in good standing of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the commodity, style of mineralization under consideration and activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under NI 43–101.
The Mineral Reserve Estimate was carried out by Ms. Joeline McGrath of Carci Mining Consultants Ltd., who is considered to be independent of Montage Gold. Ms. McGrath is a member in good standing of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and has sufficient experience which is relevant to the work which she is undertaking to qualify as a Qualified Person under NI 43–101.
For further details of the data verification undertaken, exploration undertaken and associated QA/QC programs, and the interpretation thereof, and the assumptions, parameters and methods used to develop the Mineral Reserve Estimate for the Koné Gold Project, please see the UFS, entitled “Koné Gold Project, Côte d’Ivoire Updated Feasibility Study National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report” and filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Readers are encouraged to read the UFS in its entirety, including all qualifications, assumptions and exclusions that relate to the details summarized in this news release. The UFS is intended to be read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context.
QUALIFIED PERSONS STATEMENT
The scientific and technical contents of this press release have been approved by Hugh Stuart, BSc, MSc, a Qualified Person pursuant to NI 43-101. Mr. Stuart is the President and a Director of the Company, a Chartered Geologist and a Fellow of the Geological Society of London.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation (collectively, “Forward-looking Statements”). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, constitute Forward-looking Statements. Words such as “will”, “intends”, “proposed” and “expects” or similar expressions are intended to identify Forward-looking Statements. Forward looking Statements in this press release include statements related to the use of proceeds from the Offering; the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange; the Company’s mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates; the timing and amount of future production from the Koné Gold Project; expectations with respect AISC of the Koné Gold Project; anticipated mine life of the Koné Gold Project; and expected recoveries and grades of the Koné Gold Project. Forward-looking Statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations include uncertainties inherent in the preparation of mineral reserve and resource estimates and definitive feasibility studies such as the Mineral Reserve Estimate and the UFS, including but not limited to, assumptions underlying the production estimates not being realized, incorrect cost assumptions, unexpected variations in quantity of mineralized material, grade or recovery rates, unexpected changes to geotechnical or hydrogeological considerations, unexpected failures of plant, equipment or processes, unexpected changes to availability of power or the power rates, failure to maintain permits and licenses, higher than expected interest or tax rates, adverse changes in project parameters, unanticipated delays and costs of consulting and accommodating rights of local communities, environmental risks inherent in the Côte d’Ivoire, title risks, including failure to renew concessions, unanticipated commodity price and exchange rate fluctuations, risks relating to COVID-19, delays in or failure to receive access agreements or amended permits, and other risk factors set forth in the Company’s 2022 AIF under the heading “Risk Factors”. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any Forward-looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Montage to predict all of them, or assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any Forward-looking Statement. Any Forward-looking Statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
NON-GAAP MEASURES
This press release includes certain terms or performance measures commonly used in the mining industry that are not defined under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), including cash costs and AISC (or “all-in sustaining costs”) per payable ounce of gold sold and per tonne processed and mining, processing and operating costs reported on a unit basis. Non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and, therefore, they may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies. The Company discloses “cash costs” and “all-in sustaining costs” and other unit costs because it understands that certain investors use this information to determine the Company’s ability to generate earnings and cash flows for use in investing and other activities. The Company believes that conventional measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS, do not fully illustrate the ability of mines to generate cash flows. The measures, as determined under IFRS, are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flows from operating activities. The measures cash costs and all-in sustaining costs and unit costs are considered to be key indicators of a project’s ability to generate operating earnings and cash flows. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS and are not necessarily indicative of operating costs, operating profit or cash flows presented under IFRS. Readers should also refer to our management’s discussion and analysis, available under our corporate profile at www.sedarplus.ca for a more detailed discussion of how we calculate such measures.
SOURCE Montage Gold Corp