Liquidity Update:
Tonnes and grade, with respect to the Company’s mining operations at DDGM, have declined during 2024 and are below budget, especially in the third quarter. There are several factors that caused these declines. The Company has encountered significant issues with equipment availability due to the age and condition of some of the critical mining equipment in use at the mine. Due to the continued challenges with equipment availability and the decreased cash due to prior production shortfalls, the Company has not been able to maintain its projected timeline for development of future production zones. As a result, the Company is currently mining only one face at a time in areas that are accessible. The current lack of other available production zones has placed additional pressure on the Company’s ability to achieve its production estimates, as any problems encountered at the current production zone cannot be offset by producing elsewhere in the mine. In addition, the mill also experienced some mechanical issues and wet ore handling difficulties due to unusually high rain fall that resulted in lower throughput and a production shortfall. To minimize the mechanical issues and return the mine to a cash positive position, capital is necessary to replace some of the mining fleet and upgrade the mill.
The Company believes that the mine has significant potential to generate positive cash flow based on the information to date from the new areas of the Three Sisters, as well as other areas that have been discovered near the existing mining zones. In order to develop access and better define these new areas, an investment must be made in the equipment and mine plan. Without the addition of these areas to the life-of-mine plan, the Company does not believe that the mine will generate sufficient free cash flow in the near term.
The Company’s inability to achieve its production estimates have created a substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. The Company currently anticipates that it will require approximately $7 million to obtain additional mining equipment and mill upgrades. These amounts include approximately $2.5 million in upgrades at the mill, including approximately $1.0 million to install a new filter to increase capacity in the filter plant and approximately $0.7 million to obtain a spare ball gear. These investments also include approximately $4.5 million in mining equipment to replace old or inefficient equipment, including underground loaders, bolters, and drills. The Company also expects to require approximately $8 million in working capital in order to fund the initial development to access the Three Sisters and Splay 31 systems, although not all of this capital will be required immediately. Due to the 2024 production challenges described above, the Company does not believe that the mine will generate sufficient cashflow to fund these improvements. The Company is evaluating various financing options in order to fund this development in the near term.
If the Company is unable to obtain this additional capital and successfully develop these new mining areas, the continued operation of the mine may not be possible beyond November 2024. If continued operation of the mine is not possible, the Company may be compelled to place the mine on “care and maintenance” status, which would likely trigger significant severance and other costs which the Company may not be able to pay
