July 9, 2021
Vancouver, British Columbia – July 9, 2021: ALTAIR RESOURCES INC. (“ALTAIR” or the Company”) (TSX-V: AVX; Germany FRA: 90A; ISIN: CA02137W2004; WKN: WKN A2ALMP)
Mr. George S. Young, Chairman & CEO is pleased to announce the signing of a binding agreement (“Agreement”) for the acquisition of two gold producing properties in Eastern and Central Kazakhstan containing a total historic indicated resource of 947,900 oz of gold, open pit and underground, and a total historic inferred resource of 892,600 oz of gold, open pit and underground.
Current aggregate gold production at the two properties is approximately 21,000 ounces of gold per year from the oxide zones of each property.
The reader is cautioned that historical gold resources cannot be relied upon as they need to be confirmed by a Qualified Person through additional sampling, analysis and possibly additional drilling. A National Instrument 43-101 Mineral Estimate Report and a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) on the properties has been commissioned by the company to qualify the Historical Estimate and profile the property characteristics, in preparation for the commissioning of a feasibility study on the expansion of the operations.
The properties will be owned 100% by Altair upon fulfillment of the acquisition payments to be made following the completion of Due Diligence and following the completion of each of the first two years of ongoing operation.
Additionally, a part and parcel financing will be completed in order to fund initial acquisition costs of the properties. Altair will issue 20,000,000 units at $0.11 per unit with one warrant per unit at an exercise price $0.18 for a term of one year. This financing replaces the $0.05 per unit private placement announced on May 26, 2021.
Highlights of the Eastern Kazakhstan property (the “A” gold deposit and the nearby high purity quartz, “B” gold deposit, include the following:
- A December 2020 SRK* “MRE“ JORC report for the “A” deposit showed a total indicated resource of 759,000 oz and a total inferred resource of 807,000 oz of gold, open pit and underground, plus two higher grade shoots with 3g/t Au material, using a 0.3g/t COG.
- The May 2021 SRK* “MRE“ JORC report for the “B” deposit showed a total indicated resource of 188,900 oz and a total inferred resource of 85,600 oz of gold, open pit and underground with an average grade of 1.5g/t Au material, using a 0.3g/t COG.*The SRK reports were prepared for the vendor of the properties, who has consented to this reference to these reports in this press release.
- Current oxide mining is being carried out on the “A” deposit to 40m, which is being processed using conventional heap leach technology.
- Current annual production is 12,000 oz Au, which may be increased to 30,000 oz Au pa with mining of additional oxide deposits in the “A” license.
- The Company has commissioned a NI 43-101 “PEA” for the “A” & “B” properties.
- Exploration potential in the “A” license is very high, with potential for adding of additional ounces at both target areas in strong alteration zones along major controlling structures previously delineated and ready to be soil sampled and drilled.Highlights of the Central Kazakhstan property (the “C” gold deposit), include the following:
- The “C” deposit has an exploration target of 480,000 to 500,000 ounces of gold with a grade of between 1.4g/t and 1.45g/t @ 0.3g/t COG. This is not included in the above stated Indicated and Inferred categories. Altair intends to conduct a drilling program to bring this target to NI 43-101 compliant status.
- “C” is an operating oxide heap leach Au mine, producing 9,000 oz Au pa.
- The mineralization being processed at “C” includes significant free gold with excellent metallurgical properties, currently yielding 70% Au recovery in current test operations in the oxide zone using a gravity circuit, in addition to the heap leach processing.
- Exploration potential at “C” is believed to be excellent, as the existing initial test mining operations are only a small part of a much larger porphyry stockwork system, with Au & Cu geochemical anomalies defined in 2020, east of both existing open cut pits covering areas of 1000m x 800m each, ready to be drill tested to increase the oxide Au resource.
- A large target exists for a 3D IP survey to locate the deeper Cu-Au porphyry stockwork mineralization at depth, for a potential future open cut sulphide operation.
QA/QC work is incomplete for the sulphide zone at “C” and therefore additional drilling must be completed to get to a NI 43-101 compliant resource in that zone. However, significant metallurgical testing completed on the sulphide ore suggests to Altair that there is a clear path to production.
Both the Eastern and Central Kazakhstan properties are currently recovering gold using heap leach technology, with gravity recovery also occurring on the Central property. The acquisition includes the infrastructure and capital facilities of the two gold operations that are both currently delivering gold Doré bars from their respective oxide zones through heap leaching, gravity concentration, and further processing.
All gold production is sold at the LBMA spot price to Samyruk Kazyna, the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Kazakhstan.
Altair’s assessment, through its technical consultant, Core Mining Group Ltd, is that these projects have the potential to generate robust cash flows with additional equipment upgrades, development of the sulphide resources, and Western know-how.
Under the terms of the Agreement, the total consideration consists of:
- USD 75 million on the execution of the proposed transaction, at which time 70% of the ownership shares shall be transferred to Altair Resources Inc.
- USD 15.5 million one year from the execution of the proposed transaction, at which time a further 15% of the ownership shares shall be transferred to Altair Resources Inc.
- USD 15.5 million two years from the execution of the proposed transaction, at which time the remaining ownership shares shall be transferred to Altair Resources Inc.
The in-situ acquisition cost of this gold producing asset is $58 per ounce.
Altair Resources Inc. is in negotiations with a London Private Equity firm for debt financing and has commissioned a NI 43-101 PEA on the “A”, “B” and “C” deposits that is expected to be completed during Q3 2021.
Altair has identified a legal team in Kazakhstan for the legal due diligence, and along with its technical and financial teams, a full due diligence investigation will commence immediately.
The transaction is expected to close on October 1, 2021.
Altair, in conjunction with Core Mining Group Ltd, anticipates achieving the following key metrics:
- Average production of 81,800 ozs per year.
- Year 1 & 2: 36,400 ozs per year.
- Year 3: 80,700 ozs per year.
- Year 4 to 8: 119,700 ozs per year.
- Year 8 onwards: 65,600 ozs.
- AISC: $ 1,140 per oz.
Mr. George S. Young, Chairman & CEO stated, “We are extremely pleased to have entered into this Binding Agreement to acquire two producing gold mines in Kazakhstan with such a sizeable resource base. We are advancing in our discussions with providers of strategic acquisition capital and potential partners for the acquisition and the further development of the sulphide resources, followed by the expansion of the operations. Our plan, along with the development of our recently announced Burkina Faso project, is to implement an aggressive acquisition and development strategy to transform Altair from a junior exploration company to a mid-tier mining company as rapidly as possible.”
An arm’s length finder’s fee may be paid in connection with the transaction.
Information of a technical and scientific nature that forms the basis of the disclosure in this press release has been prepared and approved by Dr. Stewart A Jackson, a Qualified Person, under National Instrument 43-101, and independent consultant of Altair Resources Inc.
About Altair Resources Inc.
Altair is a gold and precious metals exploration company. Altair recently announced the signing of a binding agreement for the purchase of the Marbera 2 permits in Burkina Faso, hosting historic resources of over 1.3 million ounces of gold as shown by over 387,000 meters of drilling and 294,000 samples.
Altair also has rights to acquire a 65-per-cent interest in the Simon gold and silver property located in the state of Nevada. A past producer, the Simon property presents an excellent opportunity for adding value, employing low-cost exploration activities to identify prime drilling sites in six anomalous zones previously identified with gold, silver and copper mineralization. The Simon property lies within the region that hosts the prolific Tonopah district, the Round Mountain gold mine and numerous other successful mining projects.
Altair is also continuing with its consideration and negotiations on other properties. The company is evaluating the potential to acquire producing precious-metal and non-ferrous metal opportunities in North and South America and Africa, in addition to Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
For further information:
George S. Young
Chairman, CEO, Altair Resources Inc.
+1 (806) 886- 3317 [email protected]
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.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the Company. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from the results suggested by the forward-looking statements. In addition, the forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate, that the management’s assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements.
Generally forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as “anticipate”, “will”, “expect”, “may”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “plan”, “potential” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release may include, but are not limited to, the completion of the private placement and the Company receiving regulatory approval to the partial revocation order. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect including, but not limited to, the Company receiving regulatory approval to the private placement and the partial revocation order application.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or the dates specifically referenced in this press release, where applicable. Except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any forward-looking statements that are contained or incorporated in this press release. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
