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Montage Gold Corp. Company Data
| Introduction
| Projects in Hand
| Management
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 has an estimated 16-year mine life, low AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost) 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 Montage 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. Montage's Strategy Focused on creating a premier African gold producer
Koné Project Provides a foundation upon which to build a major gold company
Koné Gold Project, Côte d'Ivoire The Koné Gold Project is located approximately 350 kilometres north-west of Yamoussoukro, the political capital of Côte d'Ivoire, and approximately 600 kilometres north-west of Abidjan, the commercial capital of the country. The Project is ideally situated near existing infrastructure and is accessible year-round via asphalt road and has access to ample water resources. The Koné project ranks as one of the highest quality gold projects in Africa given its sizeable low-cost production and long mine life. Significant Exploration Potential One of the largest gold projects by land area in West Africa
Diouma North Target
Petit Yao Target
Lokolo Target
Sissédougou Target
Yeré North Target
Koné Project Latest Development:
Koné Project Next Steps:
Attractive Investment Proposition Strong re-rating potential as the Montage strategy is executed Short-Term Value Creation: Unlocking the Koné Project
Long-Term Value Creation:
Leadership Team & Directors Martino De Ciccio, CFA, Chief Executive Officer Over 15 years experience in mining industry with extensive understanding of African mining landscape Former Deputy CFO and Head of Investor Relations for Endeavour Mining Peder Olsen, President & Chief Development Officer Over 15 years experience in project development, operational and technical roles Formerly held senior positions with Endeavour Mining Played key leadership role in Construction of Houndé, Ity, Agbaou and Nzema Constant Tia, CPA, M.Sc, Chief Financial Officer Over 18 years in Finance Ivorian national with profound understanding of West African region 14-year career at Kinross Gold Formerly Regional CFO for Africa and Chile Regions for Kinross Silvia Bottero, M.Sc, Geo, MBA, Executive Vice President of Exploration Over 20 years in exploration Most recently SVP Exploration at Endeavour Mining Has made over 15Moz of gold discoveries in Côte d'Ivoire Extensive permitting, public affairs and ESG experience Pierre N'Guessan, Mining Eng., Senior Advisor, Government Relations 38 years in mining industry Former head of mining permits department within Ministry of Mines, Côte d'Ivoire for 10 years Former technical and site manager at Ity gold mine Former public affairs manager at Endeavour Mining Board of Directors Ron Hochstein, Independent Chairman Alessandro Bitelli, Independent Director David Field, Independent Director Anu Dhir, Independent Director Richard P. Clark, Non-Independent Director Martino De Ciccio, Non-Independent Director On January 08, 2025, The TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation pertaining to an arm's-length investment agreement, between Montage Gold Corp. and an arm's-length party, Sanu Gold Corp. Pursuant to the agreement, the company acquired a 19.9-per-cent ownership interest in Sanu. As consideration for the acquisition, the company issued 2,337,921 common shares to Sanu. Further, the company entered into an investor rights agreement (IRA) with Sanu, which includes certain participation rights, board nomination rights and right of first refusal over certain assets. The IRA will persist so long as the company holds at least 10 per cent of the issued and outstanding common shares of Sanu, with the right of first refusal expiring when the company holds no common shares of Sanu. For further details, please refer to the company's news releases dated Dec. 2, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024. On December 31, 2024, Montage Gold Corp. has closed its previously announced strategic partnership with Sanu Gold Corp., obtaining a 19.9-per-cent interest in Sanu. The strategic partnership transaction consists of a share exchange transaction between Montage and Sanu consisting of the issuance to Montage of 76,307,155 common shares of Sanu at price of 7.2 cents per Sanu common share, and the issuance to Sanu of 2,337,921 common shares of Montage at a price per share of $2.35 per Montage common share. Concurrently, Sanu completed a non-brokered private placement of 63,351,344 Sanu common shares (including pursuant to participation rights of AngloGold Ashanti PLC) for gross proceeds of $4,561,297. The Montage common shares issued to Sanu and the Sanu common shares issued to Montage in the exchange transaction are subject to a four-month hold period that expires on May 1, 2025. Sanu expects to use the net proceeds of the offering to advance exploration, including geophysics and drilling on Sanu's Daina, Diguifara and Bantabaye gold exploration permits in Guinea, West Africa, and for general and administrative purposes. On December 27, 2024, Montage Gold Corp. has closed and subsequently drawn the $75-million (U.S.) fully redeemable subordinated gold stream with Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. (through its subsidiary and non-operating division). The Zijin stream forms part of the $825-million (U.S.) financing package announced on Oct. 23, 2024. The Zijin stream proceeds will be allocated toward the construction of Montage's Kone project in Ivory Coast, for which the construction launch was announced on Dec. 18, 2024. The first gold production is scheduled for Q2 2027, with significant progress already being made as early works are well under way and major construction works are set to commence in the coming weeks, once further construction equipment arrives to site. On December 18, 2024, Montage Gold Corp. announced that it has launched the construction of its Koné project in Côte d’Ivoire (“Koné” or the “Project”) with first gold production scheduled for Q2-2027. To mark this significant milestone, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at Koné today with a strong presence from government officials and local communities, demonstrating their support for the project given its significant social and economic benefits. Significant progress is being made to rapidly advance and derisk the project as early works are well underway and major construction works are set to commence in the coming weeks, once further construction equipment arrives to site. The engineering, procurement and construction management (“EPCM”) contract has been awarded to Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd (“Lycopodium”), with a number of tasks to be self-performed by Montage’s experienced in-house construction team which already totals approximately 350 people. Montage, together with Lycopodium, have completed a comprehensive engineering review of Montage’s Updated Feasibility Study (“UFS”) published in January 2024 which has resulted in the optimization of several key design parameters to enhance the crushing and milling circuit and improve the efficiency of the overall operation. The project is fully funded with significant headroom with upfront capex expected to be US$835 million while Montage has in excess of US$900 million in liquidity sources. Martino De Ciccio, CEO of Montage, commented: “We are very pleased to announce the commencement of construction at the Koné project in Côte d'Ivoire, marking a significant milestone in our journey to becoming a premier African gold producer and the culmination of this year’s efforts. Our ability to rapidly advance the project is driven by the strong partnerships we have built, based on a win-win approach, with local stakeholders, strategic investors, financiers, suppliers, and contractors. We are also grateful for the dedication of our experienced management team, and we thank everyone involved for their commitment. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue unlocking value for all our stakeholders by advancing our construction efforts, while also creating value through exploration and by expanding our focus on social, health, education, and economic programmes for our local communities.” On December 02, 2024, Montage Gold Corp. has entered into a strategic partnership with Sanu Gold Corp. given its highly attractive exploration properties in Guinea, obtaining a 19.9-per-cent interest in Sanu through the issuance of 2.3 million basic shares of Montage equating to $5.5-million, joining existing strategic investor AngloGold Ashanti PLC, which acquired a 14.0-per-cent stake in Sanu in September, 2024. Montage will be investing alongside the Lundin family and their associates who will obtain a 10.0-per-cent interest in Sanu by participating in the non-brokered private placement with an investment of $2.7-million. Through the offering, Sanu will obtain aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $10.0-million based on a share issuance price of 7.2 cents. Montage management and certain insiders also intend to participate in the offering. Martino De Ciccio, chief executive officer of Montage, commented: "We are very pleased to form a strategic partnership with Sanu Gold, owner of a highly prospective exploration portfolio in Guinea's Siguiri basin, which will allow Montage to leverage Sanu's established presence in the country to accelerate its greenfield exploration strategy. Furthermore, we are pleased to invest alongside the Lundin family and existing shareholders such as AngloGold Ashanti. Based on our prudent capital allocation framework, our strategic investment follows a thorough review of potential partnerships in West Africa in addition to technical due diligence. We look forward to working alongside the Sanu team to rapidly unlock exploration value for the benefit of all stakeholders. "We continue to be pleased with the strong momentum generated across our business and look forward to unlocking significant exploration value at our flagship Kone project, in addition to sourcing future growth through greenfield exploration success. In line with this objective and further to evaluating strategic partnerships, we have also made considerable progress to stake highly prospective exploration grounds in Cote d'Ivoire to reinforce our presence in the country and leverage the expertise of our well-established exploration team." On November 05, 2024, Montage Gold Corp. has implemented a revenue protection program with the goal of securing significant margins to enhance its financial flexibility and achieve its strategic objectives at the onset of production from its Kone project. Martino De Ciccio, chief executive officer of Montage, commented: "We are pleased to complement our recently secured financing package with the successful execution of our revenue protection program which takes advantage of unprecedented put option pricing. By entering into put options, we have secured a minimum gold price of $2,500 (U.S.) on 400,000 ounces over the 2027-2028 period while retaining full upside to the gold price. As prudent allocators of capital, this program positions us well to generate significant margins and deliver on our strategic objectives for the benefit of all stakeholders." The voluntary revenue protection program consists of the purchase of 400,000 ounces of put options at a strike price of $2,500 (U.S.), for a total cash consideration of $52.7-million (U.S.), equally spread every month across the January, 2027, to September, 2028, period, which can be cash or physically settled. On October 23, 2024, Montage Gold Corp. has entered into final documentation with both Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.) and Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. (through its subsidiary and non-operating division) with respect to an aggregate $825-million (U.S.) financing package to finance the development of its flagship Kone project in Ivory Coast, which is set to become West Africa's next sizable, long-life, low production-cost gold mine. The financing package is well aligned with Montage's goal of obtaining significant financial and strategic flexibility while minimizing equity dilution. Martino De Ciccio, chief executive officer of Montage, commented: "Today's announced $825-million (U.S.) funding package for the construction of our flagship Kone project in Cote d'Ivoire provides significant funding headroom, ahead of launching our construction, as it increases our liquidity sources to approximately $970-million (U.S.). Moreover, it is the culmination of an exhaustive financing process which generated strong interest given the high-quality nature of our project coupled with management's proven construction track record. "This funding package is well aligned with our goal of pursuing the optimal financing solution, which maximizes key valuation per share metrics, by considering both the cost of capital and equity dilution, alongside other important considerations such as retaining exploration upside and maintaining significant strategic, financial and operating flexibility. "Furthermore, we are extremely pleased to have concluded our financing through the formation of strategic partnerships with both Wheaton and Zijin, who share our vision of creating a premier African gold producer. With the financing milestone now achieved, we look forward to soon launching the construction of our Kone project, which is set to become West Africa's next sizable, long-life, low-production-cost gold mine, and poised to unlock value for all stakeholders." October 7, 2024, Montage Gold Sets Short-Term Discovery Target of More Than 1 Million Ounces of Higher-Grade M&I Resources https://www.montagegold.com/_resources/news/2024/nr-20241007.pdf?v=0.1 August 14, 2024, Montage Gold closes C$180-million private placement https://www.montagegold.com/_resources/news/2024/2024-08-14.pdf July 17, 2024, Montage Gold Upsizes Brokered Private Placement to C$180M https://www.montagegold.com/news/montage-gold-upsizes-brokered-private-placement-to-c180m |
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