Ecora Resources PLC Announces Acquisition of Royalty Over Vizcachitas Project

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / July 24, 2023 / Ecora ("Ecora" or the "Group")(LSE:ECOR)(TSX:ECOR)(OTC PINK:ECRAF) announces that is has entered into an agreement to acquire a 0.25% Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty over all metal production from the open pit of the Vizcachitas copper project ("Vizcachitas", "the Project") in Chile, owned by Los Andes Copper Ltd ("Los Andes"), for a total cash consideration of $20 million.

Highlights

· Rare opportunity to acquire a royalty over one of the world's largest undeveloped copper projects located in a well-established mining jurisdiction

· Complements the Group's portfolio of copper royalties which offers short-term growth from West Musgrave and medium-term growth from Santo Domingo and Mantos Blancos Phase II expansion

· 26-year Reserve based mine life¹, with considerable life of mine extension potential

· First quartile position on the global copper cost curve²

· Owner guiding first production in 2029, with the royalty rate stepping up in the event commercial production does not occur prior to 30 June 2030

· Estimated average annual copper production of 183 kt in the first 8 years and an average of 153 kt over the life of the mine

· Project adopts a "sustainability in design" approach and is expected to produce clean copper concentrate with low levels of deleterious materials

· Long-term copper supply and demand dynamics are strong with the energy transition expected to drive copper demand to elevated levels

· Transaction to be funded through a combination of cash at hand and drawing down on the Group's revolving credit facility

Marc Bishop Lafleche, Chief Executive Officer of Ecora, commented:

"The energy transition is expected to drive copper demand to new levels and we are delighted to add Vizcachitas to our growing portfolio of copper royalties. This transaction further complements our copper royalty exposure which is underpinned by a development pipeline poised to deliver continued growth until the middle of the next decade.

"Vizcachitas fits our core investment criteria as a large scale, low cost, and long-life project in an established mining region. Furthermore, we retain the financial flexibility to add further transactions that can similarly enhance our leading portfolio of future facing commodities royalties."

Santiago Montt, CEO of Los Andes, commented:

"We are very pleased to be entering into a new partnership with Ecora. The investment is testament to the superior quality and potential of the Vizcachitas Project and validates the extensive technical work undertaken by the team over many years."