Royal Gold acquires additional royalty interests on Cortez Gold Complex

Acquisition Highlights

• Cash acquisition of life of mine gross royalty provides Royal Gold shareholders with immediate revenue and increased exposure to the Cortez Complex:
  • The Idaho Royalty is currently generating revenue and covers a total area of approximately 630 square miles without stepdowns or caps. Using available liquidity sources to fund the acquisition provides Royal Gold shareholders with full exposure to exploration and production success without equity dilution.
• Established world-class gold mining complex with district-scale and long-term growth potential:
  • The Cortez Complex has been operating since 1969, has produced approximately 27 million oz of gold to date, and has consistently replaced resources in excess of depletion. The Idaho Royalty covers a large area including the producing Crossroads, Pipeline and Cortez Hills mines, the Goldrush, Fourmile and Robertson development projects, and several exploration targets. Royal Gold expects further production and exploration potential at these mines, projects and targets to contribute revenue to the portfolio for decades.
• Cortez is expected to be a top three revenue producer in the Royal Gold portfolio:
  • The Cortez Complex is a principal property for Royal Gold and has provided total royalty revenue of over US$400 million over a 27-year period from the first royalty payment in 1995 through 30 September 2022. Including this acquisition, the Cortez Complex is expected to rank within the top three revenue producers in Royal Gold’s portfolio in 2023.
• NGM is a joint venture between the world’s two largest gold mining companies, both of which have deep roots in Nevada:
  • The NGM joint venture partners, Barrick and Newmont, have long and established operating histories in Nevada. NGM owns and operates processing facilities designed to process a wide range of ore types, and the NGM partners are the widely acknowledged global leaders in Carlin-type deposit geology.
• Nevada is a low-risk and established mining jurisdiction:
  • Nevada is one of the world’s most prolific gold mining jurisdictions and was third in the Fraser Institute’s ranking of top global mining jurisdictions in 2021.
• Royal Gold’s knowledge of the Cortez Complex provided unique insights into the review of the future potential:
  • Royal Gold has been involved in the Cortez Complex since 1987 and was a founding partner in the original Cortez joint venture. Several members of Royal Gold’s senior management and Board of Directors worked with NGM predecessor companies, including Placer Dome Inc. and Barrick, and have first-hand operating and project development experience at the Cortez mine.

Bill Heissenbuttel, President and CEO of Royal Gold, commented:

"With this transaction we have further consolidated our royalty position at the world-class Cortez Complex”

“Cortez is a cornerstone asset for Royal Gold and this acquisition increases and expands our interest at one of the world’s most prolific gold mines, which is operated by two of the leading companies in the gold business. We have consistently worked to enhance and extend the average life of the Royal Gold portfolio and this transaction again demonstrates our successful execution of this long-term strategy.”

“The royalty covers areas similar to those covered by the Rio Tinto royalty that we acquired in August 2022, with the important difference that the Idaho Royalty includes the existing Robertson deposits. We recognise that our royalty coverage of the Cortez Complex has grown to become more complicated, so as part of this announcement we are introducing a simplified approach to describing our multiple royalty interests across the Cortez Complex.”

“This simplification should highlight our exposure to Cortez and align our disclosure with that of NGM.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/06012023/royal-gold-acquires-additional-royalty-interests-on-cortez-gold-complex/