Vancouver, BC - Baru Gold Corp. (the “Company” or “Baru”) is pleased to provide stakeholders and shareholders with an operational summary for 2021 and an outlook for 2022.
2021 SUMMARY
Listing on US Exchange
Baru began trading on the OTCQB under the ticker symbol BARUF. The OTCQB is a US marketplace for entrepreneurial and development-stage US and international companies that are committed to providing a high-quality trading and information experience for their investors. The OTCQB is the middle tier of the three over-the-counter trading platforms.
Dead Rent Tax
In January, $356,000 (approximately Indonesian Rupiah 3.8 billion) in tax was paid to the representative office of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
Work Program Approval by Indonesia Government
In January, the Company’s work plan and budget Rencana Kerja Angaran Belanja (“RKAB”) for PT Tambang Mas Sangihe (“TMS”) for 2021 was formally approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The RKAB includes planning and proposed expenditures for construction, mining, production, community programs, environmental rehabilitation, and geological and geotechnical investigations for 2021 and beyond.
COVID-19 Impact
In July, Indonesia reported more than 2.5 million cases in total, with daily coronavirus infections reaching 50,000 cases. Compared with the winter peak of 11,000 new cases per day in January of 2021, the delta and lambda variants significantly impacted the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia.
Baru Supports Indonesian Government in Lawsuit
Baru joined the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Republic of Indonesia (“MEMR”) in responding to a lawsuit filed in Jakarta. Baru was not named in the lawsuit, but the Company pro-actively and vigorously supported the MEMR. In that the lawsuit related to the mining permit granted to Baru’s 70-per-cent-owned subsidiary PT Tambang Mas Sangihe, the Jakarta Administrative Court approved the Company's request for permission to be present during court proceedings. Since August 2021, the Company was present for all court dates pursuant to the proceedings.
Production Licence
The Company applied for and received the upgrade of the Sangihe Gold Project’s Contract of Work (“CoW”) to a full production and export licence. Baru’s subsidiary TMS, the holder of the Sangihe CoW, submitted the application to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources of North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Company’s detailed works program and business plan (“DWP” and “BP” respectively) were approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources at an open meeting attended by TMS and representatives of both Provincial and Central mines departments. To complete the licence upgrade on the Sangihe project, to Operation Production status, the Company needed and received final approval from the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources. The licence upgrade allowed Baru to begin construction of the gold production facilities and infrastructure for the Sangihe project.
Appointment of New Directors
Baru appointed three new independent directors in 2021. The new board members bring decades of operational experience on heap leach technology and relationships with the financial markets.
In February, Mr. Joseph Keane was appointed to the board. Mr. Keane built metallurgical engineering and consulting firm KD Engineering & Co for an eventual sale to SS Metcon. Mr. Keane was instrumental in starting the first semi-autogenous copper sulphide flotation mill in the Philippines, doubling the production capacity of the largest gold mine in the Southeast Asian country. In addition, he was the project sponsor for China's largest gold heap leach mine (30,000 tonnes per day and 133,000 ounces gold per year) in Inner Mongolia, which was subsequently acquired by China Gold International and expanded to 250,000 ounces gold per year with a resource of over three million ounces.
In April, Mr. John Ellis joined the board. In the late 90’s, Mr. Ellis was the chairman and chief executive officer of Anglo Gold North America, setting up Anglo's gold-mining ventures in the Americas. He was responsible for gold exploration as well as the acquisition/operation of projects in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. He also provided guidance to Inco in Indonesia in the early 2000s for a large nickel laterite mine producing 160 million pounds of nickel annually. He is currently serving as a director of Jaguar Mining Inc., a mid-sized gold producer in the Americas.
In August, Mr. Colin Davies joined the board. A professional geologist by trade, Mr. Davies started his career at Anglo American as a gold mine geologist in South Africa at Vaal Reefs working on brownfield exploration. His travels took him across the world with BP Minerals for diamonds and ultimately to Jakarta, Indonesia, where he would spend nearly 30 years mainly in gold exploration. Early formative roles with Santa Fe Gold and the Pelsart Group led into senior management positions with global mining contractors before culminating with eight years at the J Resources Group, a US$300 million market capitalization mid-cap 150,000-ounce-per-annum gold producer.
Land Acquisition
Throughout 2021, after the production licence was granted, Baru has been actively working to acquire land from local residents to construct its mine. The commitment to sell most of the land targeted for acquisition in phase one by Baru was secured in September 2021. The Company has since focused its efforts confirming titles and preparing legal documents for closings on the purchase of the land. The initial land to be acquired is more than sufficient for the first phase of the operational plan. The processing operations will start with two heap leach pads.
Baru is equally proud of the relationships it has built with the local residents who are fully supportive of the Company's initiatives which include the offering of jobs and business opportunities for the residents of the island. They welcome a fully engineered mining operation that has the full support of the federal government.
Sangihe Gold Project Construction Commences
In October, construction commenced at the Sangihe heap leach operation. Phase one consists of clearing land, building two 100,000-tonne heap leach pads, pit overburden removal, preparation of waste dumps, a crushing facility, and a processing plant area all with access to roads.
Private Placement
In October, Baru announced a private placement of $1.5 million and in November closed the oversubscribed financing raising $1.67 million. The funds will be used to further the exploration program and to provide support for the start-up of production at the Sangihe gold project.
Structural Study Commissioned
Also, in October, the Company appointed Murphy Geological Services (“MGS”) to conduct a structural study for the entire Sangihe Island Contract of Work (CoW) area. The draft study will be completed in January 2022. This effort will involve the acquisition, processing, and interpretation of Sentinel-2 and Hi-Res (WorldView, GeoEye and Pleiades) satellite imagery to develop a structural synthesis for the geological occurrence of known gold occurrences, and to establish a benchmark for future exploration targets.
Drilling Commences at Sangihe
On December 21st, Baru commenced the 25,000-metre exploration program with the arrival of the drill rig on Sangihe Island. To date the Company has prepared 27 drill pad sites which will be the focus of activity over the next two months.
Local Employees Hired
At the end of 2021, the Company had 80 island residents on payroll. This number does not include numerous secondary jobs created by the suppliers that support Baru’s business needs in the community. With the additional hires the Company expects the total number to exceed 150 employees over the next few months as it proceeds with construction, drilling, and other production activities.
OUTLOOK FOR 2022
The Company’s primary goal is to bring the measured and indicated resources to 1,000,000 ounces for the project. Construction activities will continue during the first quarter with production commencing shortly thereafter. The target will be to produce 1,000 ounces per month once 100% operational status has been achieved.
Baru expects 2022 to be exceptionally busy. Exploration drilling will happen in three phases. Phase-1 will be infill drilling between Binebase and Bawone, Phase-2 will be exploration drilling between Bawone and Salurang, and Phase-3 will be infill drilling between Bawone and Salurang.
The Company also plans exploration of the unexplored areas of the entire Sangihe Island Contract of Work (“CoW”) area using data from the structural study that is expected to be completed by end January 2022. The satellite imagery will be used to develop a structural synthesis for the geological occurrence of known gold occurrences, and to establish a benchmark for future exploration targets. This is only one technique that will utilized to further our gold discovery ambitions.
Mr. Terry Filbert, Chairman and CEO of Baru Gold, commented, “Despite ongoing uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 and seasonal delays due to weather and logistic issues in Indonesia, 2021 marked a transformative year of activities for Baru. With the oversubscribed financing we closed in Q4 2021, Baru is well positioned to proceed with drilling and continue its ongoing construction activities at the Sangihe gold project. In 2021 we laid the foundation for significant growth, and we are looking forward to 2022.”
ABOUT SANGIHE GOLD PROJECT
The Sangihe Gold Project (“Sangihe”) is located on the Indonesian island of Sangihe, off the northern coast of Sulawesi. Sangihe has an existing National Instrument 43-101 inferred mineral resource of 114,700 indicated and 105,000 inferred ounces of gold, as reported in the Company's "Independent Technical Report on the Mineral Resource Estimates of the Binebase and Bawone Deposits, Sangihe Project, North Sulawesi, Indonesia" (May 30, 2017). Readers are cautioned that mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Company intends to proceed to production without the benefit of first establishing mineral reserves supported by a feasibility study.
The Company's 70-percent interest in the Sangihe-mineral-tenement Contract of Work ("CoW") is held through PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe (“TMS”). The remaining 30-percent interest in TMS is held by three Indonesian corporations. The term of the Sangihe CoW agreement is 30 years upon commencement of the production phase of the project.
Baru has met all the requirements of the Indonesian government and has been granted its environmental permit. The Company has received approval for the upgrade of its licence to advance the Sangihe project to construction and production in early 2022. Construction at Sangihe gold heap leach project is currently underway.
Note: The Company cautions readers that the any production decision made by the Company will not be based on a NI 43-101 feasibility study of mineral reserves that demonstrates economic and technical viability and as such, there may be involved increased uncertainty and various technological and economic risks such as the interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; commodity and currency price fluctuation; failure to obtain adequate financing; regulatory, recovery rates, refinery costs, and other relevant conversion factors, permitting and licensing risks; general market and mining exploration risks and production and economic risks related to design and engineering, manufacturing, technological processes and test procedures and the risk that the project's output will not be salable at a price that will cover the project's operating and maintenance costs.
ABOUT BARU GOLD CORPORATION
Baru Gold Corporation is a dynamic junior near-term producer and developer with NI 43-101 gold resources in Indonesia, one of the top ten gold producing countries in the world. Based in Indonesia and North America, Baru's team of mining and finance professionals boasts extensive experience in starting and operating small-scale gold and coal assets. With sufficient funds and strong retail and institutional shareholder support, Baru is positioned to become Indonesia's next gold producer.
Frank Rocca, BAppSc.(Geology), MAusIMM, MAIG, Chief Geologist of East Asia Minerals Corp. is the Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 who has reviewed and approves the content of this release.
BARU GOLD CORPORATION
Per: “Terry Filbert”
Terry Filbert, Director
President & CEO
info@barugold.com
+1-206-890-8285
For investor contacts more information, please contact:
Kevin Shum
Investor Relations
kevin@jeminicapital.com
647-725-3888 ext 702
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.
Certain statements in this News Release, which are not historical in nature, constitute “forward looking statements” within the meaning of that phrase under applicable Canadian securities law. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements or information concerning future work programs, results and timing of any work programs, the Company’s performance or events as of the date hereof. These statements reflect management’s current assumptions and expectations and by their nature are subject to certain underlying assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Those risks include the interpretation of drill results; the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; commodity and currency price fluctuation; failure to obtain adequate financing; regulatory, recovery rates, refinery costs, and other relevant conversion factors, permitting and licensing risks; general market and mining exploration risks and production and economic risks related to design and engineering, manufacturing, technological processes and test procedures and the risk that the project’s output will not be salable at a price that will cover the project’s operating and maintenance costs. Forward-looking statements should not be construed as investment advice. Readers should perform a detailed, independent investigation and analysis of the Company and are encouraged to seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements to reflect events or changes in circumstances that occur after the date hereof.