Perpetua Resources Announces Sale Of Silver Royalty For $8.5M In Proceeds

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | March 21, 2024 04:31pm

Silver royalty proceeds complement the funding Perpetua has received through the Department of Defense to continue advancing permitting and construction readiness activities.

Silver represents less than 0.3% of projected life-of-mine revenue in the 2020 Feasibility Study

BOISE, Idaho, March 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ - Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ:PPTA) (TSX:PPTA) ("Perpetua Resources" or "Perpetua" or the "Company") announced today that it entered into a Royalty Agreement (the "Agreement") with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Franco-Nevada Corporation ("Franco-Nevada") pursuant to which Perpetua, through its subsidiaries, sold Franco-Nevada a royalty ("royalty") on the future payable silver production from the Stibnite Gold Project in exchange for a cash payment of $8.5 million (the "upfront payment").

"This transaction allows Perpetua to monetize a non-strategic by-product from the Stibnite Gold Project and enhance our liquidity to cover a majority of our near-term priorities that are not covered by the funding we've received from the Department of Defense to advance permitting and construction readiness," said Jon Cherry, President and CEO of Perpetua Resources. "Establishing a domestic source of the critical mineral antimony is more important than ever, and we stand ready to responsibly produce critical resources here at home and help strengthen America's national and economic security."

Highlights of the transaction:

• $8.5 million upfront cash payment to Perpetua upon closing of the transaction
• Franco-Nevada will receive all of the payable silver by-product revenue over the life-of-mine, subject to the terms of the Agreement
• Silver represents less than 0.3% of projected life-of-mine revenue in the 2020 Feasibility Study
• The additional liquidity provided from the upfront payment complements the funding that the company has secured through the U.S. Department of Defense
• Perpetua intends to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes

"We appreciate Franco-Nevada's continued confidence and support of the Stibnite Gold Project," said Jessica Largent, CFO of Perpetua Resources. "We have been focused on minimizing equity dilution and this transaction combined with the full anticipated amount of Department of Defense funding represents over $80 million in non-dilutive capital.  Moving forward, we will continue to evaluate various financing options that unlock shareholder value as we receive permits for our world-class project and transition towards construction."

Perpetua's proposed Stibnite Gold Project (the "Project") is designed to re-establish a U.S. source of the critical mineral antimony as a by-product of one of the highest-grade open pit gold resources in the United States. The additional funding will allow the Company to continue advancing the construction readiness of the Stibnite Gold Project and support general corporate expenses related to the Project's progress through the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") review process, led by the United States Forest Service ("USFS").

 

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