Mr. Greg McCunn reports
ALIO GOLD ANNOUNCES ANA PAULA PRE-FEASIBILITY RESULTS
Alio Gold Inc., formerly Timmins Gold Corp., will officially begin trading today under its new ticker ALO on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange Market. The company is pleased to announce the results of a prefeasibility study (PFS) on its Ana Paula project. Ana Paula is Alio Gold's 100-per-cent-owned high-grade, open-pit gold project located on the highly prospective Guerrero gold belt in Mexico. All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated. A National Instrument 43-101 technical report will be filed on SEDAR and will be available on the company's website within 45 days.
Highlights of the PFS
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Proven and probable mineral reserves of 13.4 million tonnes at 2.36 grams per tonne for 1,021,000 contained ounces of gold;
- Net present value at 5 per cent is equal to
$223-million and internal rate of return of 34 per cent after tax at $1,250 per ounce gold;
-
Initial capital cost of $137.2-million;
-
First quartile operating costs with cash costs of $489 per ounce and site all-in sustaining costs of $524 per ounce;
-
Gold recovery of 85 per cent;
-
Mine life of 7.5 years from an open pit producing 868,000 ounces of gold;
-
Underground potential highlighted with measured and indicated resources below the proposed pit of 3.0 million tonnes at 2.8 g/t for 266,700 contained ounces;
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Definitive feasibility study to start in July and take approximately nine months to complete.
Commenting on the PFS, chief executive officer Greg McCunn said: "The Ana Paula project has been significantly derisked over the past six months with infill drilling now supporting a robust mineral resource estimate, metallurgical test work defining an improved process design, capital and operating costs estimated to a high standard, and our environmental impact assessment approved by the regulators. The PFS has confirmed the project economics are very robust and we expect to continue moving the project forward to an investment decision in Q2 2018."
Mineral resource estimate
The updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) was developed by AGP Mining Consultants of Toronto. In order to support the MRE, the company completed over 10,000 metres of infill drilling in the latter part of 2016 and early 2017. In addition, previous drill core (approximately 49,500 metres) was relogged in order to develop a more robust geological model.
Mineralization occurs in the complex breccia, granodiorite, monolithic breccia, hornfels and limestone-shale. The bulk of the high-grade mineralization at Ana Paula is centred on the complex breccia domain which is surrounded by a high-grade mineralized halo, mainly granodiorite.
The MRE was based on a gold price of $1,350 per ounce and is shown in the attached table. The mineral resource was split into two distinct areas: (1) the material located within a resource constraining shell, which was used as a basis for the PFS mine plan and the subsequent estimate of mineral reserves; and (2) the material located below the resource constraining shell that is considered to have a reasonable expectation of being mined economically from an underground mining operation. Although the PFS does not envision an underground mine, the mineral resource is an indication of the exploration potential below the PFS pit.
The company is currently applying for permits to construct an underground decline approximately 1,200 metres into the underground resource area sufficient to map the mineralization, establish drill stations for infill drilling and collect bulk samples. Drilling to this depth from surface is difficult due to the topography.
Area Classification Tonnes Gold Grade (g/t) Gold ounces
Ana Paula open-pit resources Measured 7,541,000 2.43 590,000
Indicated 10,491,000 1.79 605,000
Total M&I 18,032,000 2.06 1,195,000
Inferred 249,000 1.27 10,000
Ana Paula underground resources Measured 41,000 2.07 2,800
Indicated 2,925,000 2.81 264,000
Total M&I 2,967,000 2.80 266,700
Inferred 621,000 2.07 41,400
Total resources Measured 7,582,000 2.43 592,800
Indicated 13,416,000 2.01 869,000
Total M&I 20,998,000 2.17 1,462,700
Inferred 870,000 1.84 51,400
* Open-pit mineral resources are inclusive of mineral reserves and have an effective
date of May 16, 2017.
* The mineral resources are stated at $1,350 per ounce gold using a gold cut-off of
0.60 gram per tonne gold for open pit and 1.65 g/t gold for underground.
* The quantity and grade of reported inferred resources in this estimation are
conceptual in nature, and there has been insufficient exploration to define these
inferred resources as an indicated or measured resource. It is uncertain if further
exploration will result in upgrading them to an indicated or measured resource
category.
* Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic
viability.
* Rounding of tonnes as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent
differences between tonnes, grade and contained metal content.
* The mineral resource estimate was compiled using three-pass ordinary kriging. Grade
capping was applied differently by domain, but generally was capped at 55 g/t gold
inside the breccia structure and halo and 20 g/t outside the main mineralization.
Assay intervals were composited on three-metre composites to build a resource model
based on five m by five m by six m blocks. A search restriction was also applied to
limit the influence of high-grade intercepts. Classification of the resource into
measured, indicated and inferred was determined based on pass number and distance to
the closest composite.
Mineral reserves and mine plan
Mineral reserves are estimated at $1,200 per ounce gold and are shown in the table.
Classification Mt Gold grade (g/t) Gold contained (ounces)
Proven 6,533,000 2.62 550,000
Probable 6,907,000 2.12 471,000
Total P&P 13,440,000 2.36 1,021,000
* Mineral reserves have an effective date of May 16, 2017.
* The mineral reserves are stated at $1,200 gold within this pit
using a gold cut-off of 0.67 g/t.
* The mineral reserves result from the May, 2017, resources and
are a subset of the mineral resources.
* External or contact dilution was calculated at 4.2 per cent for
the gold grade using the surrounding block grade. The diluted
life-of-mine feed grade is 2.36 g/t gold. The reserve pit was
based on an optimized pit shell using a $984 gold price.
Recoveries for the cash flow calculation are based on current
metallurgical test work which indicates an 85-per-cent gold
recovery.
A detailed mine plan was engineered using only open-pit measured and indicated resources. Metal prices of $1,200 per ounce for gold and $16 per ounce for silver were used for the design. Geotechnical drilling was carried out by Knight Piesold to determine the pit slopes for the design and the results supplied to AGP. There are six different geotechnical sectors in the mine design with overall slope angles varying between 48.7 to 51.3 degrees.
Mining operations will be carried out by a contract mining company using 55-tonne haul trucks. Mining will be done using six-metre-high benches. Overall production of ore from the pit is limited to 5,000 tonnes per day by the geometry of the pit (maximum sinking rate).
The annual mine plan is shown in the attached table. In the preproduction period, 7.22 million tonnes of waste are expected to be prestripped during which time approximately 450,000 tonnes of ore will be stockpiled. The average haul distances during the life of mine are 1.7 kilometres for ore and 1.5 km for waste.
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total
Ore mined (Mt) 1.74 1.85 1.60 1.65 1.80 1.80 1.80 0.74 12.99
Operating waste (Mt) 7.26 7.15 7.40 7.35 4.53 2.19 0.55 0.11 36.52
Strip ratio (W:O) 4.17 3.85 4.61 4.45 2.52 1.21 0.31 0.14 2.81
Ore processed (Mt) 1.70 1.80 1.80 1.80 1.80 1.80 1.80 0.94 13.44
Ore grade (g/t Au) 2.09 1.96 2.59 2.13 3.11 1.82 2.97 2.09 2.36
Gold produced (oz) 96,800 96,500 127,400 104,700 152,900 89,600 146,000 54,100 868,000
Metallurgy
Metallurgical test work was carried out at Blue Coast Research in Parksville, B.C., to develop the process design.
Ore is fed to the crushing circuit at a rate of 5,000 tonnes per day and ground to a p80 of 160 micrometres in a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) -- ball mill combination. Mill discharge is processed through gravity concentrators where 20 per cent of the gold is recovered in a concentrate and sent directly to an intensive leach reactor (ILR) for dore recovery. The gravity tailings are subjected to rougher flotation where 20 per cent of the mass is pulled into a flotation concentrate, recovering approximately 95 per cent of the gold. The flotation concentrate is reground to a p80 of 25 micrometres and fed into a preoxidation circuit where oxygen is sparged into agitated tanks with a 24- to 48-hour retention time. Neutralization reagent is added to maintain the pH above 7.0 in the tanks. Following oxidation, the pH is further adjusted for gold leaching with cyanide in a carbon-in-leach (CIL) circuit followed by elution. Total gold recovery is assumed at 85 per cent, although test work has shown potential for increased recoveries through process optimization. Gold production over the life of mine is expected to be 868,000 ounces or about 116,285 ounces per year.
Tailings storage
Knight Piesold provided tailing storage facility (TSF) and waste rock facility designs for the PFS. The TSF is a conventional zoned earth dam with four stages of build (the starter dam plus three expansions during the mine life).
Infrastructure
Power is supplied to the project from a 115-kilovolt high-tension line that transects the site approximately 2.5 km from the processing plant site. Power consumption averages 9.7 megawatts per year at an estimated cost of eight cents per kilowatt-hour.
Access to the property will be via an existing 70 km pre-existing asphalt road. There is approximately 23 km of the road which will require widening and upgrading to support operations and construction activity.
The site is estimated to have a negative water balance and water will be collected and stored from precipitation to supply the bulk of the water requirements for the operations.
Capital cost
M3 Engineering of Tucson, Ariz., was engaged by the company to compile the PFS, including estimation of the capital and operating costs. The capital cost estimate was completed by obtaining budgetary quotations for major equipment not already owned by the company. Installation costs were based on M3's experience building mines in Guerrero state. The estimate is considered a Class 3 estimate which implies a level of accuracy of minus 10 per cent to plus 30 per cent. The capital cost estimate is shown in the table.
Area Capital ($M)
Process plant $45.8
General, site utilities and indirects 31.0
TSF 12.7
Camps 4.0
EPCM 12.9
Owner's costs 8.3
Prestrip and mine establishment 19.9
Contingency 15.9
Total capital 150.5
Less capital spent in year 1 (13.3)
Upfront capital 137.2
Operating costs
Operating costs were estimated by M3 Engineering for the ore processing and site general and administration. Operating costs are shown in the attached table for the ore processing and site G&A costs were estimated to be $4.6-million per year.
Area Operating cost ($/t processed)
Crushing $0.31
Grinding 3.80
Flotation 1.89
Leaching 12.31
Refining 0.75
Tailings 0.21
Ancillaries 0.98
Total 20.25
Mining costs were estimated from contractor mining quotations received for mining costs (using the completed mine plan and associated detailed haulage profiles) and by Alio's experience with contract mining at the San Francisco operations. Over the life of mine, the assumed mining cost averaged $2.17/tonne mined for ore and waste.
The total site costs translate into a cash cost per ounce of gold produced of $485 per ounce.
Cash flow model
A cash flow model based on the mine plan and projected capital and operating costs was constructed. Allowances were made for both corporate tax (30-per-cent tax rate) and royalties (7.5-per-cent EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) mining royalty in Mexico and a 2-per-cent net smelter return (NSR) royalty owing to Goldcorp). The after-tax free cash flow from the project has a net present value (5-per-cent discount) of $223-million. The internal rate of return on after-tax cash flow is 34 per cent. The cash flow model assumed a gold price of $1,250 per ounce.
Year -2 Year -1 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Total
Revenue ($M) - - $124.5 $123.6 $163.0 $133.7 $194.2 $113.8 $184.5 $68.9 $1,106.2
Cash costs ($M) - - 61.9 64.0 65.3 64.4 60.2 52.9 51.3 25.3 445.4
Cash from operations ($M) - - 62.6 59.6 97.7 69.2 133.9 60.9 133.2 43.6 660.7
Cash costs ($/oz) - - 603 632 483 589 374 570 338 444 489
Investment capital ($M) 19.1 118.1 - - - - - - - - 137.2
Sustaining capital ($M) - - 13.8 4.9 1.1 5.7 1.1 7.2 1.1 8.8 43.6
Site AISC ($/oz) - - 608 683 492 643 381 651 345 607 524
Taxes ($M) incl. 7.5% royalty - - 3.7 3.8 30.1 18.4 43.3 14.2 43.3 5.1 161.9
Free cash flow ($M) (19.1) (118.1) 45.1 50.9 66.5 45.2 89.6 39.4 88.8 29.6 318.0
Gold price sensitivity
The project economics are most sensitive to a change in the price of gold and a sensitivity table is attached.
Gold price NPV ($M) IRR %
1,100 158 26
1,200 202 32
1,250 223 34
1,300 245 36
1,400 288 41
1,500 332 46
Permitting
In early April, 2017, the company received authorization of the environmental impact assessment (MIA) for the project. The regulator (Semarnat) has outlined the environmental protection programs required during construction of the project which are normal and in line with expectations.
Following the acceptance of the MIA, the company has made its first application for the change of land use permits which are the final permits required for the construction of the mine. The company expects to make multiple applications for the change of land use as it continues to acquire land for project use.
Key milestones
Following the positive outcome of the PFS, the company has approved the start of a definitive feasibility study which will commence in July and take approximately nine months to complete. The company is targeting an investment decision in Q2 2018 and the project is expected to take 16 to 18 months to construct.
Key activity Timeline
Underground exploration permit Q3 2017
Financing arranged Q4 2017
Definitive feasibility study Q1 2018
Final construction permits Q1 2018
Investment decision Q2 2018
Underground exploration drilling Q2 2018
Start-up and commissioning Q4 2019
Quality assurance/quality control
The drilling results contained in this news release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 standards of disclosure for mineral projects. Duplicates, standards and blanks were inserted into the sampling stream at intervals of 20 samples. The sampling of, and assay data from, drill core is monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program designed to follow industry best practice. Drill core (HQ size) samples are selected by the company's geologists and sawn in half with a diamond saw at the project site. Half of the core is retained at the site for reference purposes. Sample intervals vary from one to 1.5 m in length or longer in waste rocks. Samples are prepared at the ALS Lab facilities in Guadalajara and analyzed using a standard fire assay with a 50-gram pulp and atomic absorption (AA) finish at the ALS Lab in Vancouver, Canada. Any samples assaying over 10.0 g/t Au are automatically reanalyzed using a gravimetric finish. Check assays were sent to each lab and were cross-referenced and results verified. The QA/QC program is overseen by Miguel Soto, vice-president of exploration for Alio Gold. The company follows strict QA/QC protocol measures in keeping with industry standards and regulatory reporting requirements.
Qualified persons
The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to the Ana Paula project have been reviewed and approved by the following qualified persons under NI 43-101 who consent to the inclusion of their names in this release: Pierre Desautels, PGeo, of AGP Mining Consultants (resources); Gordon Zurowski, PEng, of AGP Mining Consultants (reserves, mine planning); Andrew Kelly, PEng, of Blue Coast Research (metallurgical process design); Art Ibrado, PE, of M3 Engineering (metallurgical process design); Gilberto Dominguez, PE, of Knight-Piesold (waste, tailings); Jim Cremeens, PE, PG, of Knight Piesold (pit stability); and Daniel H. Neff, PE, of M3 engineering (infrastructure, costs); each of whom is independent of the company; and Taj Singh, PEng, of Alio Gold.
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