What led G Mining Ventures to select Tocantinzinho as its founding asset?

G Mining Ventures was established in 2020 with the aim of becoming the next intermediate gold producer. At the time, G Mining Ventures owned no assets, but based on a strong senior management team was able to raise C$42 million to incorporate the company and begin searching for a promising project. We acquired the Tocantinzinho project (TZ) in Pará State, Brazil from Eldorado Gold in 2021, which became our founding asset. We chose TZ because it was an advanced stage project, meaning we could begin construction and production quickly, leveraging our inhouse project development expertise. Additionally, the project was in a high rainfall environment in which the management team was familiar with.

What progress has your company made towards advancing this asset?

We have managed to achieve major milestones at TZ within a short period of time that will allow us to make a construction decision on the project by the end of 2022. These include the publication of a recently updated feasibility study and completion of a financing package that provides us with full construction funding. The US$481 million financing package announced in July 2022 brought in two new supportive cornerstone investors in Franco-Nevada and La Mancha, and enjoyed the continued support of existing strategic shareholder, Eldorado Gold.

G Mining Ventures received the vegetation suppression authorization and the main site installation licenses, which are essentially construction permits that allow us to construct the mine site. Other extension-related permits still outstanding are expected to be received soon. The permits we currently have will allow us to begin certain construction activities, including doubling the capacity of the exploration camp.

How has G Mining Ventures been able to attract funding?

The project is in a relatively new mining area within Brazil, with very few industrial mines in the region. There are other smaller exploration companies in the area, but we will be the first large-scale producer here. The deposit has 2 million oz of reserves and will allow us to produce an average of 175,000 oz/y Au for at least 10 years. In addition, we have a large exploration land package surrounding the deposit where we anticipate finding additional deposits.

Franco-Nevada, who invested US$350 million, structured a $250 million gold stream in such a way that it contemplates TZ having 3-5 years of mine life extension beyond the current mine plan. This demonstrates that they clearly see the geological potential of the property.

Are there any advantages to your company’s relationship with G Mining Services?

A huge advantage we have over our competitors is our ability to transfer skilled and experienced talent from G Mining Services, a well-known and trustworthy mine construction company, to G Mining Ventures during the construction phase. In this way, we can quickly assemble a team of talented people who have worked together in the past to successfully complete numerous projects.

How does G Mining Ventures interact with its environment?

Brazil’s national power grid is 80% renewable. Attaining access to this was key, as it provides us with a clean and cost-effective source of power for the project. To do so, we will make a substantial investment to build a 190 km powerline to connect the mine to the grid. We will also invest in reforestation projects as artisanal miners have previously caused degradation in the region. Besides environmental considerations, we aim to improve the quality of life of the communities. We operate in poor regions with limited infrastructure, and we will support education, health and cultural initiatives.

How do you envision your company’s portfolio evolving?

We hope to be in construction at TZ in the second half of 2022. This is our primary asset, and we will explore potential acquisitions opportunities in the medium term. We also have our Cameron Lake project in Québec, which is a grassroots exploration property surrounded by land staked by other exploration companies. We may look to sell or enter a JV agreement if we deem it to be noncore to GMIN going forward.