The OTCQX Market is designed for established, investor-focused U.S. and international companies. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. Graduating to the OTCQX Market from the OTCQB Market marks an important milestone for companies, enabling them to demonstrate their qualifications and build visibility among U.S. investors.

“This upgrade to the OTCQX will make trading of shares in TriStar much easier for US based investors,” stated Mr. Nick Appleyard, President and CEO. “The timing couldn’t be better as we are expecting two drill rigs to arrive at Castelo de Sonhos in September to complete the pre-feasibility study drilling and start the exploration upside drilling program. These drill programs mark the start of a period of intense activity and news flow which will benefit greatly from the increased visibility of the OTCQX Market.”

Peter Gianulis, chief executive officer of Allegiant Gold, commented: “We are very excited to have reached an agreement with Summa. Their dedication and professionalism throughout this process was unparalleled, and we are confident that we selected the right partner to develop one of the best undeveloped silver projects in the U.S. We look forward to their progress and our ability to focus on the development of Eastside, our flagship gold-oxide project in Nevada. Allegiant now has four projects farmed out, three of which are expected to be drilled over the coming month in addition to drilling up to 15,000 metres at Eastside this season. We continue to execute our business plan and are very pleased with the progress we have made this year.”

Acquisition terms

Summa may earn up to a 100-per-cent interest in the property from Allegiant in two phases.

Phase I is an option to earn a 75-per-cent interest in the property over three years for staged payments totalling $350,000 (U.S.) in cash, 200,000 shares, $1.45-million of value in shares, and a final payment of $1-million (U.S.) that may be paid in cash and/or shares at the election of Summa. Additionally, the phase I earn-in includes a $3-million (U.S.) work commitment on the property.

After the 75-per-cent earn-in, Summa can then elect to either form a 75-per-cent/25-per-cent joint venture with Allegiant or purchase the remaining 25-per-cent interest for $3-million (U.S.) in cash and shares, a minimum of $1-million (U.S.) of which must be in cash.

Polo, through its subsidiary Andina Gold, has been awarded seizure rights to the claims pursuant to legal action it has taken, and Andina has commenced the procedure for seizure of the properties. Fenixoro will issue one million common shares to Polo in exchange for the rights to the properties under seizure order. These shares will have a legend restriction that will be removed upon Polo’s receipt of formal title award from the relevant court, up to a maximum of 18 months, following which the titles will be registered in the name of Fenixoro. Fenixoro will finance all costs associated with the court proceedings.

Fenixoro chief executive officer John Carlesso stated: “This is an exciting development for both the company and the local community of Santa Teresa and areas surrounding Abriaqui. For Fenixoro this is a significant property addition that will nearly triple the size of our claims package and add additional potential for gold mineralization in the central and northern portions of the project. The new licences contain the extension of the 250-metre-wide, northwest-trending vein family and they add significantly to the overall mineral potential of the property package. From the community perspective, this allows for additional employment opportunities for local workers while ensuring that working conditions adhere to the highest environmental and safety standards.”

The primary mineral target at Abriaqui is a sequence of more than 80 high-grade, Buritica-style, mesothermal veins, many of which have assayed over 20 grams per tonne gold and as high as 146 g/t gold. The veins outcrop over 800 vertical metres with areas of intervening, lower-grade stockwork mineralization. As reported in recent press releases (July 23, 2020, and Aug. 19, 2020), a soil sampling program has demonstrated an increasing number of significant vein targets that appear to occur along the full extent of the project in a broad northwest to southeast trend. This acquisition extends that potential to the northwest.

Fiscal Q3 2020 Highlights(all figures in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated)

Operating & Financial

• Q3 gold production of 12,764 ounces, a second successive quarter of record gold production
• Gold sales of 12,761 ounces at an average realized price of $1,720 per ounce
• Recorded quarterly revenues of $22.0 million with mine operating income of $8.3 million
• Generated Pan operating cash flow1 of $11.8 million and consolidated operating cash flow of $10.5 million, both records for Fiore Gold
• Adjusted net earnings1 of $5.7 million and adjusted net earnings per share1 of $0.06 per share, net income of $5.1 million
• Closing cash balance of $17.3 million, a significant increase of $8.2 million relative to our last reported cash balance as of March 31, 2020
• Strengthened balance sheet with net working capital of $34.1 million as of June 30, 2020
• Mined ore production in Q3 of 14,877 tons per day with a stripping ratio of 1.3:1.0 and grade of 0.016 ounces/ton
• Q3 cash costs per ounce sold1 of $916, a $67 per ounce reduction relative to Q2 2020 reflecting the expected benefit of a decreasing stripping ratio
• Q3 Pan Mine AISC1 per ounce sold of $1,085 and Fiore consolidated AISC1 of $1,203. The cash cost reduction was offset by an increase in capitalized exploration drilling at Pan to extend the mine life.
• 72,555 total site man-hours worked in Q3 with no reportable incidents and zero lost-time injuries
• Mining declared an essential business in Nevada and the Pan Mine continues to operate with strict protocols in place focused on protecting the health and safety of our employees. No reported cases of COVID-19 for our employees or contractors to date.

Organic Growth

Results of the Gold Rock Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) released on April 9th demonstrated positive economics for the project with opportunities to further enhance valueSubsequent to quarter end, the Company announced the start of a program at Gold Rock of resource expansion, metallurgical, geotechnical and condemnation drilling in support of a Feasibility Study targeted for completion in the second half of 2021Completed a Pan exploration drilling program of 21,741 metres (71,330 feet) with a resource update and new life of mine plan to be issued in September 2020On May 19, 2020, Fiore Gold announced a 2.0 million ounce measured and indicated resource at its Golden Eagle Project in Washington State, USA

Tim Warman, Fiore’s CEO commented, “The Pan mine continues to establish itself as the cash engine to support our aggressive growth targets. Stand-alone, Pan generated $11.8 million in operating cash flow in the quarter and Fiore generated $10.5 million in operating cash flow. Our balance sheet is now fully funded to complete the drilling and development program targeting a Gold Rock Feasibility Study in the second half of 2021. Subsequent to quarter-end, we completed an extensive Pan drilling program which will support an Updated Resource and Reserve estimate and related Life of Mine plan in H2 2020. With six rigs currently drilling at Gold Rock, we remain fully committed to our goal of operating Pan and Gold Rock in unison, providing organic growth to annual gold production of more than 100,000 ounces in Nevada. Separately, we announced a 2.0 million ounce Measured and Indicated resource at our Golden Eagle Project in Washington State. We expect this project will continue to emerge as a valuable third asset in our portfolio.”

We continue to recognize the inherent risk posed by COVID-19. The health and safety of our employees comes first, and we have put a range of operating protocols in place to best mitigate the risk to them. We are fortunate that we have no reported cases at site and continue to operate.

               Review of Operating Results

                                           Three Months Ended June 30,
Operating Results                                   2020         2019    

Ore Mined                         (t)          1,353,799    1,284,413
Waste Mined                       (t)          1,795,385    2,198,602
Total Mined                       (t)          3,149,184    3,483,015
Gold Ounces Mined                 (oz)            21,622       17,471
Ore Grade Mined                   (oz/t)           0.016        0.014
Strip Ratio                       waste/ore          1.3          1.7
                                                                     
Gold Ounces Produced              (oz)            12,764       11,685
Gold Ounces Sold (Payable)        (oz)            12,761       11,504
                                                                     
Average Realized Price1           $/oz             1,720        1,318
Total Cash Costs per Ounce1       $/oz               916          928
Cost of Sales per Ounce1          $/oz             1,070        1,050
Pan Mine AISC per Ounce1          $/oz             1,085          985
Fiore Consolidated AISC 
per Ounce1                        $/oz             1,203        1,120

Ore tons mined is ahead of prior year in part due to positive ore reconciliation, resulting in mining 14,877 tons per day. At a gold grade of 0.016 oz/t, we mined 21,622 ounces in the quarter, a 24% increase over the prior year period. Gold production at 12,764 ounces represents a second successive quarter of record gold production as Pan continues to operate safely and efficiently.

Cash cost per ounce sold for Q3 2020 was $916 per ounce, a $67 per ounce decrease relative to Q2 2020 of $983 per ounce and a $12 decrease compared Q3 2019 at $928 per ounce. The reduction is due to the lower strip ratio, as guided, and improved mining efficiencies. Q3 2020 Pan Mine AISC1 per ounce sold was $1,085 and Fiore Consolidated AISC1 per ounce sold was $1,203. During the quarter, we incurred approximately $1.4 million of sustaining capital expenditures, primarily related to the developmental drilling program at the Pan Mine, compared to $0.1 million during the prior year period. The $1.4 million of sustaining capital expenditures during the current quarter accounted for $111 of the $1,085 Pan Mine AISC1.

1 This is a non-IFRS financial measure. Please refer to “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” at the end of this news release for a description of these non-IFRS financial measures and to the Non-IFRS Financial measures in the June 30, 2020 Management’s Discussion and Analysis for a reconciliation to operating costs from the Company’s interim financial statements.

Key Developments

Pan Mine

With Pan operating well, we continue our focus on drilling to expand the resource and reserves, and increase mine life. Initial results of the current resource expansion drill program were announced on December 10, 2019. On May 12, 2020, we released drill results on a further sixty-four holes drilled at several locations around the main North Pan pits, as well as the smaller Syncline and Black Stallion satellite pits. Subsequent to quarter-end, on August 12, 2020, Fiore reported the final seventy-six holes of the overall program. The holes were aimed at expanding the existing oxide resources and reserves both at depth and laterally beyond the current reserve boundaries. In total, 183 holes for a total of 21,741 metres (71,330 ft) were drilled as part of the 2019-2020 Pan resource expansion program and all but the last few of these holes will be incorporated in the upcoming resource and reserve estimate.

An initial eight-hole program (PR20-072 to -079) at the Mustang target, located approximately 1,500 m northwest of the Pan North pit, encountered gold mineralization within a low angle structure at the contact between the Pilot shale and the underlying Devils Gate limestone. Five of the eight holes encountered significant gold mineralization, with the best intercepts in PR20-073 with 13.7 m at 0.48 g/t gold and PR20-074 with 10.7 m at 0.62 g/t gold. The Mustang zone will be targeted for follow-up in the next phase of drilling with the goal of defining a mineable reserve.

Gold Rock

On April 9, 2020, we announced results from a PEA completed for the federally permitted Gold Rock gold project located approximately 8 miles southeast of the Pan Mine. This PEA represents the first ever economic and technical analysis of mining at Gold Rock and shows the project can deliver solid returns for a modest capital investment. The PEA provides an updated mineral resource estimate and a base case assessment of developing the Project as a satellite open pit operation that will share significant infrastructure and management with the adjacent Pan Mine. The PEA also identifies a considerable number of opportunities to enhance the project economics as Gold Rock advances to the Feasibility stage by drilling to increase the mineral resource, further metallurgical testing aimed at improving recoveries, and geotechnical drilling aimed at reducing the stripping ratio. On May 13, 2020, Fiore filed the related technical report.

Subsequent to quarter end, the Company announced the start of a program at Gold Rock of resource expansion, metallurgical, geotechnical and condemnation drilling in support of a Feasibility Study targeted for completion in the second half of 2021

              Q3 2020 Financial Results

                                       Three Months Ended June 30, 
Financial Results of Operations               2020           2019 
   
Select Items - On a Consolidated Basis      $000's          $000's   
Revenue                                     21,959         15,163 
Mine Operating Income                        8,304          3,082 
Income from Operations                       6,508            974 
Operating Cash Flow                         10,457          2,444 
Unrealized Loss on Derivatives, net           (580)          (823)
Net Income / (Loss)                          5,136           (463)
Adjusted Net Earnings1                       5,712            355 

Relative to the prior year quarter, Fiore demonstrated improvements on all profitability and cash flow measures noted above. This was due to record gold production, the benefit of higher realized gold prices, and slightly lower cash costs per ounce of gold sold.

Our liquidity and financial position strengthened with a higher cash balance of $17.3 million and working capital of $34.1 million. Refer to the Company’s MD&A and Financial Statements for additional information. The improvement in financial strength puts Fiore in a good position to continue to progress our growth assets and mitigate potential risks posed by COVID-19.

1 This is a non-IFRS financial measure. Please refer to “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” at the end of this news release for a description of these non-IFRS financial measures and to the Non-IFRS Financial measures in the June 30, 2020 Management’s Discussion and Analysis for a reconciliation to operating costs from the Company’s interim financial statements.

Webinar

Fiore Gold will host a webinar with Red Cloud Securities on Wednesday, August 26 at 2:00pm EST. Please register at https://www.redcloudfs.com/rcwebinar-f-2/. The webinar will be available for playback at http://www.fioregold.com.

Corporate Strategy

Our corporate strategy is to grow Fiore Gold into a 150,000 ounce per year gold producer. To achieve this, we intend to:grow gold production at the Pan Mine while also growing the reserve and resource base;advance exploration and development of the nearby Gold Rock project; andacquire additional production or near-production assets to complement our existing operations.

Number of shares:  555,555 shares

Purchase price:  18 cents per share

Warrants:  277,777 share purchase warrants to purchase 277,777 shares

Warrant exercise price:  33.6 cents for a two-year period

Number of placees:  one placee

Assuming a $1,000 investment for each of the three buys, the $3,000 position is now worth $6,144. Brixton recently completed its first drill program at its Hog Heaven silver-gold-copper project in Montana. Seven holes were drilled for a total of 1,400 metres, with highlights including 0.97 metre of 1,885 grams per tonne silver, 4.68 g/t silver and 15.2 per cent copper. That hole came from a zone of sulphide mineralization. This interests Mr. Taylor, because a previous operator of Hog Heaven, CoCa Mines — which completed a feasibility study in 1988 — viewed the project solely as an open-pit oxide project. Brixton sees the potential for a much larger project if sulphide mineralization is included. More drilling will be required. At this stage, in Mr. Taylor’s view, the results “appear promising, but nothing just yet to get extremely excited about it.” He will keep Brixton as a buy while he awaits further details.

The results reported herein confirm lateral extensions to the west and east of the main zone at Kutuvuoma. Drill hole KU20008 intersected 12.28 g/t Au over 2.75 m from 28.15 m downhole, including 21.60 g/t Au over 1.40 m located 270 m to the west of Outokumpu drilling. Drill hole KU20006 intersected 6.74 g/t Au over 5.60 m from 121.20 m downhole, including 16.35 g/t Au over 1.40 m located 200 m to the east of Outokumpu drilling. Gold mineralization has now been intersected by drilling at Kutuvuoma over a distance of 1,080 m along strike, with mineralization open in all directions. See table below for drill hole assay results.

Kutuvuoma is located approximately 8 km to the east of Rupert Resources’ recent Ikkari and Heina discoveries, which lie less than 250 m north of the JV’s common property boundary. In both settings mineralization is hosted primarily by igneous rocks of the Savukoski Group occurring near the unconformity with younger sedimentary rocks of the Kumpu Group. This unconformity is one of the primary exploration targets for gold mineralization at Risti.

The ongoing US$3.3 million JV exploration program comprises diamond drilling, trenching and Base of Till (BoT) sampling on a number of targets within the JV Area of Interest, including work on Kutuvuoma, Kutuvuoma East, near Rupert Resources’ discoveries, and on a second JV property, Sinerma, located approximately 10 km to the northwest of Kutuvuoma. Link for plan map of the drill holes:

Comments

Mike Basha, President commented: “This new drilling at Kutuvuoma demonstrates lateral continuity of historical gold mineralization. Given that mineralization at Kutuvuoma is hosted primarily by the Savukoski Group occurring near the unconformity with younger Kumpu Group, the mineralization style, host rocks and geological setting appear to be similar to Rupert Resources’ recent Ikkari and Heina discoveries situated approximately 8 km to the east, and less than 250 m north of our common property boundary may suggest regional scale potential in this area. We look forward to B2Gold’s continued success in advancing various targets within the JV.”

Drill Hole Summary Table
  
   Kutuvuoma Drill Hole Summary Table 

HOLE_ID                   FROM_m           TO_m        Width_m   Au_ppm (g/t)
KU20006                    77.50          78.50           1.00           5.19
And                       108.70         115.00           6.30           0.31
And                       121.20         126.80           5.60           6.74
Including                 122.60         124.00           1.40           9.83
And including             124.00         125.40           1.40          16.35
And                       134.30         143.60           9.30           0.18

KU20007                    21.00          22.10           1.10           0.36
And                        36.10          37.87           1.77           0.14
And                        48.10          49.50           1.40           0.28

KU20008                    14.48          19.50           5.02           0.61
And                        28.15          30.90           2.75          12.28
Including                  28.15          29.55           1.40          21.60
                                          

All widths are core widths.  True width is not known at this time. 
All reported assay values are uncapped
  

Discussion

The Kutuvuoma JV project area is located 35 km SE of the 4.7 million-ounce Kittila Gold deposit owned by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (“Agnico Eagle”). It is also immediately adjacent and contiguous with Aurion’s 100% owned Risti Project. Kutuvuoma hosts a high-grade, shear zone hosted gold prospect that was discovered in the early-1990’s by state mining company Outokumpu, while exploring for base metals. Outokumpu drilled 47 shallow core and reverse circulation drill holes totaling 3,425 m, testing Kutuvuoma approximately 175 m horizontally and 150 m vertically. The drilling conducted under the B2Gold JV is the first since then.

Access to the property is very good, with forestry roads extending from paved highways providing access to the otherwise forested and undeveloped property areas. A regional airport with daily flights to and from Helsinki is located in Kittila. Topography is low and characterized by generally rolling hills with relief of less than 150 m.

Background

On August 13th, 2019, B2Gold exercised its option to acquire a 51% interest in the Finland Joint Venture covering approximately 25,000 hectares, which include the Kutuvuoma, Ahvenjarvi and Sinerma projects. Since inception of the agreement, dated January 13, 2016, B2Gold completed over CAN$5 million in exploration expenditures, paid Aurion CAN$50,000 in cash and issued 550,000 B2Gold shares over four-year period to complete the requirements of the first option.

B2Gold is currently earning an additional 19% interest by spending a further CAN$10 million over two years, and, if exercised, an additional 5% interest by completing a feasibility study, for a total of 75%.

Assay results from an additional 11 diamond drill holes show wide zones of high-grade near-surface gold mineralization. Mineralized material consists of highly silicified epithermal veins and breccias hosted in felsic volcanic rocks. Significant results are summarized in the table below, with complete results available on the Company website. [ link ]

 Hole ID  DipAzimuthHole Length (m)From (meters)To (meters)Interval (meters)Au (g/t)Ag (g/t)
                                                                                             
RDO_20_010 -55  240        40           12.8        28.9          16.1         2.91    8.3   
 including                              19.7        28.9           9.2         4.05    12.6  
RDO_20_011 -70  60         40           13.3        23.4          10.1         5.51    9.3   
RDO_20_012 -55  240        35             8         32.5          24.5         6.66    13.9  
 including                               15          23            8.6         9.3     14.9  
RDO_20_13a*-55  240        55            12          42            30          2.99    19.6  
 including                              19.6         33           13.4         4.47    25.1  
RDO_20_014 -55  240        50            10         33.5          23.5         5.87    27.5  
 including                              12.5        25.4          12.9         8.83     38   
RDO_20_015 -55  240        35            7.3         22           14.7         3.06    10.5  
RDO_20_016 -60  240        40            9.4        26.8          17.4         1.08    5.7   
RDO_20_017 -55  240        40           12.7        34.2          21.4         2.85    10.7  
 including                               23          29             6          5.1      15   
RDO_20_018 -55  240        40           13.3        34.4          21.1         1.76    7.7   
 including                               15          19             4          4.06    5.9   
RDO_20_019 -50  240        30            13         16.5           3.5         3.98    2.7   
RDO_20_020 -55  60         30             9         12.4           3.4         1.05    6.4   

Note: Intervals in the table represent drilled length. It is expected that true thickness is approximately 80% of drilled length as drill holes were drilled at a high angle to the gold mineralization that dips at approximately 25 degrees to the northeast. Intervals and grades have been rounded to 1 decimal place. * Drill hole RDO_20_013 was lost at 19m depth, and drill-hole RDO_20_013a was drilled adjacent to it and reached target depth.

The objectives of the drill program are to provide greater detail on the gold mineralization at Rodeo by infill and limited step-out drilling and to provide additional material for metallurgical and geotechnical test work. Confirmation of continuity of the gold grades in the heart of the deposit is an important step towards the future development of the Rodeo project outlined in the recent Preliminary Economic Assessment published on May 28, 2020 ( link ).

Warren Rehn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Golden Minerals, commented, “We continue to intersect thick intervals of near-surface, high-grade gold mineralization at Rodeo. The results of this infill drilling program are showing an improvement in gold grades on average compared to previous drill hole results. This further supports our plan to develop the project and process this high-grade material in our oxide plant at Velardena.”

Rodeo Drill Hole Locations

About Rodeo

Rodeo is an 1,866-hectare gold project located in Durango State, Mexico approximately 80 kilometers west of the Company’s Velardena Properties and processing mills. Golden acquired the Rodeo property subject to a royalty interest due to La Cuesta International in the second quarter 2015, prior to which exploration by other companies identified a gold-bearing system exposed at surface. Golden conducted a 2,080-meter core drilling program in 2016 and outlined a potentially open pit minable, high-grade resource as reported in a NI 43-101 Technical Report dated January 26, 2017:

 ClassificationCut-offTonnes (Mt)Au g/tAg g/tAu (Koz)Ag (Koz)
Indicated     0.83   0.4        3.3   11    46      200     

Notes:

(1) Cut-off grade and Au equivalent calculated using metal prices of $1,220 and $17 per troy ounce of Au and Ag, recoveries of 77% and 90% Au and Ag;

(2) Mineral resources have been pit-shell constrained using the Lerch Grossman algorithm with cost inputs per tonne of $7.50 mining, $10 trucking and $20 processing. A breakeven cut-off including trucking and processing costs per block was applied to a block model within the optimized shell;

(3) Metal prices do not exceed three-year trailing average as of the end of December 2016, per SEC guidance; and

(4) Reported indicated mineral resources are equivalent to mineralized material under SEC Industry Guide 7.

Review by Qualified Person and Quality Control

The technical contents of this press release have been reviewed by Matthew Booth, a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101. Mr. Booth has over 17 years of mineral exploration experience and is a Qualified Person member of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (CPG 12044).

To ensure reliable sample results, Golden Minerals uses a quality assurance/quality control program that monitors the chain of custody of samples and includes the insertion of blanks, duplicates and reference standards in each batch of samples. Core is photographed and sawn in half with one half retained in a secured facility for verification purposes. Sample preparation (crushing and pulverizing) is performed at an independent ISO 9001:2001 certified laboratory in Chihuahua or Zacatecas, Mexico. Prepared samples are direct-shipped to an ISO 9001:2001 certified laboratory in Canada.

Each HD unit shall be composed of one common share in the capital of the company and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant shall entitle the holder to purchase one common share within 24 months from the date of issuance at a price of 60 cents per common share if exercised in the first 12 months and 70 cents per common share if exercised in the second 12 months. Each flow-through share shall be composed of one common share issued on a flow-through basis within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

“We welcome finders on this deal and believe we have strong developing prospects at both our flagship properties Snoball and Golden Lion, where we’ve recently executed phase 1 drilling programs to good effect,” said Kevin Keough, president and chief executive officer. “Now we wish to get under way on our phase 2 work. At Snoball, as per our Aug. 18 news release, we’re in the very early stages of unfolding a potentially very exciting, high-grade, gold-silver vein system discovery in the heart of the Golden Triangle. We need to get new pads built in September while the weather is reasonably good, so we can continue drilling. At Golden Lion, where drilling is still under way, we’re strongly encouraged by broad intercepts of epithermal-style veining and alteration at the GL1 Main zone, and the potential identified by our geophysical programs for nearby mineralized intrusions. If possible, we’d like to be drilling out into October at Golden Lion.”

Completion of the offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and applicable securities regulatory authorities. All securities issued and issuable pursuant to the offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day after the date of issuance. In connection with the offering, the company may pay commissions to eligible persons in accordance with the policies of the exchange.

The proceeds raised from the sale of flow-through shares will be used to incur Canadian exploration expenses that are flow-through mining expenditures on the company’s flagship Snoball and Golden Lion properties in Northern British Columbia, Canada. The proceeds raised from the sale of HD units will be used for general working capital purposes and for exploration on the properties.

The second program was predicated on the success of the previous study, and conceived to further leverage the technology that delivered exceptional results using high-powered Vertical Electrical Sounding (“VES”) geophysics methodologies (see press releases July 16 and August 5, 2020).  Based on the results of the previous round, the Company decided to expand its area of investigation and survey additional acreage deeper into the southern portion of the Tolillar Salar lands. 

The Company is enthusiastic about the possibility of extending the thick, highly conductive zones identified previously (where the presence of both brine and lithium have been confirmed), in what may prove to be a sizeable extension of the salar’s overall potential.

The new southern geophysics program will employ the same high-powered VES technologies provided and operated by the same team of regional experts from Conhidro SRL (“Conhidro”) to characterize the underground lithology and identifying units that may be directly or indirectly related to the presence of brine.  Utilizing the Conhidro team ensures operational consistency and familiarity of the salar, equipment, terrain and techniques. Conhidro’s geo-electric study intends to induce up to 800 volts of continuous current using a tetra-probe that measures electric current and resistivity.  The team of five is expected to record thirty-one data points over a two-week period, across 8500 Hectares of Alpha’s properties.

The southern portion of the Tolillar Salar is characterized by basaltic flows on the western edge, similar to what is seen in the Hombre Muerto Salar located 10km directly east of the Tolillar property.  It was previously unknown if the 700-meter-thick upper layer of sedimentary rock in the southern portion was brine bearing, or if it was linked to a lithium source.  What is truly exciting for the Company is the increasing probability that the highly conductive, presumably brine-bearing zones in the north appear to extend south, beyond the previously captured geophysical data.  It also appears that these conductive zones extend from surface to depths of 400-450 meters below surface.

The southern area is previously unexplored, and the Company now believes it may hold significant potential.

Alpha Lithium anticipates that exploration of the new southern acreage will identify additional high-conductivity horizons and yield significant drilling targets and similar results improving and extending the data found during the initial VES survey.

Brad Nichol, President and CEO, commented, “Our operational team, led by David Guererro, is already back in action on the salar.  Hot on the heels of an exceptionally successful, high-powered geophysics program, David and his team are eager to follow the obvious trend south and hope to unfold what may be a new and an exciting portion of this lithium-rich region.  We continue the technical work to refine our drilling targets from the first survey and look forward to adding more drilling locations to the mix when we get the results of this latest VES survey.”

In consideration for the Acquisition, Fura paid A$2,459,219 (approximately C$2,335,000) to the vendor, Mosley Mining Pty Ltd, A$239,060 (approximately C$227,000) to an Australian bank to release a security interest on certain of the Target’s assets, and A$262,067 (approximately C$249,000) to Queensland Treasury as a cash surety in connection with rehabilitation obligations related to the Tenements. In addition, the A$293,093 (approximately C$278,000) that was previously paid to the vendor as a deposit was released.

The Acquisition was an arm’s length transaction for the purposes of the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (“TSXV”) and the Company understands that the Acquisition qualifies as an “Exempt Transaction” under TSXV Policy 5.3. Fura did not pay any finder’s fees in connection with the Acquisition. The Foreign Investment Review Board of the Australian Government has indicated that it has no objection to the Acquisition.