THUNDER BAY – MINING – HARTE GOLD CORP. (“Harte Gold” or the “Company”) (TSX: HRT / OTC: HRTFF / Frankfurt: H4O) is pleased to provide a further update on operations at its Sugar Zone mine in Ontario, Canada and confirm it has filed its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020.
Sam Coetzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harte Gold, commented, “We are encouraged by the positive restart of milling operations at the Sugar Zone Mine. We suspended operations at the Sugar Zone mine for the second quarter of 2020 to safeguard the health and safety of our workforce from COVID-19 and I am pleased to say that Harte Gold is back in production and emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic in a very strong position. Currently, both mining and milling operations during the restart have met or exceeded our expectations across a number of key operating metrics, including plant throughput. I would like to thank our production and planning teams for their outstanding work in effecting a positive return and I look forward to updating the market further on our progress in Q3.”
Highlights:
- Mill Operations Successfully Restarted: The Sugar Zone mill was successfully restarted on August 5 and has run consistently at or around an 800 tpd throughput rate during the initial start-up period. A 6,800-tonne stockpile was developed at the surface to ensure consistent mill feed during start-up.
- Grade Control and Resource Expansion Drilling Underway: Drilling at the Sugar Zone north and south areas is ongoing. Seven infill holes have been completed to date. The infill holes are part of a larger planned 16,000 metre program for 2020 that includes drilling on targets to potentially extend resources.
- Funding: The Company reconfirms it anticipates closing the US$18.5 million non-revolving credit facility with ANR Investments 2 B.V. or an affiliate (“Appian”), on or around August 29, 2020. At the closing of the facility, the Series B special shares issued in July will convert into a principal amount under the credit facility, bringing the aggregate principal amount to US$28 million at that time. On closing, Appian will also have the right to acquire a 0.5% NSR on the Sugar Zone Property, on similar terms as the existing 1.5% NSR, in exchange for payment to the Company of US$2.0 million.
Q2 2020 Results:
The Company’s unaudited quarterly financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, and 2019 are available under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website www.hartegold.com. The Company will be re-instituting a quarterly conference call and webcast for interested investors and analysts for its Q3 2020 results.
Operations at the Sugar Zone mine were temporarily suspended for the entirety of Q2 2020 to preserve the health and safety of the Company’s workforce and the surrounding communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. While all non- essential work was suspended during this period, the Company did ensure mine and surface facilities remained in good stead for a successful restart of operations. During this period, the Company:
- completed its mine planning, scheduling and owner-operator transition strategy, allowing it to emerge from COVID-19 in a stronger operational position;
- completed detailed mine planning and scheduling for the next 18 months, prioritizing development and waste backfill to ensure an optimized ramp-up to an 800 tpd throughput rate;
- reconstructed the resource model for the Sugar Zone Mine, allowing the Company to better interpret the mineralized veins and improve the stope design process; and
- initiated a workforce transition to owner-operator, to which contractor employees and external applicants have responded positively.
ABOUT HARTE GOLD CORP.
Harte Gold holds a 100% interest in the Sugar Zone mine located in White River, Canada. The Sugar Zone Mine entered commercial production in 2019. Production guidance is 20,000 to 24,000 oz Au for 2020 and 60,000 to 65,000 oz Au for 2021. The Company has further potential through exploration at the Sugar Zone Property, which encompasses 79,335 hectares covering a significant greenstone belt. Harte Gold trades on the TSX under the symbol “HRT”, on the OTC under the symbol “HRTFF” and on the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol “H4O”.
For further information, please visit www.hartegold.com or contact:
Shawn Howarth
Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations Tel: 416-368-0999
E-mail: sh@hartegold.com