Trek Mining Releases Year-end 2016 Financial Results and Commences Exploration Drilling at Aurizona
The activities included in the Annual Financial Statements pre-date the March 31, 2017 closing of the plan of arrangement whereby JDL Gold Corp. acquired all of the outstanding securities of Luna Gold Corp. (the "Transaction"). Accordingly, the Annual Financial Statements do not include the financial results of Luna Gold or the proceeds from the financing completed concurrently with the Transaction.
Following completion of the Transaction, JDL Gold was renamed Trek Mining Inc. and changed its trading symbol to "TREK" on the TSX Venture Exchange. At March 31, 2017, Trek had approximately C$110 million (US$85 million) in cash and marketable securities, 177.7 million shares outstanding and no cash debt.
Aurizona Exploration Update
The Company has commenced an initial 5,000-metre exploration drill program at the Aurizona Gold Mine in Brazil. Current gold reserves at Aurizona are primarily contained within the Piaba ore deposit, which remains open along strike and to depth. The combined reverse circulation and diamond drill program is focused primarily on the 'Piaba West' target, a potential 900-metre long extension of the Piaba ore deposit. The drill program will also include drilling at the Genipapo target, which lies immediately northeast of the Piaba deposit. Genipapo is one of a number of prospective, near-mine, drill-ready targets identified from surface mapping, sampling and limited drilling that the Company intends to explore throughout fiscal 2017.
The broader Aurizona land package located outside of the Company's 100% owned Aurizona Mine and brownfields concessions (the "greenfields") is being explored in a joint venture with AngloGold Ashanti Holdings plc ("AngloGold"). In March 2017, AngloGold completed a 38,000 line-km regional airborne magnetic survey over the entire land package, including Trek's brownfields properties and the Aurizona Mine, and processing of the data is currently underway. Parallel work programs have focused on environmental permitting for the drilling program, geologic mapping of drill targets and regional soil geochemistry. AngloGold has mobilized a diamond drill rig to commence the planned 18,000 metre 2017 drilling program.
Initial results from drilling and related exploration activities at Aurizona are pending and will be reported when available during the second quarter.
On behalf of the Board of Trek Mining Inc.
"Christian Milau"
CEO & Director
About Trek Mining Inc.
Trek is a Canadian mining company with a portfolio of production, near-production and exploration-stage projects in North and South America. The Company is producing gold from its Koricancha Mill, a custom-built gold and silver ore processing facility in Peru, and is completing a feasibility study for its past-producing Aurizona Gold Mine in Brazil, with the objective of pouring gold at Aurizona by the end of 2018. Trek's exploration properties include both near-mine and district exploration opportunities at Aurizona; the Warintza project, a porphyry copper-molybdenum exploration project in Southeastern Ecuador; the Ricardo project, a porphyry copper-molybdenum exploration project in Chile; and Elk Gold, a past-producing high-grade gold mine in British Columbia, Canada. Further information about Trek's business strategy and portfolio of assets is available at www.trekmining.com or by email at ir@trekmining.com.
Technical Information
Scott Heffernan, M.Sc., P.Geo., the Company's EVP Exploration, is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical and scientific disclosure throughout this news release.
Cautionary Notes
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This document contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-looking statements"). The use of the words "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding planned exploration activities and results at Aurizona, and the anticipated restart of production at Aurizona. Although Trek believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements and/or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since Trek can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors identified in Trek's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators, and assumptions made with regard to: the anticipated results of the feasibility study for the Aurizona Project; the anticipated Board of Directors decision to approve construction of the Aurizona Project; the ability to raise the capital required to fund construction and development of the Aurizona Project; the ability to restart production at the Aurizona Project; and timing of the anticipated restart of production. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and Trek does not undertake any obligations to publicly update and/or revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of additional information, future events and/or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.
Contact
Trek Mining Contacts
Christian Milau, Chief Executive Officer
Rhylin Bailie, Vice President Investor Relations
Tel: +1 604-558-0560
Email: ir@trekmining.com