| Condor Gold plc 7/8 Innovation Place Douglas Drive Godalming Surrey GU7 1JX
|
13 September 2022
Condor Gold Plc
("Condor", "Condor Gold" or the "Company")
Grant of Options
Condor Gold plc, (AIM: CNR; TSX: COG) announces that on 13 September 2022 (the "Grant Date") it granted 4,200,000 share options, representing 2.65% of the issued share capital (the "2022 Options") under the Company's existing Share Option Scheme ("Share Option Scheme").
The grant of the 2022 Options was recommended by the remuneration committee and approved and by the Board as part of the Share Option Scheme, whereby options are granted annually as an incentive to Directors, employees and consultants. The 2022 Options were granted to:
Mark Child Jim Mellon Kate Harcourt Andrew Cheatle Ian Stalker David Crawford Other employees and consultants
| Chairman and CEO Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director Non-Executive Director Chief Technical Officer
| 1,250,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 300,000 340,000 1,410,000 |
In August 2018 the Company established an Enterprise Management Incentive Scheme (the "EMI Scheme") as a sub-plan within the framework and in accordance with the rules of the Share Option Scheme. The EMI Scheme is open only to employees of Condor Gold plc who are UK tax resident. Of the 2022 Options, 100,000 were awarded through the EMI Scheme.
The 2022 Options have an exercise price of 28.5 pence per share, equal to the closing price on AIM on 12 September 2022 and are exercisable for a period of 5 years from the Grant Date, with the restriction that no options can be exercised within 12 months of the Grant Date, only up to 50% of the said options can be exercised in the following 12 months and thereafter, 100% of the said options can be exercisable, provided that the grantee remains with the Company.
Following the grant of the 2022 Options outlined above, the total share options outstanding will represent 10.12% of the 158,629,530 ordinary shares in issue.
- Ends -
For further information please visit www.condorgold.com or contact:
Condor Gold plc | Mark Child, Chairman and CEO +44 (0) 20 7493 2784 | |
Beaumont Cornish Limited | Roland Cornish and James Biddle +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 | |
SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP | Ewan Leggat | |
H&P Advisory Limited | Andrew Chubb and Nilesh Patel +44 207 907 8500 | |
| | |
About Condor Gold plc:
Condor Gold plc was admitted to AIM in May 2006 and dual listed on the TSX in January 2018. The Company is a gold exploration and development company with a focus on Nicaragua.
In line with the CIM Code, a NI 43-101 compliant Technical Report summarising the results of the 2022 FS will replace the previously reported Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") as presented in the Technical Report filed on SEDAR in October 2021. The 2022 FS Technical Report will be issued within 45 days of this announcement.
The previous Preliminary Economic Assessment reported on the 25 October 2021 Condor considered the expanded Project inclusive of the exploitation of the Mineral Resources associated to the La India, Mestiza, America and Central Breccia deposits. The 2021 PEA presented a post-tax, post upfront capital expenditure NPV of US$418 million, with an IRR of 54% and 12 month pay-back period, assuming a US$1,700 per oz gold price, with average annual production of 150,000 oz gold per annum for the initial 9 years of gold production. The open pit mine schedules were optimised from designed pits, bringing higher grade gold forward resulting in average annual production of 157,000 oz gold in the first 2 years from open pit material and underground mining funded out of cashflow. The Mineral Resource estimate and associated Preliminary Economic Assessment contained in the 2021 Technical Report is considered a historical estimate within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), and the Company is not treating the historical Mineral Resource estimate and associated studies as current, and the reader is cautioned not to rely upon this data as such. The Company believes that the historical Mineral Resource estimate and Preliminary Economic assessment is relevant to the continuing development of the La India Project.
In August 2018, the Company announced that the Ministry of the Environment in Nicaragua had granted the Environmental Permit ("EP") for the development, construction and operation of a processing plant with capacity to process up to 2,800 tonnes per day at its wholly-owned La India gold Project ("La India Project"). The EP is considered the master permit for mining operations in Nicaragua. Condor has purchased a new SAG Mill, which has mainly arrived in Nicaragua. Site clearance and preparation is at an advanced stage.
Environmental Permits were granted in April and May 2020 for the Mestiza and America open pits respectively, both located close to La India. The Mestiza open pit hosts 92 Kt at a grade of 12.1 g/t gold (36,000 oz contained gold) in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and 341 Kt at a grade of 7.7 g/t gold (85,000 oz contained gold) in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. The America open pit hosts 114 Kt at a grade of 8.1 g/t gold (30,000 oz) in the Indicated Mineral Resource category and 677 Kt at a grade of 3.1 g/t gold (67,000 oz) in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. Following the permitting of the Mestiza and America open pits, together with the La India open pit Condor has 1.12 M oz gold open pit Mineral Resources permitted for extraction.
Disclaimer
Neither the contents of the Company's website nor the contents of any website accessible from hyperlinks on the Company's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement.
Qualified Persons
The technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed, verified and approved by Andrew Cheatle, P.Geo., a director of Condor Gold plc, and Gerald D. Crawford, P.E., the Chief Technical Officer of Condor Gold plc, each of whom is a "qualified person" as defined by NI 43-101.
Technical Information
Certain disclosure contained in this news release of a scientific or technical nature has been reviewed by the Qualified Persons responsible for their respective components of the 2022 FS as defined below:
· On behalf of SRK: Dr Tim Lucks of SRK Consulting (UK) Limited, Mr Fernando Rodrigues and Mr Ben Parsons of SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc., Mr Parsons assumes responsibility for the Mineral Resource Estimate, Mr Fernando Rodrigues for the Mineral Reserve estimate and the open pit mining study and production schedule, and Dr Lucks for the oversight of the remaining SRK technical disciplines.
· On behalf of Hanlon: Mike Rockandel for the Process design and Project Infrastructure and corresponding operating and capital costs;
· On Behalf of Tierra Group: Justin Knudsen P.E. for the tailings waste management and La Simona water attenuation structure design.
Forward Looking Statements
All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are 'forward-looking information' with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements with respect to: future development and production plans, projected capital and operating costs, mine life and production rates, metal or mineral recovery estimates and Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve estimates at the La India Project. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as: "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "strategies", "estimate", "expect", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting", "intends", "believe", "potential", "could", "might", "will" and similar expressions. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made including, among others, assumptions regarding: future commodity prices and royalty regimes; availability of skilled labour; timing and amount of capital expenditures; future currency exchange and interest rates; the impact of increasing competition; general conditions in economic and financial markets; availability of drilling and related equipment; effects of regulation by governmental agencies; the receipt of required permits; royalty rates; future tax rates; future operating costs; availability of future sources of funding; ability to obtain financing and assumptions underlying estimates related to adjusted funds from operations. Many assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Company and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.
Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, risks related to: mineral exploration, development and operating risks; estimation of mineralisation and resources; environmental, health and safety regulations of the resource industry; competitive conditions; operational risks; liquidity and financing risks; funding risk; exploration costs; uninsurable risks; conflicts of interest; risks of operating in Nicaragua; government policy changes; ownership risks; permitting and licencing risks; artisanal miners and community relations; difficulty in enforcement of judgments; market conditions; stress in the global economy; current global financial condition; exchange rate and currency risks; commodity prices; reliance on key personnel; dilution risk; payment of dividends; as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 dated March 29, 2022 and available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.