Condor Gold PLC Grant of Options - Correction (4080F)

TIDMCNR

RNS Number : 4080F

Condor Gold PLC

07 July 2023

 
              Condor Gold plc 
         7/8 Innovation Place 
                Douglas Drive 
                    Godalming 
                       Surrey 
                      GU7 1JX 
 
    Tel: [phone] 
 

7 July 2023

Condor Gold Plc

("Condor" or the "Company")

Grant of Options

Condor Gold plc, (AIM: CNR; TSX: COG) announces that on 6 July 2023 (the "Grant Date") it granted 4,600,000 share options, representing 2.45% of the issued share capital (the "2023 Options") under the Company's existing Share Option Scheme ("Share Option Scheme").

The grant of the 2023 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 2023 Options were granted to:

 
 Mark Child                                                      1,250,000 
  Jim Mellon                         CEO                          300,000 
  Kate Harcourt                       Chairman                    300,000 
  Andrew Cheatle                      Non-Executive Director      300,000 
  Ian Stalker                         Non-Executive Director      300,000 
  Denham Eke                          Non-Executive Director      300,000 
  Andrew Pearce                       Non-Executive Director      300,000 
  David Crawford                      CFO                         200,000 
  Other employees and consultants     Chief Technical Officer     1,350,000 
 

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 2023 Options, 200,000 were awarded through the EMI Scheme.

The 2023 Options have an exercise price of GBP0.23 pence per share, equal to the closing price on AIM on 6 July 2023 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 2023 Options outlined above, the total share options outstanding will represent 10.49% of the total number of 187,457,491 ordinary shares in issue, this number includes the 6,666,667 new ordinary shares allotted and to be issued to Galloway Limited (See RNS 4 July 2023).

- Ends -

For further information please visit www.condorgold.com or contact:

 
Condor Gold plc             Mark Child, CEO 
                             [phone] 
Beaumont Cornish Limited     Roland Cornish and James Biddle 
                              [phone] 
SP Angel Corporate Finance  Ewan Leggat 
 LLP                         [phone] 
H&P Advisory Limited        Andrew Chubb, Matt Hasson, Jay Ashfield 
                             [phone] 
Adelaide Capital (Investor  Deborah Honig 
 Relations)                  [phone] 
 

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.

The Company's principal asset is La India Project, Nicaragua, which comprises of a large, highly prospective land package of 588 sq km comprising of 12 contiguous and adjacent concessions. The Company has filed a feasibility study technical report dated 25 October 2022 and entitled "Condor Gold Technical Report on the La India Gold Project, Nicaragua, 2022" (the " 2022 FS ") which is available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and was prepared in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. The 2022 FS indicated that La India Project hosts a high grade Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") of 9,672 kt at 3.5g/t gold for 1,088,000 oz gold in the indicated mineral resource category and 8,642 kt at 4.3 g/t gold for 1,190,000 oz gold in the inferred mineral resource category. The open pit MRE is 8,693 kt at 3.2 g/t gold for 893,000 oz gold in the indicated mineral resource category and 3,026 kt at 3.0 g/t gold for 291,000 oz gold in the inferred mineral resource category. Total underground MRE is 979 kt at 6.2 g/t gold for 94,000 oz gold in the indicated mineral resource category and 5,615 kt at 5.0 g/t gold for 98,000 oz gold in the inferred mineral resource category.

The 2022 FS replaces the previously reported Preliminary Economic Assessment (" PEA ") as presented in the Technical Report filed on SEDAR in October 2021 as the current technical report for the La India project.

The 2021 PEA considered the expanded Project inclusive of the exploitation of the Mineral Resources associated to the La India, Mestiza, America and Central Breccia deposits. The strategic study covers two scenarios: Scenario A, in which the mining is undertaken from four open pits, termed La India, America, Mestiza and Central Breccia Zone ("CBZ"), which targets a plant feed rate of 1.225 million tonnes per annum ("Mtpa"); and Scenario B, where the mining is extended to include three underground operations at La India, America and Mestiza, in which the processing rate is increased to 1.4 Mtpa. The 2021 PEA Scenario B 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 2021 PEA Scenario A presented a post-tax, post upfront capital expenditure NPV of US$302 million, with an IRR of 58% and 12 month pay-back period, assuming a US$1,700 per oz gold price, with average annual production of approximately 120,000 oz gold per annum for the initial 6 years of gold production. The Mineral Resource estimate and associated Preliminary Economic Assessment contained in the 2021 PEA are considered a historical estimate within the meaning of NI 43-101, a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify such historical estimate as current, 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. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 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.

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: the issuance of the Payment Shares, including the receipt of the approvals of AIM and the TSX; future development and production plans, projected capital and operating costs, mine life and production rates, metal or mineral recovery estimates, Mineral Resource, Mineral Reserve estimates at the La India Project, the potential to convert Mineral Resources into Mineral Reserves, the Company's plans to sell the assets of the Company or seek alternatives to an asset sale and the construction timeline of the La India project upon receipt of financing. 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.

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July 07, 2023 12:44 ET (16:44 GMT)