Rye Patch Gold - Progress continues on-track at Florida Canyon Mine

VANCOUVER, Nov. 23, 2016 - Rye Patch Gold Corp. (TSX.V: RPM; OTCQX: RPMGF; FWB: 5TN) (the "Company" or "Rye Patch") is pleased to provide an update on the Florida Canyon restart project.

 

The project continues on track and as of mid-November the project has achieved 70% completion, highlights:

The crusher move is complete and all long lead items have arrived;

Stock-piling of ore has commenced;

Pregnant and barren ponds are complete;

Plastic liner is rolling across the lower 1/3 of the leach pad;

First and second drawdown of credit facility achieved; and Project is on budget and is fully funded.

The following information and pictures show the progress of the salient components of the re‑start project.

 

Mining:

Mining commenced on November 1, 2016 with the first blast from the 5620 bench in the Jasperoid Hill pit.  Ore is being stock piled while the final pieces of the crusher are being put in place.

 

Crusher:

The crusher is set with all concrete, wiring and dust abatement equipment complete along with a new 12-metre (40 feet) high retaining wall.  The final pieces including a large dump hopper and new radial arm stacker have arrived and are being placed to make the crusher fully operational.  Upon completion, the crusher will start to crush the over liner material and ore for the new heap leach pad.  At full production, the crusher will deliver 545,500 tonnes (600,000 tons) of crushed material to the heap leach pad on a monthly basis – 6.54 million tonnes (7.2 million tons) per annum.

 

Leach Pad:

Pregnant and barren solution ponds have been lined and are ready for testing.  The lower 100‑metres of the leach pad has been compacted with two levels of clay each measuring 15‑centimetres thick, and plastic liner is being placed.  The project remains on schedule to start loading the lower portion of the new leach pad at the end of November.

 

William C. Howald, the Company's CEO commented, "The Florida Canyon restart project is moving along very nicely thanks to efforts of the construction and operating teams on site.  Since starting in late August, the original 4-month schedule is intact, and the programs are running under budget.  Gold production will begin from the new heap leach pad in late December or early January with commercial production on track to be achieved by the end of Q1 2017."

 

Residual Leaching:

Florida Canyon is currently producing almost 30 ounces of gold per day by residual heap leaching from the old Florida Canyon and Standard Mine heap leach facilities.  With the project continuing to advance rapidly on or below budget, the project remains comfortably funded through to production, based on the US$27m credit facility, Coeur Rochester quarterly royalty income and approximately US$1,000,000 per month income from residual leaching from existing pads.

 

Funding:

To date, US$24 million has been invested and committed to the Project costs, representing an estimated 70% of the costs to achieve first gold pour and 55% of the costs to full project completion.

 

The Company has successfully completed its first and second drawdowns of its credit facility with Macquarie bank for a total of US$13.2 million. The Project is fully funded through to completion.  Remaining construction and project ramp up costs are funded by a combination of credit facility, gold and silver sales and royalty

income.

 

The Company was required to enter in to a gold hedging program as part of the Macquarie Bank credit facility.  The Hedge requires that the Company delivers 150,000 ounces of gold over 5 years and is priced at $1,276 per ounce of gold.

Mr. William Howald, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist #11041, Rye Patch Gold's CEO and President, is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

 

About Rye Patch Gold Corp. 

Rye Patch Gold Corp. is a Nevada based, Tier 1, well-funded mining company led by a seasoned management team with a wide range of operations and project development successes.  The team is engaged in the mining and development of quality resource-based gold and silver mines and projects along the established Oreana trend in west central Nevada.  Benefitting from its strong financial position, the Company has leveraged its cash to acquire the operating Florida Canyon gold mine.  The Company now controls a trend-scale platform with operations, replacement assets and exploration upside.   The combination of operations and exploration concentrated along a major Nevada gold trend positions Rye Patch as an emerging mid-tier gold producer with tremendous value added potential.  For more information about the Company, please visit our website at www.ryepatchgold.com.

 

On behalf of the Board of Directors

'William Howald'

William C. (Bill) Howald, CEO & President

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to future plans and objectives of the Company, proposed operations of the Company including mine development, funding requirements, future events and conditions and other statements that are not historical facts, all of which are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results, programs and financial position could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of numerous factors, some of which may be beyond the Company's control. These factors include: the requirement of the Company to satisfy the conditions for drawdowns in the credit agreement entered into with Macquarie Bank Limited ("Credit Facility"), the achievement of mine redevelopment plans and production results; the availability of funds; the financial position of Rye Patch; the timing and content of work programs; the results of exploration activities and development of mineral properties; the interpretation of drilling results and other geological data; the reliability of calculation of mineral resources; the reliability of calculation of precious metal recoveries; the receipt and security of mineral property titles; project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses; fluctuations in metal prices; currency fluctuations; and general market and industry conditions.

 

Forward-looking statements are based on the expectations and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. The assumptions used in the preparation of such statements, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements.  As a result, the Company cannot guarantee that the drawdowns under the Credit Facility and the Florida Canyon mine redevelopment will be completed on the terms and within the time disclosed herein or at all.

Neither 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.

 

SOURCE Rye Patch Gold

Contact:

Rye Patch Gold Corp, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Tel.: (604) 638-1588, Fax: (604) 638-1589