Coeur To Acquire Projects Adjacent To Its Rochester Operation

CHICAGO, IL - Coeur Mining, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a property package adjacent to its Rochester operation consisting of the Lincoln Hill Project, Wilco Project, Gold Ridge Property and other nearby claims from Alio Gold Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Coeur will pay total consideration of $19 million in the form of its common stock for the Projects. 

The Projects are adjacent to Coeur’s Rochester open-pit, heap leach mine in northern Nevada, providing significant operational synergies. The principal asset is the Lincoln Hill Project, which is a high-grade, open-pit gold-silver development project located approximately four miles west of Rochester. Lincoln Hill has a historical measured and indicated resource totaling 364,000 ounces of gold and 10.2 million ounces of silver contained in 32.3 million tons of mineralized material, as well as an additional 255,000 ounces of gold and 8.2 million ounces of silver in inferred resources. 

The Wilco Project is a gold-silver exploration project that covers approximately 8,900 acres with a historical measured and indicated resource of 1.3 million ounces of gold and 12.0 million ounces of silver contained in 125.8 million tons of mineralized material. The Wilco Project also has an additional 541,000 ounces of gold and 6.1 million ounces of silver in inferred resources1. 

In total, subject to closing, the Projects will more than double Coeur’s land position at Rochester from roughly 16,300 acres to over 40,300 acres. 

This is consistent with Company’s strategy of growing its production and cash flow with the addition of low- risk, high-quality and high-return assets and ability to leverage Coeur’s existing infrastructure, workforce and expertise at its Rochester mine, which the Company has operated for over 30 years. With the completion of the planned crusher expansion and Stage VI leach pad expected in 2021 at Rochester, along with additional permitting.

Lincoln Hill is expected to become a source of higher-grade, low-cost production capable of bolstering future cash flow and further extending Rochester’s mine life. Lincoln Hill’s average gold resource grade is more than four-times higher than Rochester’s current grade. The property package offers significant low-risk, low-cost exploration potential.
“The acquisition of this property package from Alio represents a unique opportunity to bolster our Rochester operation in a manner that satisfies all our acquisition criteria,” said Mitchell J. Krebs, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Lincoln Hill Project provides higher-grade ounces located near Rochester’s infrastructure, which should allow us to generate high returns, higher margins and strong cash flow with little incremental capital. The Wilco and Gold Ridge projects provide additional exploration upside. By consolidating this land position, we look forward to conducting regional exploration in an area with known mineralization that has received little attention historically.” 

The company’s address is 104 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 900, Chicago, IL 60603, (312) 489-5800, email: [email protected].