Minera Alamos Inc.

Company Data | Introduction | Projects in Hand | Management
News Update | Chinese

Company Data

Introduction

Minera Alamos is a gold production and development Company undergoing the operational startup of its first gold mine that produced its first gold in October 2021. The Company has a portfolio of high-quality Mexican assets, including the 100%-owned Santana open-pit, heap-leach mine in Sonora that is currently going through its operational ramp up. The 100%-owned Cerro de Oro oxide gold project in northern Zacatecas has considerable past drilling and metallurgical work completed with plans to enter the permitting process. The 100%-owned La Fortuna open pit gold project in Durango has a robust and positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed and the main Federal permits in place. Minera Alamos is built around its operating team that together brought 3 mines into successful production in Mexico over the last 13 years.

The Company’s strategy is to develop very low CAPEX assets while expanding the projects’ resources and continuing to pursue complementary strategic acquisitions.

MEXICAN GOLD MINE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PIPELINE

Santana Project, Sonora State (100%-Owned)

Location / Infrastructure

• Easily accessible by paved highway
• 50 km SW of Alamos Gold’s 3 Moz Mulatos Gold Mine

Mine Plan / Stage

• Mining operations commenced in June 2021
• First gold production announced in November 2021
• ~13,600 oz sold since operations commenced; ~7,000 oz of recoverable inventory on pad; costs in line with management expectations pre build
• Commercial Production Thresholds achieved in 2022
• Next phase of pad expansion planned for 2023 that will triple the leaching capacity of the project

Exploration Upside

• More than 30,000 m of drilling to date; multiple high-priority exploration targets (additional pipes) identified across the property; All pipes appear to be gold-bearing
• 2023 plans for up to 80 holes and 10,000 m of drilling using company owned drill. Focusing on discovery drilling of Zata, Benjamin and Divisadero pipes
• Drilling underway at Benjamin target to be followed by Zata

Cerro De Oro Project, Zacatecas State (100%-Owned)

Location / Infrastructure

• Accessible by paved highway
• 25 km N of Newmont’s 8 Moz Au/471 Moz Ag Peñasquito Mine

Mine Plan / Stage

• Near-term development opportunity; extensive metallurgical studies already completed; simple open pit heap leach envisioned
• Over 70 holes drilled to date defining a broad disseminated gold system within two zones which could ultimately form one large pit; ex-Noranda porphyry target
• Good metallurgy reported (work completed in 2016-2018)
• Surface rights in place as of June 2022
• Permit application’s now with the Company’s Permitting Consultants who will guide the permit process moving forward
• Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) released October 2022
• Updated Inferred Mineral Resource estimate containing 67 million tonnes of 0.37 g/t Au (790 koz of contained gold)

Exploration Upside

• Open in multiple directions and at depth
• Expansion and metallurgical drilling planned for 2023 (4,000 – 5,000 m)
• New targets on regional property being identified

La Fortuna Project, Durango State (100%-Owned)

Location / Infrastructure

• Easily accessible via a 100 km road from Culiacan, the Capital of Sinaloa State
• State authorities are extending a 2-lane upgraded paved highway to the project including grid power

Mine Plan / Stage

• PEA contemplates a simple open-pit mine with initial 40-50K oz Au annual production and a low CAPEX start-up
• Major mill components procured and ready for shipment to site
• Permits in place to allow a future construction decision
• 12-month build – mine scheduling to follow successful construction of Santana and Cerro de Oro

Exploration Potential

• Multiple zones of “La Fortuna-style” mineralization identified
• Some alteration zones (e.g. PN Prospects area) are significantly greater in scale than those present at La Fortuna
• No systematic exploration since 2008/9

Growth Model Path to Intermediate Production

1st: Santana Project

• Low Capex Build supported by royalty
• Classic bootstrapped phased build
• Commercial Production Thresholds achieved

2nd: Cerro De Oro Project

• Low CAPEX Build
• Permitting in 2023
• 5-6 month Construction could begin early 2024 upon permit receipt

3rd: Potential Santana Project Expansion

• Exploration driven expansion potential derived and dependent on ongoing drilling activities and future

4th: La Fortuna Project

• Low CAPEX Build supported by royalty and internal financial resources
• Expand resource from operations
• Construction following Cerro de Oro

5th: Acquire 4th Asset

• Targeting +/- 500K to 1Moz quality ounces
• Low CAPEX
• Large land package
• Significant Exploration Upside

Investment Highlights

Proven Builders

• Heap leach mining expertise
• Ability to expedite projects and minimize initial CAPEX
• Same team that placed 4 mines into production

Gold Producers

• 1st mining operation has reached commercial production thresholds
• 2nd planned mine entering detailed engineering & permitting (2022 PEA)
• 3rd planned mine has permits in place ready for construction decision (2018 PEA)

Minimizing Risks

• Mexico among the most favoured mining jurisdictions for costs and permitting
• Strong balance sheet – debt free – zero warrants

Growth Potential

• Multi-mine strategy
• Targeting complementary advanced projects
• Investigating significant exploration upside

Insulated From Inflation

• Low capital intensity projects better insulated against rising capital costs
• Minimal impact from current inflationary environment – not immune but protected
• Small with self funded organic staged growth vs Large impacted by cost inflation

Management

Management and Directors

Darren Koningen, P.Eng., Chief Executive Officer & Director

Over 25 years of engineering/metallurgical experience and led the development of Castle Gold’s El Castillo project prior to its sale to Argonaut

Designed, constructed, commissioned and operated two gold heap leach operations in Mexico under budget and on time

Doug Ramshaw, B.Sc. Mining Geology, President & Director

Over 25 years of experience the mineral resource sector as a former mining analyst and senior executive of several exploration companies with focus on mineral project evaluation, M&A and business development strategies supporting corporate growth

Former Director of Great Bear Resource acquired for $1.8 bn

Janet O’Donnell, Chief Financial Officer

A career accounting professional with over 25 years of financial management experience largely within the mining sector

Former CFO of Castle Gold Corporation

Most recently she was the CFO of Gowest Gold

Federico Alvarez, M.Eng., Chief Operating Officer

Over 30 years experience within academia, government and the mining industry, primarily in Mexico

Past VP Operations for Argonaut Gold and Castle Gold at the El Castillo gold mine in Durango; and for 10 years was Director of Mining Affairs for the State of Guanajuato

Chris Sharpe, P.Eng., Vice President of Project Development

Over 15 years of engineering experience, the last 5 years of which were spent with Centerra Gold in roles of increasing responsibility. Previously held positions as a senior mining engineer with AuRico Gold and Wardrop Engineering

Carolina Salas, M.Sc., Vice President of Technical Services

Over 15 years of experience in design/ construction, operation, metallurgy and maintenance at various project sites throughout Mexico, 6 years were working at Peñoles.

Oversaw all gold processing and recovery facilities at the Lluvia de Oro gold heap leach project in Sonora

Miguel Cardona, Vice President of Exploration

Over 20 years experience as a geological engineer in mineral exploration and underground and open pit mining operations

Led the 3x increase of El Castillo’s gold resource for Castle Gold from 400 Koz to 1.2 Moz

Victoria Vargas, MBA, Vice President of Investor Relations

Over 18 years of experience in the mining sector, she started her career at Kinross Gold Corporation and joined Alamos Gold Inc. in 2004 and led the effort to increase investor exposure and positively upgrade the company from the TSX Venture to the TSX.

Bruce Durham, P.Geo., Independent Director

Over 40 years of experience in the mining and exploration industry and was a member/leader of various exploration teams credited with the discovery of several mines in the Hemlo and Timmins areas

Ruben Padilla, P.Geo., Independent Director

Over 25 years of diverse mining and exploration experience focused on the Americas

Currently Chief Geologist of Talisker Exploration Services Inc.

Kevin Small, P.Eng., Independent Director

Over 30 years of experience in the mining industry as an operations leader to numerous mine operations and start-up projects.

Former President and CEO of Jerritt Canyon Gold (100% owned by Sprott Mining Inc.)

News Update

On April 16, 2024, Further to Minera Alamos Inc.'s Santana operations update (see news release dated Feb. 22, 2024), the company's contractor mobilized at the Santana mine site at the beginning of April with mining activity at the Nicho Main zone to commence shortly. This followed the conclusion of discussions regarding the additional equipment and personnel required as operations begin to ramp up again at the mine.

The focus of contractor activities since the beginning of the month has been equipment maintenance and the preparation of additional haulage roads to maximize operational flexibility for the current mine plans. While the re-start of mining activities has been aided by the pre-stripping of the new deposit area in the past year, new operations will have a staggered start as access to multiple working areas increases and as the new pit opens up over time. The Company is also implementing new sampling procedures and controls in order to optimize conditions for the Nicho Main zone which exhibits somewhat different mineralogy than that at the Nicho Norte starter pit. This will include optimizations to blasting patterns to maximize fragmentation and gold recoveries, as well as crushing and in-pit sampling and sorting to ensure the best economic outcome. In addition, the Company is testing a new dust suppressant system to improve the overall air quality in active work areas while minimizing water consumption.

Overall, mining plans at the Nicho Main zone are aided by reduced hauling distances to the Santana leach pad compared to the Nicho Norte pit, and it is expected that this will allow for increases in both mining and stacking activities as the second quarter of 2024 progresses, the initial benefits of the which will be felt in Q3 and then continue throughout the next year (for more details please see the February 22nd news release).

On February 22, 2024, Minera Alamos Inc. has provided an operations update for the Santana gold project outlining updated plans for expanding mining and processing operations over the next year.

"Last year was challenging for both our operations and our shareholders. However, we are optimistic that 2024 will see significant positive advancements at the Santana gold mine," stated Darren Koningen, CEO. "A newly modelled approach to the development of Santana utilizing the existing leach pad capacity will allow mining and stacking operations to increase significantly from 2023 levels. We are currently finalizing plans for the year and concluding our discussions with our mining contractor to implement the new production plans. In parallel we will continue our active conversations regarding approval of our permit amendments covering the future development for the Santana mine."

2024 Outlook: In late 2023, the Minera operations team evaluated a series of operation scenarios aimed at balancing future planned leach pad expansion (awaiting permit amendments) against a shorter-term plan to expand mining and stacking activities using the current permitted pad space. Modelling results supported a plan of operations that can be conducted prior to any pad expansion required for longer term production plans. During 2023, the Company initiated some advanced development activities at the Nicho Main zone as preparation for the new plan of operations. This included:

• Pioneering/pre-stripping of waste material within the proposed 2024 mining areas.
• Blasting and crushing studies using material from the Nicho Main zone to determine any significant differences in the rock mechanical properties versus those for the Nicho Norte starter pit operations that were the focus of 2021-2023 mining.

On December 14, 2023, Minera Alamos Inc. has released the results of voting at its annual general meeting of shareholders (AGM) held Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, in Toronto, Canada.

Shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of all items put forward by the board of directors and management. All five of the individuals nominated for the board of directors, namely Darren Koningen, Doug Ramshaw, Bruce Durham, Ruben Padilla and Kevin Small, received the support of the company's shareholders to continue in their roles for the forthcoming year.

Shareholders also voted in favour of:

• Ratifying the appointment of McGovern Hurley LLP as auditor of the company for the ensuing year and authorizing directors to fix the remunerations of the auditor;
• Ratifying and approving the continuation of the incentive stock option plan of the corporation;
• Ratifying and approving the continuation of the restricted share unit plan of the corporation.

A total of 208,310,611 Minera Alamos common shares were voted, representing 45.04 per cent of total shares issued and outstanding as at the record date of the meeting.

On November 30, 2023, Minera Alamos Inc. has provided an operations update and select financial highlights from the third quarter of 2023 as well as some highlights of corporate activities during the quarter and the year. For a full overview please refer to the Q3 Financial Statements and MD&A filed on Sedarplus.ca on November 29th, 2023. Highlights:

Completion of Maiden Resource Statement at the Santana gold project. Total Measured and Indicated Resources of 198,000 oz (grading 0.65 g/t gold) and an additional 103,000 oz of Inferred Resources (grading 0.58 g/t gold) (see news release dated October 3rd, 2023).

Mining rates increased in the third quarter as had been forecast in Q2. Due to normal delays following the stacking and initiation of leaching from new mineralization additional recoverable gold from these operations will be achieved in Q4. Further expansion of mining rates will be dependent on the pending permit amendment that will allow for more efficient stacking and sequencing of pad leaching activities.

Total gold ounces recovered, since the start of operations through until September 30, 2023 was 14,720 ounces from the Santana Project with a recoverable gold inventory on the leach pad increasing to 6,337 ounces as at September 30, 2023.

Sales revenues from 636 ounces of gold sold in the third quarter of 2023 totaled $1,790,245 and revenues from 4,381 ounces of gold sold during the first nine months of 2023 totaled $11,654,580.

As of the end of the third quarter, Cash and Cash Equivalents totaled $6,573,453 and the Company had positive working capital position of $19,668,154. This includes cash received from sales completed from the Q3 production where the related revenues have been treated as deferred in the financial statements and will be accounted in the Q4 Financial Statements.

On October 30, 2023, Minera Alamos Inc. has executed the definitive documentation for the previously announced Cerro de Oro financing package associated with the planned construction of the Cerro de Oro gold mine that is currently anticipated to begin next year.

The company entered into the Cerro de Oro financing documents with Auramet International Inc. and Auramet Capital Partners LP, which comprises a loan facility for up to $15-million (U.S.) and a $10-million (U.S.) royalty (see news release dated May 31, 2023, for a more detailed summary of the terms). Upon execution of the Cerro de Oro financing documents, the company also completed a drawdown of an initial $5-million (U.S.) under the loan facility to advance certain preconstruction work related to the Cerro de Oro project.

"We are delighted to have executed these financing documents with Auramet, which provides a fully funded and single-source solution to the modest capital expenditure requirements of the planned gold mine at Cerro de Oro. Our team has had an excellent working relationship with Auramet in recent years in regard to gold sales from prior operations as well as our Santana gold mine. This has provided us great insight into how supportive a partner Auramet can be, and we are happy to have executed a funding facility which will allow us to grow the relationship with the Auramet team," stated Doug Ramshaw, president, Minera Alamos.

On October 03, 2023, Minera Alamos Inc. has released the results of an independent estimate of the mineral resources currently outlined at the Santana gold project in Sonora, Mexico. The resource estimate was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) by Scott Zelligan, PGeo, an independent qualified person (QP) as defined in NI 43-101. A technical report with the details of the mineral resource estimate (MRE) will be filed on SEDAR+ under the company's profile within 45 days of the date of this news release.

"This maiden resource covers just the development zones in the immediate area of the current Santana mine operations, and is a major step in highlighting the robust resource data and metallurgical input that provided the company with comfort in developing our first low-capital mine. The next open pit in the development plans for the project, the Nicho main zone, is largely drilled-off in sufficient detail for the estimation of measured and indicated resources with a grade and strip (waste:mineralization) ratio that we expect to provide meaningful low-cost production gold ounces for the next five to six years as the rest of the property is explored and better understood," stated Darren Koningen, chief executive officer.

May 31, 2023, US$25 million Construction Financing Package Termsheet Executed for Cerro de Oro Gold Project; Q1 Financial Results

May 2, 2023, 2022 Year End Financials and Operations Update

April 13, 2023, Minera Alamos Completes Permit Preparation for the Cerro De Oro gold mine; Santana Drilling Update

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