VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BatteryOne Royalty Corp. (“BatteryOne” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 2.0% net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty on future production over metals from the Dumont Nickel-Cobalt project (the “Dumont deposit”), a fully permitted, construction-ready mine, which contains one of the world's largest undeveloped reserves of nickel and cobalt, located in the established Abitibi mining camp in Québec, Canada.
Mr. Alex Tsukernik, President and Chief Executive Officer of BatteryOne commented, “We are excited to make Dumont our first investment. Given the lack of construction-ready inventory among nickel sulfide projects, we see Dumont as a unique opportunity to invest in a fully permitted mine in one of the world’s best mining jurisdictions. We are pleased to partner with Waterton and RNC, as they advance Dumont toward construction. BatteryOne was formed as a vehicle to provide focused exposure to nickel sulfide and copper deposits, which we see as the metals most primed to benefit from the EV revolution and the broader electrification thesis. We look forward to growing our portfolio in a disciplined way.”
The area under the royalty covers approximately 21% of the Dumont deposit. The acquisition price is C$2 million in cash and 3,669,018 shares of BatteryOne representing a 19% interest. 1% of the NSR can be bought back by the owner of the project for C$1 million. The NSR was acquired from the original owners of Dumont Deposit pursuant to a royalty purchase and sale agreement.
Royal Nickel Corporation, the former owner of the Dumont deposit, filed a National Instrument 43-101 technical report, dated July 25, 2013 disclosing:
- the Dumont deposit contains Proven and Probable Reserves of approximately 6.9 billion pounds of nickel and 278 million pounds of cobalt (1,179 million tonnes at 0.27% nickel and 107ppm cobalt) and Measured and Indicated Resources of 9.75 billion pounds of nickel and 394 million pounds of cobalt (1,666 million tonnes at 0.27% nickel and 107ppm cobalt).
- Once in production, the Dumont deposit is estimated to produce 33,000 tonnes of nickel sulfide and 1,000 tonnes of cobalt per year for the first 5 years, with those numbers increasing to an average of 51,000 tonnes of nickel and 2,000 tonnes of cobalt per year for the 28 years thereafter. The mine is fully permitted with an updated Definitive Feasibility Study expected later in 2019.
(all scientific and technical information in respect of the Dumont deposit is based on a National Instrument 43-101 technical report titled “Technical Report on the Dumont Ni Project, Launay and Trécesson Townships, Quebec, Canada” dated July 25, 2013 and available at www.rncminerals.com and under Royal Nickel Corporation's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com).
PROJECT OWNERSHIP
The Dumont Deposit is held 98% by Magneto Investments Limited Partnership (“Magneto”) and 2% by Ressources Quebec. Magneto is a joint venture between Waterton Global Resource Management (72% owner), a mining-specialist private equity fund with over $1.7 billion of committed capital, and RNC Minerals (28% owner). RNC Minerals is the designated operator of the joint venture.
The NSR will provide cash flow to the Company on all metals produced, including nickel, cobalt, platinum and palladium.
ABOUT BATTERYONE
BatteryOne is a private royalty company focused on nickel sulfide and copper deposits, which it sees as central to the continuing development of Electric Vehicles and the broader electrification thesis. The Company intends to continue growing its portfolio of royalties in those commodities to provide investors with differentiated, focused exposure.
The Company intends to seek a listing on a Canadian stock exchange in 2019.
ON BEHALF OF BATTERYONE ROYALTY CORP.
(signed) “Alex Tsukernik”
President and CEO
Email: info@batteryoneroyalty.com
Website: www.batteryoneroyalty.com
Technical and Third-Party Information
Except where otherwise stated, the disclosure in this press release relating to the Dumont Deposit is based on information publicly disclosed by the former owner or operator of this property and information/data available in the public domain as at the date hereof and none of this information has been independently verified by BatteryOne. Specifically, as a royalty holder, BatteryOne has limited, if any, access to the property subject to the Royalty. Although BatteryOne does not have any knowledge that such information may not be accurate, there can be no assurance that such third party information is complete or accurate. Some information publicly reported by the operator may relate to a larger property than the area covered by BatteryOne’s royalty interest. BatteryOne’s royalty interests often cover less than 100% and sometimes only a portion of the publicly reported mineral reserves, mineral resources and production of a property.