Emerging Nevada Gold Producer Reopening the Relief Canyon...
Transcript of Emerging Nevada Gold Producer Reopening the Relief Canyon...
Emerging Nevada Gold Producer
Reopening the Relief Canyon Mine
Discovering New Gold Deposits
1 July 2013
Forward-looking Statements
This presentation contains forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or our future
financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our
or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed, implied or inferred by these forward-
looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,”
“will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,”
“projects,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology.
These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events.
You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Actual events or results may differ materially. In
evaluating these statements, you should specifically consider various factors, including the risks outlined under
“Risk Factors” in our reports filed with the SEC. These and other factors may cause our actual results to differ
materially from any forward-looking statement. We undertake no obligation to update any of the forward-looking
statements after the date of this presentation to conform those statements to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors Regarding Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources:
We use certain terms in this presentation, such as “measured”, “indicated” and “inferred resources”, that are
defined in Canadian National Instrument 43-101; however these terms are not recognized under the U.S. SEC
Industry Guide 7. US investors are cautioned not to assume that any or all of measured, indicated or inferred
resources are economically or legally mineable or that these resources will ever be converted into
reserves. “Inferred mineral resources“ have a high degree of uncertainty as to their existence and it cannot be
assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. U.S.
investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 10-K and other SEC filings. You can review
and obtain copies of these filings from the SEC’s website at http:www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
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Management Team
Stephen Alfers -- Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Stephen D. Alfers became Pershing’s Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer in March 2012. Prior to accepting this position with
Pershing Gold Corporation f/k/a Sagebrush Gold, Ltd., Mr. Alfers was with Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) where he served as Chief of U.S.
Operations from 2007 until the end of 2011. Before joining Franco-Nevada Corp, Mr. Alfers was President and CEO of NewWest Gold Corporation, where
he developed a large portfolio of promising Nevada gold properties including Long Canyon, Sandman, and Northumberland. A well recognized authority in
the U.S. Mining Law, public land law, and mining transactions, Mr. Alfers’ career includes twenty years of experience as a partner in several prestigious
mining, oil and gas, and natural resource development law firms where he specialized in representing large, international mining and oil and gas clients. In his
capacity as a mining law expert, Mr. Alfers has advised the United Nations, foreign governments, and Congressional committees. Mr. Alfers has extensive
experience in developing and executing corporate financing arrangements, complex mining transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and in directing legal and
government affairs.
Eric Alexander – Vice President Finance and Controller
Mr. Alexander became Pershing’s Vice President Finance and Controller in September 2012. Prior to joining Pershing Gold Corporation, he was the
Corporate Controller for Sunshine Silver Mines Corporation, a privately held mining company with exploration and pre-development properties in Idaho
and Mexico. He was also the Corporate Controller for Golden Minerals Company (successor to Apex Silver Mines Limited), a US and Canadian publicly
traded international mining company with operations and exploration activities in South America and Mexico. In addition to working in industry he also held
the position of Senior Manager with the public accounting firm KPMG LLP, focusing on mining and energy clients. He has over 23 years of corporate,
operational and business experience. Mr. Alexander has a B.S. in Business Administration (concentrations in Accounting and Finance) from the State
University of New York at Buffalo and is also a licensed CPA.
Larry Hillesland -- Vice President Exploration and Development
Mr. Hillesland became Pershing’s Vice President of Exploration and Development in February 2012. With over 30 years of experience, Mr. Hillesland has
played a key role in the discovery of several gold systems (McDonald Meadows/Keep Cool in Montana and Nixon Fork in Alaska, Candamena in northern
Mexico, and adding indicated ounces to Kinross’ Kupol Project in Russia). He also defined the 1 billion pound leachable copper deposit at Hanover
Mountain in New Mexico. Mr. Hillesland has a B.S. in Geology from the University of Idaho and a Master’s degree from Oregon State University.
Mindyjo Germann – Corporate Secretary and Investor Relations
Ms. Germann became Pershing’s Corporate Secretary in March 2012. With over 25-years of experience, Ms. Germann has provided extensive C-Level
executive support as well as management support for numerous Chief Executive Officers and multiple Boards of Directors (DigitalGlobe, Inc., MolsonCoors
Brewing Company, and Einstein Noah Restaurant Group). Ms. Germann also served as Paralegal and Closing Team Specialist for the Merger & Acquisitions
practice groups of several nationally known law firms (Hogan & Hartson LLP; Parcel, Mauro, Hultin & Spaanstra, P.C., and Holme Roberts and Owen
LLP). Ms. Germann has a Paralegal Certificate from the University of Colorado at Denver.
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Expert Team Implements Resource Expansion
and Fast-Track Mine Reopening Strategy
• Well known, highly-regarded mining experts with the
complete suite of business, geologic, legal,
environmental and engineering skills:
• Steve Alfers – Executive Chairman, CEO & President
• Larry Hillesland – VP Exploration & Development
• Tim Janke – Project Development Manager
• Debra Struhsacker - Permitting and Government Relations
• Robert Casaceli – Sr. Geologist & Geophysicist
• Stephen Tibbals – Mine Manager, Relief Canyon Mine
• Bill Houston – Landman
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Capital Structure
CAPITAL STRUCTURE
Shares Issued and Outstanding* 273,292,023
Warrants 12,809,031
Stock Options Outstanding 33,200,000
Total fully diluted shares as of March 31, 2013 319,301,054
Share Price as of July 19, 2013 $0.35
Market Capitalization as of July 19, 2013 $95,652,208
OTCBB:PGLC
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*Common Shares outstanding as of March 31, 2013.
Share Price and Volume for Past Six Months
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Growth Milestones to Date
• Eliminated property boundary constraints that limited
past mine development and expanded landholdings to
cover more than 25,000 acres (39 square miles)
• Completed aggressive drilling programs which yielded
nearly five-times increase of Mineralized Material at
Relief Canyon
• Advanced timeline for reopening Relief Canyon Mine
and Processing Complex with relatively modest capital
investment
• Identified two previously discovered and unrecognized
mineralization styles at Pershing Packard and South
Relief
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Relief Canyon Asset Summary
• New mineral resource
• In house SEC Guide 7 compliant calculation
• 32.5M tons mineralized material 0.017 opt Au containing 553,000
oz gold
• Excludes 101,000 oz gold mineralized material categorized as
inferred
• Third-party calculation under NI 43-101
• In-pit 24.5M tons @ 0.019 opt Au containing 463,000 oz gold
categorized as measured and indicated
• In-pit 4.8M tons @ 0.021 opt Au containing 101,000 oz gold
categorized as inferred
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Relief Canyon Asset Summary (cont.)
• Existing Process Facilities
• Crushing/agglomeration/stacking plant
• 4 Mtpa capacity at minus ½ inch product
• Permitted leach pad with 21 M ton capacity
• 25% of capacity already built out
• Lots of area to expand
• 3000 GPM ADR plant
• Capacity to treat 8 Mtpa at 0.83:1 solution to ore ratio
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Increased Mineralized Material Estimate
• Technical Staff completed in-house calculation of
mineralized material which increased resource estimate
at Relief Canyon by a factor of nearly five.
• 32,541,000 tons of gold mineralized material at an average
grade of 0.017 ounces per ton gold – nearly five times previous
estimate of 6,533,000 tons mineralized material.
• Calculation of the estimate was made under SEC Guide 7
which does not include approximately 101,000 opt Au that is
currently categorized as inferred.
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In-Pit Gold Resource Estimate
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CATEGORY
TONS
GOLD GRADE
(opt Au)
TOTAL IN-PIT
GOLD OUNCES
MEASURED 2,918,000 0.0149 44,000
INDICATED 21,627,000 0.0194 419,000
TOTAL MEASURED & INDICATED 24,545,000 0.0188 463,000
INFERRED 4,811,000 0.0210 101,000
Notes:
1. Canadian Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) definitions were followed for classification of mineral resources
2. Mineral resources are estimated at a gold cut-off grade of 0.0046 opt
3. Resources are estimated using a gold price of US $1,650 per ounce
4. The resources are constrained by a Whittle pit shell prepared with the use of Whittle® 4X pit optimizing software program
5. RPA Principal Geologist Luke Evans, M.Sc., P.Eng. is the Qualified Person for the resource estimate
• Estimate using pit optimizing software to constrain in-pit resources at
Relief Canyon shows a measured and indicated in-pit resource of 463,000
ounces of gold and an inferred in-pit resource of 101,000 ounces of gold.
Expanded Mineralized Material at Relief
Canyon Deposit
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Strategic
consolidation of
the lands and
claims surrounding
Relief Canyon has
given Pershing
Gold exclusive
rights to lands
inside the
approximate
outline of the
Relief Canyon
gold deposit.
State-of-the-Art Heap Leach Gold
Processing Facility
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• Ready-to-operate Heap Leach
Facility
• Equipment tests began in Q4 2012
• Initiating design and permitting work
to add a gold refinery
• Able to process oxide gold ores from
other properties
• State and federal permits in good
standing
Current In-Pit Resource Project
• Above water table (>H2O)
• 15 month permit period—Q4 2014 startup
• Permitted under an Environmental Assessment (EA)
• Mine with contract labor and equipment
• Process >H2O @ 4 mtpa with Pershing Gold-owned plant
• Below water table (<H2O)
• 3 year permit period—Q4 2017 startup (seamless transition)
• Permitted under an Environmental Impact Study (EIS)
• Mine with contract labor and equipment
• Continue to process @ 4 mtpa to 2022 completion
• Scheduled resources
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Tons (M) Au OPT Au Oz Strip Ratio
> H2O 12.06 0.0176 212,220 1.36:1
< H2O 17.36 0.0203 351,780 4.47:1
Total 29.36 0.0192 564,000 3.20:1
New Exploration Model Greatly
Enhances Future Discovery Potential
• New model identifies three different mineralization styles
• Main Breccia Zone – explored and mined in the past
• Feeder Zones – new discovery not in current resource (higher
grade than MBZ)
• Lower Zone – new discovery not in current resource (higher grade than MBZ)
• Significant breakthrough in understanding the deposit and mineralization controls
• Will help identify future high-priority drilling targets to expand the resource
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2011 – 2012 drilling refines understanding of the
Relief Canyon deposit and reveals two previously
unrecognized styles of mineralization
Geophysical Surveys Discovered New
Mineralized Systems Outside of the Mine
• Sophisticated site-wide geophysical surveys to locate buried targets • CSAMT
• IP/Resistivity
• Gravity
• Magnetics
• Discovered Pershing Packard and South Relief hydrothermal systems
• Drilling confirms hydrothermal alteration and mineralization
• Identified crustal-penetrating structures
• Possible conduits for mineralizing fluids
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2013 Objectives
• Complete aggressive drilling program to expand current
NI 43-101 compliant mine resource
• Complete preliminary economic assessment of the Relief
Canyon Mine (Q1 2014)
• Continue on the path of recommissioning fully built and
permitted heap leach gold processing facilities
• Amend plan of operations consistent with permitting and
economic assessment
• Secure financing through production start-up at Relief
Canyon
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Pershing Gold:
A Unique Nevada Gold Opportunity
• Developed new mineralized material resource estimate of
32,541,000 tons of gold at an average grade of 0.017 opt Au
• Current block model mineralized material estimate is nearly five-times
previous resource estimate
• Includes Measured and Indicated In-pit mineral resource of
463,000 oz Au, plus101,000 oz Au Inferred
• Fast-track to become Nevada’s next gold producer
• Fully permitted and built heap leach processing facilities
• Path to production requires relatively modest capital investment
• Limited exposure to risks, delays and uncertainties associated with
raising capital, prolonged permitting, and building a new mine and
processing facilities compared to many other start-up projects
• Multiple drill-ready targets in the Company’s lands in the under
explored but highly prospective Pershing Gold and Silver Trend in
Nevada’s Humboldt Range
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Pershing Gold Corporation
1658 Cole Boulevard, Building 6, Suite 210
Lakewood, CO 80401
720.974.7248
E-mail: [email protected]
www.pershinggold.com
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