Galane Gold Ltd. Announces an Update of the 2014 Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Summit Mine and Banner Mill

TORONTO, June 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Galane Gold Ltd. (“Galane Gold” or the Company”) (TSX-V: GG; OTCQB: GGGOF) announces it has completed an update of the 2014 preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) on the Summit Mine and Banner Mill (collectively, “Summit”).

Galane has developed a more detailed mine plan for Summit (assisted by a new survey of the underground mine), changed the mining and trucking operations to owner operator, completed a detailed analysis of the plant restart requirements and updated all the operating costs relating to Summit. The key results of the updated PEA based on the current known resources are:^{1, 2}

• A 7-year mine life;
• Average annual production of:
  • 9,500 ounces of gold
  • 444,000 ounces of silver
  • 14,700 ounces of gold equivalent production;³
• Capital cost of US$13.4 million;
• Peak funding requirement of US$8.2 million;
• Project payback in 26 months;
• Pre-tax NPV (5%) of US$66.4 million; and
• All-in sustaining cash cost of US$864 per ounce of gold.

Nick Brodie, CEO of Galane Gold, commented “Galane Gold’s management team, as they did with our Galaxy property, has worked extensively with the information available to it including several site visits, a review of historical paper records, a re-survey of the Summit mine, and a detailed restart review of the Banner Mill, and has identified efficiency improvements to the previous operations. From this, the Company has built a comprehensive mine plan, robust financial model and a short-term path to production for Summit.

To maximize the return to stakeholders, we have moved to an owner operator model for the underground mining and trucking to the plant, and have increased the size of the plant so that it can produce 100% concentrate as the final product. These are steps we already carried out at Galaxy and therefore we have the right management team available to successfully implement this plan.

The PEA results represent a positive outcome with the all-in sustaining cost of US$864 per ounce placing the operation firmly within our objective of building a gold mining company with low cost operations that can generate positive cash flows through commodity cycles.⁴ The current life of Summit is only constrained by the known resource and, as we have done repeatedly at both Mupane and Galaxy, we expect that as we progress, we will extend life at depth through exploration.⁴

We are now progressing conversations with debt providers and potential concentrate off-takers to put a financing package together to restart the operations at Summit as soon as possible and will update the market when appropriate on our progress.⁴”

Notes

¹ The PEA is an update of the economic model provided by Waterton Precious Metals Fund II Cayman, the previous owner of Summit, to the Company with an effective date of September 17, 2014, which was included in the "Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment, Summit Gold-Silver Project, Grant and Hidalgo Counties, New Mexico", prepared by Douglas F. Irving, P.E., Susan C. Bird, P.Eng., and Tracey D. Meintjes, P. Eng. of Chapman, Wood and Griswold, Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico (the “Technical Report”). The PEA has been updated by the creation of a new mine plan, updated costings, revised off-take terms and updated metal prices. Please see Appendix 1 and 2 for further details.
² The updated PEA is preliminary in nature, and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty that the updated PEA will be realized.
³ Based on US$1,850 per ounce of gold and US$22 per ounce of silver
⁴ This is forward-looking information and is based on a number of assumptions. See “Cautionary Notes”.

About Galane Gold

Galane Gold is an un-hedged gold producer and explorer with mining operations and exploration tenements South Africa and New Mexico. Galane Gold is a public company and its shares are quoted on the TSX Venture Exchange (“TSXV”) under the symbol “GG” and the OTCQB under the symbol “GGGOF”. Galane Gold’s management team is comprised of senior mining professionals with extensive experience in managing mining and processing operations and large-scale exploration programmes. Galane Gold is committed to operating at world-class standards and is focused on the safety of its employees, respecting the environment, and contributing to the communities in which it operates.

Cautionary Notes

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute “forward-looking statements”. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company being able to implement its plans to bring Summit into production, maximizing shareholder returns, production at and life of Summit, financing available to restart operations at Summit, technical, financial and business prospects of the Company, future financial position and results of operations, strategy, proposed acquisitions, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “believe”, “expect”, “aim”, “intend”, “plan”, “continue”, “will”, “may”, “would”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “forecast”, “predict”, “project”, “seek”, “should” or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements.

Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to: the Company’s dependence on two mineral projects; gold price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company’s mining activities in South Africa and New Mexico; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to the Company’s exploration, development and mining activities being situated in South Africa and New Mexico; risks relating to reliance on the Company’s management team and outside contractors; risks regarding mineral resources and reserves; the Company’s inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks arising from the Company’s fair value estimates with respect to the carrying amount of mineral interests; mining tax regimes; risks arising from holding derivative instruments; the Company’s need to replace reserves depleted by production; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of COVID-19; the economic and financial implications of COVID-19 to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; lack of infrastructure; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; health risks in Africa; the Company’s interactions with surrounding communities and artisanal miners; the Company’s ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; risks related to restarting production; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; development of the Company’s exploration properties into commercially viable mines; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; risks related to the market perception of junior gold companies; and litigation risk. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law.

Information of a technical and scientific nature that forms the basis of the disclosure in the press release has been prepared and approved by Kevin Crossling Pr. Sci. Nat., MAusIMM. and Business Development Manager for Galane Gold, and a “qualified person” as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Crossling has relied on information included in the Technical Report, which was prepared by an advisory company that offers a wide range of exploration, mining, management, valuation, financing and advisory services (the "Author"). The Technical Report relies on historical drilling and sampling. The Author used information relating to operational methods and expectations provided to it by various sources. The Technical Report provides that: (a) the historical mineral resource model is based on available sampling data collected over the history of the project area; (b) the grade models were verified using visual and statistical methods and deemed to be globally unbiased; (c) the blocks were classified into historical mineral resource categories based on the variogam parameters and restrictions on the number of composites and drill holes used in each pass of the interpolation; (d) only the historical mineral resources lying within the legal boundaries are reported; and (e) no modifying factors were applied to the historical in-situ mineral resources.

Neither the TSXV nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information please contact:
Nick Brodie
CEO, Galane Gold Ltd.
+ 44 7905 089878
[e-mail]
www.GalaneGold.com

Appendix 1: Detailed summary of annual production numbers

		Yr 1	Yr 2	Yr 3	Yr 4	Yr 5	Yr 6	Yr 7		LOM
										TOTAL
	US measurements
Total Primary development	Ft	675	2,715	3,500	3,960	2,900	-	-		13,750
Total Secondary development	Ft	459	702	909	747	1,419	1,100	644		5,980
Total Primary Waste development	Ft	260	1,550	2,160	2,760	1,440	-	-		8,170
Total Primary Waste development	t	4,680	27,900	38,880	49,680	25,920	-	-		147,060
Total Secondary Waste development	Ft	-	-	210	75	320	-	-		605
Total Secondary Waste development	t	-	-	1,145	409	654	-	-		2,207
Total Primary Reef development	Ft	415	1,165	1,340	1,200	1,460	-	-		5,580
Total Primary Reef development	t	7,470	20,970	24,120	21,600	26,280	-	-		100,440
Total Primary Reef development grade Au	Oz/dst	0.05	0.09	0.08	0.10	0.12	0.00	0.00		0.09
Total Primary Reef development grade Ag	Oz/dst	3.78	4.32	3.66	6.39	5.31	0.00	0.00		4.83
Total Secondary Reef development	Ft	459.0	702.0	699.0	672.0	1,099.0	1,100.0	644.0		5,375
Total Secondary Reef development	t	2,502	3,826	3,810	3,662	5,990	5,995	3,510		29,294
Total Primary Reef development grade Au	Oz/dst	0.08	0.09	0.13	0.11	0.09	0.14	0.13		0.11
Total Primary Reef development grade Ag	Oz/dst	4.66	4.70	4.20	3.68	4.57	6.46	3.97		4.75
Total Stoping	t	16,194	70,988	93,476	101,899	105,028	129,813	128,235		645,635
Total Primary Reef development grade Au	Oz/dst	0.08	0.09	0.10	0.11	0.09	0.14	0.13		0.11
Total Primary Reef development grade Ag	Oz/dst	4.03	4.64	4.39	3.93	3.47	8.40	5.46		5.21
Total Reef	t	26,166	95,784	121,406	127,162	137,297	135,808	131,745		775,368
Total Reef grade Au	Oz/dst	0.07	0.09	0.10	0.11	0.10	0.14	0.13		0.11
Total Reef grade Ag	Oz/dst	4.02	4.57	4.24	4.34	3.87	8.31	5.42		5.14
Total Reef Ounces Au	Oz	1,804	8,752	11,728	13,791	13,212	19,114	16,924		85,324
Total Reef Ounces Ag	Oz	105,082	438,105	514,339	552,205	531,929	1,128,677	714,466		3,984,804
Total Reef Ounces Recovered Au	Oz	1,407	6,827	9,148	10,757	10,306	14,909	13,200		66,553
Total Reef Ounces Recovered Ag	Oz	81,964	341,722	401,185	430,720	414,905	880,368	557,284		3,108,147

Appendix 2: Detailed cash flow model with key assumptions
All pricing is based on actual quotes or current costs with the assumption on usage based on historic actual production.

					Yr 1		Yr 2	Yr 3	Yr 4	Yr 5	Yr 6	Yr 7		LOM
														TOTAL
Revenue
Mass Pull	1	%
Flot Recovery Au	78	%
Flot Recovery Ag	78	%
Conc Tons					262		958	1,214	1,272	1,373	1,358	1,317		7,754
Conc Grade Au					5.38		7.13	7.53	8.46	7.51	10.98	10.02		8.58
Conc Grade Au					167		222	234	263	233	341	312		267.0
Conc Grade Ag					2,960.55		4,311.67	4,500.51	4,737.51	4,733.85	7,117.26	4,967.00		5,042.99
Conc Au Oz					1,407		6,827	9,148	10,757	10,306	14,909	13,200		66,553
Conc Ag Oz					81,964		341,722	401,185	430,720	414,905	880,368	557,284		3,108,147
														-
	Metal Price		Concentrate payable											-
Au	1,850		97	%	2,524,630		12,250,479	16,415,399	19,303,319	18,493,411	26,754,113	23,688,009		119,429,359
Ag	22		97	%	1,749,108		7,292,348	8,561,282	9,191,567	8,854,066	18,787,056	11,892,437		66,327,865
Total Revenue					4,273,738		19,542,827	24,976,681	28,494,886	27,347,477	45,541,169	35,580,446		185,757,224
Mining Cost
Mining Contractor/Owner					1,314,409		4,017,040	4,570,800	4,760,217	4,308,826	1,580,160	1,375,800		21,927,251
Fuel					131,410		444,440	563,324	590,030	637,060	630,148	611,298		3,607,709
Labour					592,500		790,000	790,000	790,000	790,000	790,000	790,000		5,332,500
Safety					26,951		98,658	125,048	130,976	141,416	139,882	135,698		798,629
Consultants Monthly					160,000		240,000	240,000	240,000	240,000	240,000	240,000		1,600,000
Plant Cost
Power					133,617		379,306	480,768	503,560	543,697	537,799	521,711		3,100,458
Fuel					15,176		55,555	70,416	73,754	79,632	78,769	76,412		449,714
Trucking					553,005		1,792,704	2,197,609	2,288,565	2,448,743	2,425,204	2,361,003		14,066,833
Labour					300,026		763,732	910,000	910,000	910,000	910,000	900,182		5,603,940
Reagents Etc					570,535		1,973,158	2,500,964	2,619,528	2,828,325	2,797,641	2,713,953		16,004,104
Conc treatment Charge	275.00		Per t		71,956		263,407	333,867	349,694	377,568	373,472	362,300		2,132,263
Refining Charge Gold	10.00		Per t		13,647		66,219	88,732	104,342	99,964	144,617	128,043		645,564
Refining Charge Silver	1.25		Per t		99,381		414,338	486,436	522,248	503,072	1,067,446	675,707		3,768,629
Admin
Labour					305,000		610,000	610,000	610,000	610,000	610,000	457,500		3,812,500
Safety& Environmental					13,500		18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000		121,500
Permits					13,500		18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000	18,000		121,500
Total Cost					4,314,613		11,944,556	14,003,964	14,528,914	14,554,303	12,361,138	11,385,607		83,093,095
Operating Cash Flow					(40,875	)	7,598,270	10,972,717	13,965,972	12,793,175	33,180,031	24,194,839		102,664,129
NM severence tax	0.20			%	8,152		37,605	48,067	54,991	52,562	88,881	69,050		359,306
NSR Royalty	0.50			%	20,379		94,011	120,166	137,477	131,405	222,202	172,625		898,265
Carson	0.18			%	7,337		33,844	43,260	49,492	47,306	79,993	62,145		323,376
Summit royalty after cap	5.0			%	203,794		940,114	981,092	-	-	-	-		2,125,000
Total royalties					239,662		1,105,574	1,192,584	241,959	231,272	391,076	303,819		3,705,947
FCF after Royalties					(280,537	)	6,492,696	9,780,133	13,724,013	12,561,902	32,788,955	23,891,020		98,958,182
CAPEX
Mining - standard					1,095,650		24,150	24,150	24,150	24,150	-	204,150		1,396,400
Mining - owner					5,261,250		-	-	1,315,313	-	1,052,250	-		7,628,813
Exploration					79,016		333,742	548,290	572,129	572,129	500,612	55,177		2,661,094
Plant					547,588		25,000	-	-	-	-	-		572,588
Admin					55,000		-	-	-	-	-	-		55,000
Rehab					-		-	-	-	-	-	-		-
Trucking					489,000		326,000	-	150,000	-	100,000	-		1,065,000
Total CAPEX					7,527,504		708,892	572,440	2,061,591	596,279	1,652,862	259,327		13,378,895
FCF after CAPEX					(7,808,042	)	5,783,804	9,207,693	11,662,422	11,965,624	31,136,093	23,631,693		85,579,287
Au equivalent payable					2,310		10,564	13,501	15,403	14,782	24,617	19,233		100,409
AISC					1,971		1,235	1,126	959	1,000	518	608		864