MONTRÉAL, April 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (the “Corporation” or “Osisko”) (OR: TSX & NYSE) is pleased to provide an update on its first quarter 2023 deliveries, revenues, cash margin and recent asset advancements. All monetary amounts included in this report are expressed in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted.

PRELIMINARY Q1 2023 RESULTS

Osisko earned approximately 23,111 attributable gold equivalent ounces1 (“GEOs”) in the first quarter of 2023.

Osisko recorded preliminary revenues from royalties and streams of $59.6 million during the first quarter and preliminary cost of sales (excluding depletion) of $4.0 million, resulting in a quarterly cash margin2 of approximately $55.6 million (or 93%).

Osisko also repaid an amount of $15.0 million under its revolving credit facility during the first quarter of 2023 whilst the cash balance increased to $119.1 million, resulting in a net debt position of $15.9 million as at March 31, 2023.

Sandeep Singh, President and CEO of Osisko, commented: “Osisko remains exceptionally well positioned for a record year. We expect to see deliveries grow over the year as our Q1 seasonal impact is behind us, as core assets continue to ramp up, and with the expected addition of currently accruing silver ounces ahead of a CSA transaction close. Moreover, the recent catalysts in our portfolio are truly significant. Whether it’s the untapped regional potential of Canadian Malartic beginning to take shape, the upcoming final investment decision for Hermosa, the ongoing advancement of the high-grade Windfall project, the burgeoning copper-porphyry potential at Tintic, the emergence of our NSR value on the Corvette lithium deposit, or a multitude of other meaningful catalysts, our portfolio is positioned to create value for shareholders for an extended period.”

Osisko will provide full production and financial details with the release of its first quarter 2023 results after market close on Wednesday May 10th, 2023 followed by a conference call and webcast on Thursday, May 11th at 10am ET. More details are provided at the end of this release.

RECENT ASSET ADVANCEMENTS AND UPCOMING CATALYSTS

CSA (100% Silver Stream – Pending Transaction Closing)

Osisko Bermuda Limited (“OBL”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, has entered into binding agreements with Metals Acquisition Corp (“MAC”) with respect to a silver stream (the “Silver Stream”) and backstop copper stream (the “Copper Stream”) on the producing CSA mine (“CSA”) in New South Wales, Australia.

Pursuant to the Silver Stream agreement, MAC will deliver OBL refined silver equal to 100% of payable silver produced from CSA for the life of the mine. The economic effective date of the Silver Stream is February 1, 2023. OBL will make an upfront deposit on closing of US$75 million which will be increased by US$15 million if the average silver price exceeds $25.50 per ounce over the 10 business day period immediately prior to closing. Between 2019-2021, annual payable silver production from CSA averaged ~431,000 ounces, or ~5,700 gold equivalent ounces annually (based on commodity prices on December 22, 20221).

Pursuant to the Copper Stream agreement, OBL will provide an upfront deposit of up to US$75 million on account of future deliveries of refined copper referenced to production from CSA. MAC may draw the Copper Stream deposit in whole or in part to fund any shortfall in the equity financing required to complete the acquisition of the mine. If the full deposit is drawn, OBL will be entitled to receive refined copper equal to 3.0% of payable copper from CSA until the 5th anniversary of the closing date (the “First Threshold Stream”), then 4.875% of payable copper until 33,000 metric tonnes have been delivered in aggregate (the “Second Threshold Stream”), and thereafter 2.25% for the remaining life of mine. Between 2019-2021, annual copper production from CSA averaged ~43,000 metric tonnes. Based on historical production levels, average gold equivalent ounces deliverable under the First Threshold Stream and the Second Threshold Stream would equate to between ~5,700 to 9,300 ounces annually (based on commodity prices on December 22, 20221).

Proceeds from the Silver Stream deposit and Copper Stream deposit will be used to partially fund MAC’s acquisition of CSA from Glencore International AG (the “Acquisition Transaction”). Closing of the Silver Stream and Copper Stream are subject to, among other things, closing of the Acquisition Transaction. Closing of the Acquisition Transaction is now expected in the second quarter of 2023.

Canadian Malartic Update (5% NSR royalty on open pit and 3-5% NSR royalty on underground)

On March 31st, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited’s (“Agnico Eagle”) announced the completion of its acquisition of Yamana Gold Inc.’s Canadian assets for a closing value of approximately US$3 billion. Agnico Eagle now owns 100% of the Canadian Malartic mine.

In 2023, Canadian Malartic production is expected to be sourced from the Canadian Malartic pit, the Barnat pit and the Odyssey mine, complemented by ore from the low grade stockpiles. Mining from the Canadian Malartic pit is expected to be completed late in the first half of 2023 and the Odyssey underground mine is forecast to gradually ramp-up production in 2023. The first production blast was carried out at a depth of 310 metres at the Odyssey South Mine in late March. The mill throughput is forecast to remain at approximately 51,500 tonnes per day in an effort to optimize the production profile and cash flows during the transition to processing ore from the underground Odyssey project.

Starting in 2028, the Canadian Malartic mill will have up to 40,000 tonnes per day of excess capacity. Agnico Eagle is evaluating opportunities to further increase the mill throughput up to 60,000 tonnes per day through leveraging a number of near surface and underground opportunities in and around the property. In its recent fourth quarter and full year 2022 conference call, Agnico Eagle highlighted that the Canadian Malartic Complex has the potential to be a plus 1 million ounce a year producer for decades to come, between ore available at the mine site and external opportunities.

Opportunities on the Canadian Malartic property that could provide additional mill feed include:

Odyssey South Internal zones and the Jupiter Zone
The East Gouldie Corridor from surface to a depth of 600 metres
The East Malartic mine area below 600 metres depth
East Amphi
Midway
Rand Malartic, Camflo and LTA (not covered by an Osisko royalty)
At Canadian Malartic, Agnico Eagle expects to spend approximately US$21.8 million in 2023 for 164,000 metres of drilling. Exploration at the Odyssey project includes 102,000 metres of drilling with four objectives: continued drilling into East Gouldie to convert additional Inferred mineral resources to Indicated mineral resources towards the outer portions of the deposit; testing the immediate extensions of East Gouldie to the west and at shallower depths; continued conversion drilling into extensions of the Odyssey South deposit; and further investigation of Odyssey’s internal zones. Approximately 40,000 metres of drilling is planned for what Agnico Eagle believes are highly prospective gold targets along the Barnat and East Gouldie corridors on the Canadian Malartic and Rand Malartic properties. The remaining 22,000 metres of exploration drilling is planned at the adjacent Camflo property. The Camflo and Rand Malartic properties are not covered by an Osisko royalty but would be subject to the $0.40 per tonne milling fee payable to Osisko on ore processed from any property that was not part of the Canadian Malartic property at the time of the sale of the mine in 2014.

Beyond the opportunities on the property, Agnico Eagle is evaluating the potential to transport ore from Upper Beaver to Canadian Malartic (approximately 5,000 tonnes per day) starting in 2030. Various scenarios are being evaluated by Agnico Eagle to potentially truck ore to the main rail line (a distance of approximately 7.0 kilometres) and then transport it by train to the Canadian Malartic mill for processing (a distance of approximately 130 kilometres). Agnico Eagle is also evaluating the potential to utilize the excess mill capacity to process ore from other properties in the Kirkland Lake region, including Upper Canada and Anoki-McBean. The Upper Canada property currently hosts 722,000 ounces of gold in Measured and Indicated mineral resources (10.4 million tonnes grading 2.15 g/t gold) and an additional 1.86 million ounces of gold in Inferred mineral resources (18.6 million tonnes grading 3.11 g/t gold). These projects, as well as the AK deposit, which is expected to produce 20,000 to 40,000 ounces of gold per year starting in 2024, are all covered by a 2% net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty in favour of Osisko. Additionally, these opportunities would be subject to the $0.40 per tonne milling fee, if processed through the Canadian Malartic mill. See Figure 1 for a map highlighting the regional synergy potential.

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https://osiskogr.com/en/osisko-announces-preliminary-q1-2023-deliveries-and-provides-company-update/