VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 10/28/14 -- Northern Vertex Mining Corp. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: NEE)(OTCQX: NHVCF) announces that the Company's audited consolidated financial results for the year-ended June 30, 2014 have been filed on SEDAR. The full version of the Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis can be viewed on the Company's website at www.northernvertex.com or on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Financial and Corporate Highlights for the Quarter and Year Ended June 30, 2014
-- For the quarter, net loss of $1.477 million ($0.026 per share) compared
to a net loss of $1.233 million ($0.028 per share) for the same period
last year;
-- Net loss, for the year, of $4.167 million ($0.074 per share) compared to
a net loss of $7.919 million ($0.160 per share) compared to last year;
-- Cash and cash equivalents was $4.053 million at June 30, 2014, down
$3.720 million since June 30, 2013, mainly due to expenditures at the
mine site and partially offset by cash from financing activities;
-- Working capital decreased to $3.098 million at June 30, 2014, compared
to $5.720 million last year;
-- Phase I - Pilot Plant Operations - of the Company's three-phase business
plan was fully implemented enabling the Company to "prove the concept"
of applying heap leach processing technology to the Moss Mine
mineralization; as of September 30, 2014, gold recoveries to dore were
82%, significantly higher than recoveries assumed in the Company's PEA;
-- The Company's safety record was recognized by industry with two
prestigious awards being given to the Company's U.S. Subsidiary, Golden
Vertex Corp. ("Golden Vertex");
-- Exploration work carried out on the Moss vein structure and property
wide indicates potential for new discoveries;
-- The Company leased and acquired an option to "earn-in", to a 100%
interest on the adjacent Silver Creek property; and
-- Cost reduction and cash preservation measures were implemented,
including layoffs and significant senior management salary reductions,
in response to the difficult market conditions facing the industry.
Dick Whittington, President & CEO, states, "Fiscal 2014 has been an eventful year for the Company. The highlight has been the outstanding recoveries achieved from the Company's Phase I - Pilot Plant Operations, which significantly exceeded the assumptions of the PEA. With this milestone behind us, we can now focus on completion of the Feasibility Study and planning for the second phase of our three-phase business plan, establishing an operating mine at the Moss Mine project site.
Furthermore, I'd like to commend Mr. Joe Bardswich, our General Manager, and Mr. Dave Kinsey, our Safety Manager, for their exemplary safety record during the year".
Operating Results
Gold and Silver Sales Proceeds
Monies received from the Pilot Plant, to date, have totalled US$5.2 million from 3,851 ounces of gold at an average selling price of US$1,263.08 per ounce and 16,747 ounces of silver at an average selling price of US$20.21 per ounce. Approximately US$225,000 is anticipated in the coming months for total sales proceeds from the Phase I - Pilot Plant of approximately US$5.4 million. Gold and silver sales from the Pilot Plant, as per the PEA budget, were estimated at US$5.3 million, using prices for gold and silver of US$1,500 and US$30 per ounce, respectively. With the decrease in metals prices since the date of the PEA, the increase in sales proceeds that the Company anticipates over the PEA budget can be attributed to the additional tonnage placed on the leach pad and the significantly higher recoveries of gold (82% versus 75%, as per the PEA).
Operations
-- Phase I - Pilot Plant Operations - of the Company's three-phase business
plan was completed during the year. Construction of a 90,000 tonne
(100,000 ton), 700' by 300', heap leach pad and associated
infrastructure, was completed 4.5 months ahead of schedule (as
originally outlined in the Company's PEA). Engineering, Procurement,
Construction and Management (EPCM), drilling and blasting, mining and
materials crushing and handling contracts were awarded for the 1,000 tpd
designed operation. The objective of this phase of the Company's
business plan was to "prove the concept" regarding the Company's ability
to crush the Moss Mine mineralization to 95% -1/4 inch, agglomerate it
and recover the gold and silver by conventional heap leach processing;
-- All necessary permitting requirements, including the operation's United
States Federal Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health
Administration ("MSHA") "operating mine" designation, were met in a
timely manner allowing the operation to be officially opened by Arizona
Governor, Ms. Janice Brewer, on August 14, 2013;
-- Mining, crushing, screening, agglomerating and stacking on the heap of
the initially permitted 90,000 tonne heap capacity was completed in mid-
November 2013 following which, operations concentrated on gold and
silver recoveries only;
-- An application for an amendment to the Aquifer Protection Permit was
approved by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in late
December 2013 increasing the allowable quantity of mineralized material
that could be placed on the heap leach pad to approximately 112,500
tonnes (125,000 tons). Additional material was stacked on the heap to
achieve the allowable 112,500 tonnes. The increase in the allowable
tonnage enabled the Company to leach material from a larger area of the
Phase I pit and to test recoveries from varying crush sizes (-1 inch and
-7/16 inch) further enhancing the contribution and the value of the
Pilot Plant phase;
-- As of the date of this news release, the heap leach pad operation has
transitioned into shut-down mode and the neutralizing of the solutions
in the ponds and on the heap has commenced. Small quantities of gold and
silver continue to be recovered from the heap solutions and are being
adsorbed in the carbon columns. Carbon is being chemically stripped at
an off-site facility and gold and silver sales are continuing. Final
closure is anticipated to be in mid-November. At that time the Company
will place the leach facilities on care and maintenance in advance of a
future construction decision relating to Phase II; and
-- As of September 30, 2014, overall gold recoveries to dore from Phase I
are 80% with the -1/4 inch material recoveries estimated to be 82%.
These numbers are well in excess of the levels used in the Company's PEA
(75%) and indicate that the Moss Mine mineralization is very amenable to
heap leach processing technology. The Company's "proof of concept"
objective has been realized and the project has been significantly de-
risked as a result. Silver recovery, at approximately 38%, is lower than
the level in the PEA (55%); however, the Company did not construct a
Merrill-Crowe system for Phase I, opting for the lower cost carbon
adsorption system instead. A Merrill-Crowe system was stipulated for
Phase II in the PEA and is still the basis for the Company's silver
recovery planning for Phase II. Generally, higher silver recoveries can
be expected with a Merrill-Crowe system.
Safety
-- The Company has operated for two years without an MSHA reportable Lost
Time Accident ("LTA") - a significant achievement given the level of
operational activity on a constricted site area and the involvement of
several different contractors alongside the Company's newly hired staff
on site; and
-- The Company was awarded two "Certificates of Achievement in Safety,
2013" by MSHA to its wholly owned Arizona subsidiary, Golden Vertex. One
certificate was awarded in the category 'Open Pit Group-Small' and the
second certificate in the category of 'Metal-Nonmetal Mill Group-Large'.
Criteria for the awards include stipulations that the mining operations
have not experienced a work injury that resulted in a fatality,
permanent disability, days away from work, or days of restricted work
activity; have a No Days Lost injury incidence rate (degree 6) of no
greater than the national incidence rate and have accumulated at least
4,000 employee-hours during the calendar year. Golden Vertex has had
zero LTAs since the inception of operations on October 22, 2012
resulting in the achievement of having operated for 2 years without an
LTA.
Exploration
-- Moss Mine exploration drilling was carried out to test the deposit to
depth and assess the potential of the West Extension. The deposit
mineralization was extended to a depth of 220 metres and the deposit
remains open to the west, east and to depth; and
-- Airborne magnetic surveys were conducted on the Moss Mine property.
Anomalies corresponding to mineralized structures were identified
prompting the Company, subsequent to year end, to initiate a field
geological mapping and sampling programme. The objective of the
programme is to identify and prioritize areas for future drilling where
new resources may be discovered. Only approximately 5% of the property
has been explored to date.
Silver Creek Property
-- The Company entered into a lease and option agreement with La Cuesta
International, Inc. ("LCI") for the Silver Creek property which is
adjacent to the east (on strike) of the Moss Mine Property. The Company
believes that the property has good exploration potential for Moss vein
type disseminated low grade gold deposits as well as high grade
epithermal deposits of both low-sulfidation (Oatman-type) and high
sulfidation ( Goldfields-type) deposits. The property's specific
potential lies in the extension of the Moss vein structure, additional
epithermal veins and high system level alteration areas. The Company is
conducting ground level mapping and sampling as part of its ongoing
exploration activities to assess this potential and identify drill
targets.
Cost Management
At the beginning of the third quarter of the 2014 fiscal year, in response to increasingly difficult market conditions experienced throughout the mining industry, the Company instigated an aggressive cost reduction program which included headcount reductions of over 40%, including certain senior positions and other general and administrative expenses. All remaining staff, both corporately and at the mine site, experienced salary or wage reductions to the end of fiscal 2014 and senior management and directors agreed to significant financial sacrifices that included salary and consulting fee suspensions. Effective July 1, 2014, the Company implemented significant reductions to senior management compensation and directors' consulting fee arrangements that included a substantial write-off of amounts previously recorded as amounts owing. Cuts of up to 50% for both the Chairman and President & Chief Executive Officer were implemented and remaining senior management and directors experienced significant reductions as well. Furthermore, with the winding down of the leaching operation at site, the Company anticipates the lay-off of the remaining field staff later in the calendar year. These cost reduction measures will continue to have a significant impact on overall costs and ultimately, increased cash preservation.
Corporate
On July 11, 2014, the Company announced that it had closed the final tranche of its Non-Brokered Private Placement, which was oversubscribed, and raised aggregate gross proceeds of $3,760,525 by issuing an aggregate total of 15,042,098 units at a purchase price of $0.25 per unit. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement for the advancement of the Company's Moss Mine Gold-Silver earn-in property located in Mohave County, Arizona, primarily the completion of a feasibility study and for general corporate purposes.
About Northern Vertex
Northern Vertex Mining Corp. is a Canadian based exploration and mining company focused on the reactivation of the Moss Mine Gold-Silver Project located in NW Arizona, USA where the Company has the right to earn-in to a 70% property interest through a Joint Venture with Patriot Gold Corp. The Moss Mine Gold-Silver Project is an epithermal, brecciated, low sulphidation quartz-calcite vein and stockwork system which extends over a strike length of 1,400 meters and has been drill tested to depths of 220 meters vertically. It is a potential heap leach, open pit project being advanced under a three-phase business plan, specifically designed to ensure that technical, economic, permitting and funding requirements are met prior to each phase proceeding. The Company's management comprises an experienced management team with a strong background in all aspects of acquisition, exploration, development, operations and financing of mining projects worldwide. The Company is focused on working effectively and respectfully with our stakeholders in the vicinity of the historical Moss Mine and enhancing the capacity of the local communities in the area.
Qualified Persons
The foregoing technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Mr. L.J. Bardswich, P. Eng., General Manager Moss Project, and a Qualified Person ("QP") for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects).
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
J.R.H. (Dick) Whittington, President & CEO
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements: The information in this news release has been prepared as at October 28th, 2014. Certain statements in this news release, referred to herein as "forward-looking statements", constitute "forward-looking statements" under the provisions of Canadian provincial securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expected", "may", "will" or similar terms.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release may contain information about adjacent properties on which we have no right to explore or mine. We advise US investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. US investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, the completion of the Private Placement, the proposed use of the proceeds of the Private Placement, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such Statements.
2014 number 15
Contacts:
Northern Vertex Mining Corp.
Investor Relations
604-601-3656 or 1-855-633-8798
www.northernvertex.com
