Sierra Antapite

In July 2021, the Company completed the execution of a gold stream agreement on the Sierra Antapite mine in Peru, owned by the private corporation Sierra Sun Group through its 100% owned Peruvian company Sierra Antapite S.A.C. Mining Unit (“Sierra Antapite”).

The stream is on gold production from the Sierra Antapite mine at 20% of the gold spot price based on 4.5% of gold production for the first 11,000 gold ounces and 1% thereafter for life of mine. The stream is registered and secured against the mine and was funded in three tranches: US$5,000,000 in July 2021, US$2,500,000 in September 2021, and US$2,500,000 in December 2021. The mine will use Empress' investment to increase processing capacity from 750 to 1,000 tonnes-per-day.

The mine is fully permitted, has all social licenses to operate, and sells doré bars through either Metalor Technologies, a Switzerland-based refiner, or through Procesadora Sudmerica S.R.L, a Peru-based refiner. The cyanidation and carbon-in-pulp flowsheet is straightforward, with no need for fine or ultra-fine grinding, no refractory ore, and the flowsheet uses “off the shelf” technology. As an operating company with a track record, realized results de-risk many operating assumptions and inputs used in production forecasts.