Silver Bear Files First Quarter 2020 Financial Results

TORONTO, June 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Silver Bear Resources Plc (“Silver Bear” or the “Company”) (TSX: SBR) announces today, that further to its press release dated 4 May 2020 regarding its anticipated late filing of its Q1 2020 financial results, the Company is filing its unaudited financial results for the three-month period ended 31 March 2020 today, including development highlights from its Mangazeisky silver project in Far East Russia.  

For complete details of the unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements and associated Management’s Discussion and Analysis please refer to the Company’s filings on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or the Company’s website (www.silverbearresources.com).

Q1 2020 AND SUBSEQUENT TO THE QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

During the three-month period ended 31 March 2020 the Group production statistics included:

• Mined a total of 36,650 tonnes of ore, processed 25,344 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 707 g/t of silver, producing a total of 457,458 ounces of silver;
• Sold a total of 472,439 ounces of silver totalling production revenue of US$7,974,832 and reported a total comprehensive loss of $36,882,727 and an accumulated deficit of $221,264,880.

Subsequent to Q1 2020, the Group announced the following:

• On 27 May 2020, the Group announced a further amendment to its Facilities Agreement with Inflection Management Corporation Limited (“Inflection”), a major shareholder of the Group, and Unifirm Limited (“Unifirm”), an affiliate of A.B. Aterra Resources Ltd. (“Aterra”), also a major shareholder of the Group, whereby the major shareholders agreed to a further reduction in interest payable on all funds drawn under the facilities agreement from 9% to 7% per annum (see full details below);
• In late May 2020, the CEO stated that despite the initial delay in the final commissioning of the new X-Ray transmission (“XRT”) processing equipment due to government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions, the consultants, following a prescribed quarantine period, have completed the commissioning. The XRT equipment is now fully operational;
• On 22 June 2020, the Group announced following the receipt of the draft Wardell Armstrong report (the “Draft WA Report”) based on the material change in the mineral resource estimates of both Vertikalny and Mangazeisky North deposits and scope of the project the August 2017 NI 43-101 technical report containing a resource update and accompanying Vertikalny feasibility study and Mangazeisky pre-feasibility study should no longer be relied upon and are withdrawn by the Group. In the statement, the Group stated that finalization of the Draft WA Report is dependent on Wardell Armstrong conducting a site visit to the its mining operations, owing to government mandated COVID-19 restrictions the site visit has been delayed for an indefinite period of time, (see 22 June 2020 release for full detail); and
• As of the date of this report, the Group confirms that there have been no major disruptions at either sites or to the Group’s planned production and operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MANGAZEISKY SILVER PROJECT PRODUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

The Group achieved first pre-commercial silver production in 1 April 2018 through its commissioning activities at the Mangazeisky Silver Project as construction of the processing plant and associated infrastructure was completed. The Group achieved commercial production at the beginning of the third quarter of year 2019. During the Q1 2020, the Group continued to increase its productivity in mining and processing on a month over month basis. The table below details the production highlights for Q1 2020, Q1 2019, and the year ended 31 December 2019.

Development & Operational Activities

During the three-month period ended 31 March 2020, the Group mined 35,650 tonnes of ore (Q1 2019: 39,367 tonnes) from its Vertikalny open pit and milled 25,344 tonnes of ore (Q1 2019: 19,629 tonnes), producing 457,458 ounces of silver (Q1 2019: 264,735 ounces) contained in dry precipitate (before smelting losses and refinery adjustment).  During the three-month period ended 31 March 2020, the Group sold approximately 472,439 ounces of silver at a realized price of US$16.88 Ag/oz for production revenue of US$7,974,832 (Q1 2019: 294,589 ounces at US$15.53 Ag/oz for production revenues of US$4,574,793).

During the first quarter, the Group’s 2020 winter road procurement and transportation delivered approximately 14,000 tonnes of supplies, including new drill rig, excavator and the new XRT processing equipment. The winter road was closed on 30^th of April this year, and accomplished delivery of all the Group’s demand for gas condensate and diesel fuel.  Delivery for the summer and fall months will be via cargo flights using the Group’s newly completed airstrip.

During the first quarter, the mining and processing was running somewhat below planned due to unscheduled maintenance and downtime of drill rig and CAT loader. As of the date of this report, following a prescribed quarantine period, the XRT consultants are now on site and final commissioning is now underway, with the flotation line construction in the development stage. 

As of the date of this report there are no construction contractors and approximately 190 Prognoz employees at site. There are also 25 contractors, namely catering and process consultants. As of 31 March 2020, there was no lost time recorded accident at site. In light of the World Health Organization (“WHO”) declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic in March of this year, the Group has developed and implemented a response and mitigation plan for both its Yakutsk head office and Mangazeisky mine site. At the date of this report the Group has had no major disruptions at either sites or to our planned production and operations, however we continue to monitor the situation ensuring we keep the safety of our work force our main priority.

OUTLOOK FOR Q2 2020 AND REMAINDER OF YEAR

In order to fund further development operations and maintain rights under licenses and agreements, the Group has secured funding in the form of long-term loans of which the principal totals $142,756,682 and the Group may be dependent on securing additional financing until such time that it generates sufficient operating cash flow to meet its liabilities. 

In consideration of the Group’s going concern and following the initiation of silver production in the second quarter of 2018 and now achieving full commercial production in the third quarter of 2019 the Group’s priorities for second quarter 2020 and remainder of the year are as follows:

• Though COVID-19 may impact the Group’s silver production in 2020 causing some delay in commissioning the Group’s XRT processing equipment, the forecast for – 2020 is approximately 2.5 million ounces of silver;
• In Q2 2020, the Group plans to finish the development documentation for flotation;
• Initiate 2020 exploration program that target extension of existing deposits and new areas of significance with the intent to grow the Group’s resources and establish future drilling programs;
• Continue to monitor all operations to further optimize operating costs and improve operational efficiencies; and

Continue to build up operational capabilities and staffing and introduce new systems for production monitoring and management accounting.

About Silver Bear

Silver Bear (TSX: SBR) is focused on the development of its wholly-owned Mangazeisky Silver Project, covering a licence area of approximately 570 km² that includes the high-grade Vertikalny deposit (amongst the highest- grade silver deposits in the world), located 400 km north of Yakutsk in the Republic of Sakha within the Russian Federation. As of April 2018, the Company attained first silver production as a result of commissioning activities and on 1 July 2019 the Company achieved full commercial production.  Other information relating to Silver Bear is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com as well as on the Company’s website at www.silverbearresources.com.

Cautionary Notes

This release and subsequent oral statements made by and on behalf of the Company may contain forward-looking statements, which reflect management’s expectations. Wherever possible, words such as “intends”, “expects”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “anticipates”, “believes” and similar expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this release reflect management’s current beliefs based upon information currently available to management and based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause events and achievements to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, but are not limited, to the risk factors identified by the Company in its continuous disclosure filings filed from time to time on SEDAR. These factors should be considered carefully and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily involve significant known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties that may cause the Company’s actual results, events, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks and factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors and risks that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, unless otherwise required by law.

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