After-tax NPV5% of US$1,353 million at approx. spot of US$3,200 gold price
After-tax NPV5% of US$603 million at US$2,200 base-case gold price
A compelling after-tax IRR of 72% at US$3,200 gold and 40% at US$2,200 base case gold price
AISC of US$1,111/oz
After-tax payback period of 2 years
The Company has received a positive legal opinion on status of the Castelo de Sonhos Permit, which remains valid and in good standing
Scottsdale, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - May 5, 2025) - TriStar Gold Inc. (TSXV: TSG) (OTCQB: TSGZF) ("TriStar" or the "Company), is pleased to announce a prefeasibility study ("Study") update for the Company's Castelo de Sonhos gold project in southern Pará State, Brazil by GE21 Consultoria Mineral Ltda ("GE21") of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. There was no change to the mineral resources or reserves, the focus of the update study was the cost estimate since the release of the previous PFS, as well as to incorporate changes to the gold price and exchange rates.
Nick Appleyard, TriStar's President and CEO, stated: "The updated Study is a key step in our advancement of Castelo de Sonhos, demonstrating gold price leverage and robust economics at a time of record high gold prices and a scarcity of permitted development assets."
Mr. Appleyard continued, "Tristar's Castelo de Sonhos can fill a gap in the gold development space, with the potential to create value for all stakeholders. We look forward to advancing this project to a construction decision."
The results of the Study now replace the 2021 prefeasibility study ("PFS"), originally announced in the Company's press release dated October 5, 2021. The Study has incorporated a new cost estimate for the planned development of Castelo de Sonhos compared with the 2021 original.
Table 1 below presents a side-by-side comparison of the key metrics of the latest Study and 2021 PFS.
Castelo de Sonhos Metric
2025 PFS Study Update
2021 Prefeasibility
Initial Capital (US$ million)
$296
$261
Base-Case Gold Price (US$/oz)
$2,200
$1,550
AISC (US$/oz)
$1,111
$900
Exchange Rate (1 US$: BRL)
5.75
5.0
After-Tax NPV 5% (US$ million)
$603
$321
Base Case After-Tax IRR (%)
40%
28%
Table 1. Key Metrics Comparison.
The Prefeasibility Study Update The prefeasibility study update of economic parameters was conducted by GE21 Consultoria Mineral Ltda ("GE21") of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, who are independent of TriStar.
Key parameters of the Study include:
Review and update all project operating costs.
Review and update all project capital costs.
Economic analyses were carried out based on the resources and reserves that are still considered current.
Update economics with a base case long-term gold price of US$2,200/oz and a foreign exchange rate of US$1 = BRL5.75. The economics include the effect of the project royalties, including NSR royalties totaling 3.5% and Brazilian federal gross royalty of 1.5%.
Project Description The Castelo de Sonhos operation will include an open pit gold mine and processing facilities with a nominal milling rate of 10,000 tpd (3.6Mtpa). Power will be supplied by a 26 km, 138 kV transmission line from a substation adjacent to Highway 163 near the town of Castelo de Sonhos. At closure, all buildings will be removed, disturbed lands rehabilitated, and the property returned to otherwise functional use according to future approved reclamation plans and accepted practices at the time of closure. The Study incorporates all costs associated with undertaking these measures and is reflected in the project economics.
Mining will be based on conventional open pit methods (drill-blast-load-haul), which are suited to the Project location, orebody and local site conditions.
The process flowsheet remains unchanged with whole-ore agitation leaching as the preferred process flowsheet for project development. The plant will be designed to treat 10,000 tpd through crushing, grinding, hybrid cyanidation and carbon in leach, carbon acid wash, pressure stripping, and thermal regeneration. Electrowinning sludge will be dried and smelted to produce doré bars for shipment to third party refiners. Based on the test work conducted this flowsheet is anticipated to result in a metallurgical recovery of 98% of the gold delivered to the plant.
Figure 1. Castelo de Sonhos Project Prefeasibility Proposed Layout.
Economic Results The results of the Study are shown below in Table 2. A base case gold price of US$2,200 has been used and a fixed exchange ratio of BRL5.75 (5.75 Brazilian Reals) to US$1.
Parameter
Unit
Pre-tax
Post-tax
Cash flow
US$ millions
1,123
934
IRR
%
46
40
NPV 5%
US$ millions
736
603
NPV 10%
US$ millions
491
393
Cash Cost
US$/oz
1,080
AISC
US$/oz
1,111
Initial Capital
US$ millions
296
Life of mine production
Moz gold
1.33
Average annual production
oz gold
121,000
Payback period (Mine life)
Years
2.0
Table 2. Summary of Economic Results of the Study.
Notes: Estimated All In Sustaining Costs per ounce of gold produced is a Non-GAAP measure that is equal the total of site mining costs, site and corporate G&A costs, royalties and production taxes, realized gains/losses on hedging transactions, community and permitting costs relating to current operations, refining costs, site based non-cash remuneration, inventory write-downs, stripping costs, byproduct credits, reclamation costs, and sustaining costs related to exploration and studies, capital exploration, capitalized stripping and underground mine development, and capital expenditures, divided by the estimated total ounces of gold produced during the life of the mine.
Economic Sensitivities
The figures and tables below show the sensitivity of after-tax NPV and IRR to changes in the US dollar gold price.
Figure 2. Sensitivity of after-tax NPV10% (Millions) to gold price, base case highlighted in blue.
The Study outlines an initial capital cost estimate of US$296 million, including a 20% contingency.
Table 3 below summarizes the initial capital cost estimate for the Project.
DESCRIPTION
US$ MILLIONS
Mine
37.3
Power transmission line
10.8
Plant
187.2
Tailings storage facility
11.2
Contingency (20%)
49.3
Total
295.8
Table 3. Summary of major components of initial capital estimate.
Operating Costs
Operating costs by phase for the LOM are provided in Table 4 below.
Parameter
Unit
Process rate
t/day
10,000
Average head grade
g/t
1.1
Phase 1 head grade
g/t
1.3
Phase 2 head grade
g/t
0.8
Gold Recovery
%
98
Mine operating cost (owner operator)
US$/t moved
2.01
Process operating cost
US$/t processed
11.10
G&A
US$/ processed
1.70
LOM strip ratio
Waste t : process t
9 : 1
Table 4. Life of mine summary of operating parameters and costs.
Mineral Resource Estimate This mineral resource estimate remains unchanged as per the Company press release dated Oct 5, 2021 "TriStar Gold Announces Positive PFS with 1.4 Moz Gold Reserves and pre-tax 33% IRR and $400 million NPV."
Results are shown in Table 5 below.
Region
Classification
Tonnage (Mt)
Grade (g/t Au)
Metal Content (Moz Au)
Esperança South
Indicated
29.0
1.3
1.2
Inferred
10.0
1.2
0.4
Esperança East
Indicated
5.0
0.8
0.1
Inferred
12.8
0.7
0.3
Esperança Center
Indicated
19.1
0.7
0.4
Inferred
3.3
0.9
0.1
Project Total
Indicated
53.1
1.0
1.8
Inferred
26.0
0.9
0.7
Table 5. Mineral resource estimate1 for the Castelo de Sonhos gold project (with an effective date of October 4, 2021) above a reporting cutoff grade of 0.26 g/t Au.
1Project totals may appear not to sum correctly since all numbers have been rounded to reflect the precision of Inferred and Indicated mineral resource estimates. 2These are mineral resources and not reserves and as such do not have demonstrated economic viability. 3The metal content estimates reflect gold in situ, and do not include factors such as external dilution, mining losses and process recovery losses. 4TriStar is not aware of any environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-economic, marketing or political factors that might materially affect these mineral resource estimates.
Mineral Reserve Estimate The Mineral Reserves, which also remain unchanged, for Castelo de Sonhos are a subset of the Indicated Mineral Resources as shown in Table 5 above. Probable Mineral Reserves are modified from Indicated Mineral Resources and are summarized in Table 6. Inferred Mineral Resources are set to waste. This mineral reserve estimate remains unchanged as per the Company press release dated Oct 5, 2021 "TriStar Gold Announces Positive PFS with 1.4 Moz Gold Reserves and pre-tax 33% IRR and $400 million NPV."
Region
Classification
Tonnage (Mt)
Grade (g/t Au)
Metal Content (Moz Au)
Esperança South
Probable
24.2
1.28
0.99
Esperança East
Probable
3.1
0.82
0.08
Esperança Center
Probable
11.4
0.78
0.29
Project Total
Probable
38.7
1.1
1.4
Table 6. The Mineral Reserve estimates were prepared by Guilherme Gomides Ferreira, P.Eng., a GE21, and have an effective date of October 4, 2021. Mineral Reserves are reported using the 2014 CIM Definition Standards and are estimated in accordance with the 2019 CIM Best Practices Guidelines. Mineral Reserves are based on the PFS LOM plan. Mineral Reserves are mined tonnes and grade; and includes consideration for modifying factors such as loss and dilution. Mineral Reserves are reported at a cut-off of 0.26 g/t gold. Numbers have been rounded as required by reporting guidelines. There are no other known factors or issues that materially affect the Mineral Reserve estimate other than which is disclosed above, and normal risks faced by mining projects in the jurisdiction in terms of environmental, permitting, taxation, socio-economic, marketing, and political factors and additional risk factors as listed in the "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information" section below.
Legal Opinion on Requests Related to Castelo de Sonhos TriStar is also pleased to provide the results of an independent legal opinion on the civil inquiry started by a Federal Public Prosecutor (MPF) to government regulators to investigate the potential impacts of the Company's Castelo de Sonhos gold project on Indigenous lands; please see TriStar press release from October 1, 2024 for details. The Company also notes that the permit remains valid and in good standing, according to SEMAS, the main regulatory permitting authority in Para State.
TriStar's independent legal advice suggests that the Company has demonstrated that the Castelo de Sonhos project does not have the potential to interfere with Indigenous lands named in the Prosecutor's case. The legal opinion also notes that it does not see the preparation of an Indigenous Component Study and/or the completion of a Free, Prior, and Informed Consultation as justified; both items were recommended by the MPF.
Legal counsel also noted that the EIA for Castelo de Sonhos is complete, robust and adequate. The opinion highlights the solid technical and legal defenses presented by TriStar following the MPF's recommendation. The Lawyers also note the non-binding nature of the MPF recommendations and the non-acceptance by SEMAS, TriStar's principal regulator, of these recommendations. SEMAS as well as environmental authority SEMMA have provided responses criticizing the MPF's position. Based on the legal opinion, evidence does not support the concerns raised by the MPF as there is no impact, direct or indirect, not even holistic or cosmological, on the ways of life and customs of the indigenous peoples.
Qualified Person
Porfirio Cabaleiro Rodriguez (FAIG #3708), Director of GE21, is the Qualified Person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, for the Preliminary Feasibility Study presented in this press release, is independent of the Company and has approved the technical disclosure in this press release.
About TriStar
TriStar Gold is an exploration and development company focused on precious metals properties in the Americas that have the potential to become significant producing mines. The Company's current flagship property is the Castelo de Sonhos gold project in Pará State, Brazil. TriStar has completed a pre-feasibility study and is now working to advance the project towards a feasibility study while evaluating optimization options. The Company's shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol TSG and on the OTCQB under the symbol TSGZF. Further information is available at www.tristargold.com.
On behalf of the board of directors of the Company:
Nick Appleyard President and CEO
For further information, please contact:
TriStar Gold Inc. Nick Appleyard President and CEO 480-794-1244 info@tristargold.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under Canadian securities legislation which are not historical facts and are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects" or "it is expected", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Forward-looking statements in this press release include all estimates from the Study such as the cash flow, IRR, NPVs, cash cost, AISC, initial capital, life of mine production, average annual production and payback period time. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's reasonable expectations and business plan at the date hereof, which are subject to change depending on economic, political and competitive circumstances and contingencies. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause a change in such assumptions and the actual outcomes and estimates to be materially different from those estimated or anticipated future results, achievements or position expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the Company's plans to change include changes in demand for and price of gold and other commodities (such as fuel and electricity) and currencies; changes or disruptions in the securities markets; legislative, political or economic developments in Brazil; the need to obtain permits and comply with laws and regulations and other regulatory requirements; the possibility that actual results of work may differ from projections/expectations or may not realize the perceived potential of the Company's projects; risks of accidents, equipment breakdowns and labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in development programs; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, mining or development activities; the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves and resources; and the risks involved in the exploration, development and mining business. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.
