23,031 Ounces of Gold Produced in Q1
VANCOUVER, BC, April 6, 2022 /CNW/ - Orla Mining
Ltd. (TSX: OLA) (NYSE: ORLA) ("Orla" or the "Company") today is
pleased to provide an interim operational update for the first
quarter ended March 31, 2022.
CAMINO ROJO OXIDE MINE OPERATIONAL UPDATE
- Camino Rojo Oxide Mine gold production totalled 23,031 ounces
for the first quarter 2022. Gold production guidance for the full
year 2022 is maintained at 90,000 to 100,000 ounces.
- After a successful commissioning period which included the ramp
up of mining and processing to sustained throughput levels,
commercial production at the Camino Rojo Oxide Mine was declared
effective April 1, 2022. During the
quarter, construction activities completed included installation of
heap leach liner in cell two and event pond, placement of overliner
material on cell two of the heap leach, commissioning of the third
and final overland conveyor, construction of the airstrip, and
completion of the rainwater runoff diversion.
- Camino Rojo achieved record monthly processing throughput in
March 2022. The average daily
stacking throughput for the month was 17,444 tonnes per day or 97%
of nameplate capacity of 18,000 tonnes per day. Daily stacking
throughput for the first quarter of 2022 averaged 15,917 tonnes per
day. Achieving nameplate capacity is expected during the second
quarter.
- Mined ore tonnes are reconciling well to the block model and
process recoveries to date are in line with the metallurgical
recovery model.
Mining and
Processing Totals
|
|
Mar-22
|
YTD
2022
|
Ore Mined
|
tonnes
|
684,255
|
1,866,151
|
Ore -
processed
|
tonnes
|
539,379
|
1,404,952
|
Low Grade Ore -
stockpiled
|
tonnes
|
144,876
|
461,199
|
Waste
Mined
|
tonnes
|
225,542
|
707,719
|
Total
Mined
|
tonnes
|
909,797
|
2,573,871
|
Strip
Ratio
|
w:o
|
0.33
|
0.38
|
Total Ore Mined Gold
Grade
|
g/t
|
0.70
|
0.68
|
Ore -
processed
|
g/t
|
0.80
|
0.79
|
Low Grade Ore -
stockpiled
|
g/t
|
0.35
|
0.36
|
|
|
|
|
Ore
Crushed
|
tonnes
|
529,553
|
1,369,111
|
Ore
Stacked
|
tonnes
|
547,965
|
1,652,999
|
Stacked Ore Gold
Grade
|
g/t
|
0.79
|
0.81
|
Gold Poured (adjusted
upon final refining)
|
oz
|
7,155
|
23,031
|
|
|
|
|
Daily Stacked
Throughput Rate – Average*
|
tpd
|
17,444
|
15,917
|
Daily Stacked
Throughput / Nameplate Capacity
|
%
|
96.9%
|
88.4%
|
Total Crushed Ore
Stockpile**
|
tonnes
|
219,019
|
Total Crushed Ore
Stockpile Au Grade
|
g/t
|
0.87
|
Total ROM Ore
Stockpile**
|
tonnes
|
863,913
|
Total ROM Ore
Stockpile Grade
|
g/t
|
0.38
|
*
|
Average stacking rate
calculation excludes truck-stacked overliner material (7,213 tonnes
for March 2022 and 220,432 tonnes for Q1 2022).
|
**
|
Crushed ore stockpile
includes crushed ore in the crushed ore stockpile, and stockpiled
overliner fines. ROM stockpile includes low-grade stockpiles and
ROM ore stockpile.
|
"Once again, our team in Mexico
has delivered on two significant milestones: our first full quarter
of gold production and achieving commercial production on time,"
said Andrew Cormier, Chief Operating
Officer of Orla Mining. "The team remains focused on
consistent performance and execution and we are well-positioned to
deliver on our 2022 guidance."
UPCOMING MILESTONES
- Metallurgical results for Camino Rojo Sulphides Project.
- Advancement of exploration drill programs in Mexico and Panama.
- First quarter 2022 financial results.
Qualified Persons Statement
The scientific and technical information related to Camino Rojo
in this news release was reviewed and approved by Mr. J.
Andrew Cormier, P. Eng., Chief
Operating Officer of the Company, who is the Qualified Person as
defined under NI 43-101 standards.
About Orla Mining Ltd.
Orla is operating the Camino Rojo Oxide Gold Mine, a gold and
silver open-pit and heap leach mine, located in Zacatecas State,
Central Mexico. The operation is
100% owned by Orla and covers over 160,000 hectares. The technical
report for the 2021 Feasibility Study on the Camino Rojo oxide gold
project entitled "Unconstrained Feasibility Study NI 43-101
Technical Report on the Camino Rojo Gold Project – Municipality of
Mazapil, Zacatecas, Mexico"
dated January 11, 2021, is available
on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company's profile at
www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. The technical
report is also available on Orla's website at www.orlamining.com.
Orla also owns 100% of Cerro Quema located in Panama which includes a near-term gold
production scenario and various exploration targets. Cerro Quema is
a proposed open pit mine and gold heap leach operation. The
technical report for the Pre-Feasibility Study on the Cerro Quema
oxide gold project entitled "Project Pre-Feasibility
Updated NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Cerro Quema
Project, Province of Los Santos,
Panama" dated January 18,
2022, is available on SEDAR and EDGAR under the Company's profile
at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. The technical
report is also available on Orla's website at
www.orlamining.com.
www.orlamining.com
info@orlamining.com
Forward-looking Statements
This news release contains certain "forward-looking
information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of
Canadian securities legislation and within the meaning of Section
27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
Section 21E of the United States Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
or in releases made by the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission, all as may be amended from time to time, including,
without limitation, statements regarding the Company's 2022
guidance, including production, achievement of nameplate capacity
at Camino Rojo in the second quarter of 2022 and the Company's
upcoming milestones. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical facts which address events,
results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to
occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs,
estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the
statements are made and they involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Certain material assumptions regarding such
forward-looking statements were made, including without limitation,
assumptions regarding the price of gold, silver, and copper; the
accuracy of mineral resource and mineral reserve estimations; that
there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or
its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained,
including concession renewals and permitting; that political and
legal developments will be consistent with current expectations;
that currency and exchange rates will be consistent with current
levels; and that there will be no significant disruptions affecting
the Company or its properties. Consequently, there can be no
assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and
actual results and future events could differ materially from those
anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements involve
significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could
cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated.
These risks include, but are not limited to: uncertainty and
variations in the estimation of mineral resources and mineral
reserves, including risks that the interpreted drill results may
not accurately represent the actual continuity of geology or grade
of the deposit, bulk density measurements may not be
representative, interpreted and modelled metallurgical domains may
not be representative, and metallurgical recoveries may not be
representative; the Company's reliance on Camino Rojo and risks
associated with its start-up phase; financing risks and access to
additional capital; risks related to natural disasters, terrorist
acts, health crises and other disruptions and dislocations,
including by the COVID-19 pandemic; risks related to the Company's
indebtedness; success of exploration, development, and operation
activities; foreign country and political risks, including risks
relating to foreign operations and expropriation or nationalization
of mining operations; concession risks; permitting risks;
environmental and other regulatory requirements; delays in or
failures to enter into a subsequent agreement with Fresnillo Plc
with respect to accessing certain additional portions of the
mineral resource at Camino Rojo and to obtain the necessary
regulatory approvals related thereto; the mineral resource
estimations for Camino Rojo being only estimates and relying on
certain assumptions; the Layback Agreement with Fresnillo Plc
remaining subject to the transfer of surface rights; delays in or
failure to get access from surface rights owners; risks related to
guidance estimates and uncertainties inherent in the preparation of
feasibility and pre-feasibility studies, including but not limited
to, assumptions underlying the production estimates not being
realized, changes to the cost of production, variations in quantity
of mineralized material, grade or recovery rates, geotechnical or
hydrogeological considerations during mining differing from what
has been assumed, failure of plant, equipment or processes, changes
to availability of power or the power rates, ability to maintain
social license, changes to exchange, interest or tax rates, cost of
labour, supplies, fuel and equipment rising, changes in project
parameters, delays, and costs inherent to consulting and
accommodating rights of local communities; uncertainty in estimates
of production, capital, and operating costs and potential
production and cost overruns; the fluctuating price of gold,
silver, and copper; global financial conditions; uninsured risks;
competition from other companies and individuals; uncertainties
related to title to mineral properties; conflicts of interest;
risks related to compliance with anti-corruption laws; volatility
in the market price of the Company's securities; assessments by
taxation authorities in multiple jurisdictions; foreign currency
fluctuations; the Company's limited operating history; risks
related to the Company's history of negative operating cash flow;
litigation risks; intervention by non-governmental organizations;
outside contractor risks; risks related to historical data; unknown
labilities in connection with acquisitions; the Company's ability
to identify, complete, and successfully integrate acquisitions;
dividend risks; risks related to the Company's foreign
subsidiaries; risks related to the Company's accounting policies
and internal controls; the Company's ability to satisfy the
requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; enforcement of
civil liabilities; the Company's status as a passive foreign
investment company for U.S. federal income tax purposes;
information and cyber security; gold industry concentration;
shareholder activism; risks associated with executing the Company's
objectives and strategies, as well as those risk factors discussed
in the Company's most recently filed management's discussion and
analysis, as well as its annual information form dated March 18, 2022, to be available on www.sedar.com
and www.sec.gov. Except as required by the securities disclosure
laws and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company
undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements
if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors,
should change.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Readers
The disclosure contained or referenced herein uses mineral
reserve and mineral resource classification terms that comply with
reporting standards in Canada, and
mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates are made in
accordance with Canadian NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of
Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum — CIM Definition Standards on
Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council,
as amended (the "CIM Definition Standards"). Canadian NI 43-101
establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of
scientific and technical information concerning mineral
projects. These standards differ significantly from the
mineral reserve disclosure requirements of the United States
Securities Exchange Commission (the "SEC") set forth in Industry
Guide 7. Consequently, information regarding mineralization
contained or referenced herein is not comparable to similar
information that would generally be disclosed by U.S. companies
under Industry Guide 7 in accordance with the rules of the SEC
which applied to U.S. filings prior to the current SEC
Modernization Rules (as defined herein). Further, the SEC has
adopted amendments to its disclosure rules to modernize the mineral
property disclosure requirements for issuers whose securities are
registered with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
("Exchange Act"). These amendments became effective February 25, 2019 (the "SEC Modernization Rules")
and, commencing for registrants with their first fiscal year
beginning on or after January 1,
2021, the SEC Modernization Rules replace the historical
property disclosure requirements included in SEC Industry Guide
7. As a foreign private issuer that files its annual report
on Form 40-F with the SEC pursuant to the multi-jurisdictional
disclosure system, the Company is not required to provide
disclosure on its mineral properties under the SEC Modernization
Rules and will continue to provide disclosure under NI 43-101 and
the CIM Definition Standards. The SEC Modernization Rules include
the adoption of terms describing mineral reserves and mineral
resources that are "substantially similar" to the corresponding
terms under the CIM Definition, but there are differences in the
definitions under the SEC Modernization Rules and the CIM
Definition Standards. Accordingly, there is no assurance any
mineral reserves or mineral resources that the Company may report
as "proven mineral reserves", "probable mineral reserves",
"measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and
"inferred mineral resources" under NI 43-101 would be the same had
the Company prepared the mineral reserve or mineral resource
estimates under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization
Rules. U.S. investors are also cautioned that while the SEC
recognizes "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral
resources" and "inferred mineral resources" under the Modernization
Rules, investors should not assume that any part or all of the
mineralization in these categories will ever be converted into a
higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves.
Mineralization described using these terms has a greater amount of
uncertainty as to its existence and feasibility than mineralization
that has been characterized as reserves. Accordingly, investors are
cautioned not to assume that any measured mineral resources,
indicated mineral resources, or inferred mineral resources that the
Company reports are or will be economically or legally mineable.
Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a greater amount of
uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be
mined legally or economically. Therefore, U.S. investors are also
cautioned not to assume that all or any part of the "inferred
mineral resources" exist. Under Canadian securities laws, estimates
of "inferred mineral resources" may not form the basis of
feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases.
For the above reasons, information contained or referenced herein
regarding descriptions of our mineral reserve and mineral resource
estimates is not comparable to similar information made public by
U.S. companies subject to reporting and disclosure requirements of
the SEC under either Industry Guide 7 or SEC Modernization
Rules.
SOURCE Orla Mining Ltd.