January 26, 2023. Rupert Resources Ltd (“Rupert” or the “Company”) announces that it has published its unaudited, condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three and nine months ending November 30, 2022 and accompanying Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the same period. Both of the above have been posted on the Company’s website www.rupertresources.com and on Sedar at www.sedar.com.
Financial performance
During the nine months ended November 30, 2022, the Company spent $20,297,767 (9 months ended November, 2021 – $ 16,513,835) on its exploration projects. As of November 30, 2022 Rupert held cash and cash equivalents of $28,994,038 (November 30, 2021 – $ 49,324,781). The Company recorded a net (loss) gain and comprehensive (loss) gain for the three months and nine months ended November 30, 2022 of $3,744,713 and $(6,573,531) respectively (three months and nine months ended November 30, 2021 – $(3,462,153) and $(8,435,622) respectively and a net (loss) gain per share for the three months and nine months ended November 30, 2022 of $(0.01) and $(0.03) respectively (three and nine months ended November 30, 2021 – $(0.01) and $(0.03) respectively).
Operating performance
During the three and nine months to end-November 2023 and up to the date of this document, Rupert’s operational activities have been primarily focussed on the Rupert Lapland Project Area and Ikkari in particular, located in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (“CLGB”), together with more limited exploration activity at Hirsikangas in Central Finland.
The regional exploration program at the Rupert Lapland Project Area is designed to identify and evaluate the mineral potential contained in Rupert’s land package in the CLGB.
Since July 2020 the Company has been engaged in a diamond drill program to further evaluate discoveries made within the Rupert Lapland Project Area, including Ikkari, as well as continuing to generate new targets.
Base of till (“BoT”) sampling continues across the Rupert Lapland Project Area, specifically over geophysical anomalies of interest and programs will begin on recently applied for exploration permits upon grant in the coming months.
On November 28, 2022 the company published the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment technical report (“PEA”) for Ikkari. The full technical report is now available on Rupert Resources’s website here and has been filed on SEDAR. The PEA demonstrates an After-Tax Net Present Value (“NPV”) (5% discount) of $1.6 billion, an unlevered Internal Rate of Return (“IRR”) of 46% and payback after only two years, assuming a gold price of $1,650 per troy ounce (“oz”). A long project life in excess of 20 years is envisaged by the study recovering 4.25million ounces and with expected lowest quartile all-in sustaining cost (“AISC”) of $759/oz over LOM, and $596/oz during the Ikkari open-pit operation. (November 28, 2022 press release).
Numerous technical programs have commenced across multiple disciplines towards completion of a pre-feasibility study (“PFS”) within 12 to 18 months.
Near-term resource additions
A 2022/23 drill program comprising some 73,000 metres (“m”) of drilling, with circa 30,000m allocated to Ikkari infill drilling. Near-term resource addition is a point of particular focus for the Company in order to ensure inclusion in future economic and environmental assessments and the eventual permitting of Ikkari.
Continuing exploration
On-going exploration is a further key focus, with the mineralised limits of the Ikkari deposit untested and the broader mineralising system that hosts surrounding discoveries only tested at shallow depths. There are six known targets to be tested and new target generation continues through Base of Till and geophysical programs.
Advancing permitting and environmental work
Permitting, specifically the progression of the Environmental Impact Assessment (“EIA”) Program works and Land Use Planning is also a key focus of the Company. The EIA Program was presented to the respective authorities on November 30, 2022 and formally started the environmental permitting process.
Pahtavaara Mine
The Ikkari PEA has identified the opportunity to develop Pahtavaara later in the life of the Ikkari operation as a satellite mine to a new central processing facility at Ikkari. This would allow Pahtavaara to benefit from cost synergies and shared infrastructure.