MONTREAL,
June 26, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ -
Greg Struble, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Maudore Minerals Ltd. (MAO: TSX
Venture; MAOMF: US OTC; M6L: Frankfurt Exchange)
("Maudore" or the "Corporation"), announces today
that the Corporation has completed the implementation of its
previously announced consensual restructuring of its debts, and is
now turning its focus to the review of its strategic alternatives
in order to maximize value for its shareholders and other
stakeholders.
Earlier Maudore had announced that it had
reached an agreement (the "FBC Agreement") with FBC Holdings
S.à.r.l. ("FBC") pursuant to which FBC has agreed to provide
Maudore and its subsidiary Aurbec Mines Inc. ("Aurbec") with
additional funding and to restructure the terms of their
indebtedness to FBC, and that the shareholders of Maudore
(excluding FBC and its affiliates) had approved the implementation
of the FBC Agreement at the annual and special meeting of the
Corporation held on May 22, 2014. The
material definitive documentation giving effect to the final
transactions contemplated by the FBC Agreement has now been
executed such that all of the transactions with FBC have been
completed.
In conjunction with the finalization of this
debt restructuring, FBC has agreed to provide Aurbec with access to
the full amount of its previously approved $2 million senior secured loan, with the proceeds
to be used for general corporate purposes in continuing the
operations at the Sleeping Giant Mine. FBC will also provide
funding sufficient to satisfy Aurbec's new environmental bonding
requirements in 2014 of approximately $0.9
million.
Maudore also announces that it has engaged
Clarus Securities Inc. to provide it with advice in connection with
a review of its available strategic alternatives which the
Corporation has decided to initiate in order to maximize value for
its shareholders and other stakeholders.
As regards the other major creditors of Maudore
and Aurbec, the Corporation had previously announced that it had
reached an agreement with other major creditors of Aurbec, who were
owed an aggregate of approximately $3.4
million, for the payment to them of 14 monthly instalments
of approximately $85,000, with a
final balloon payment of approximately $2.2
million to be made in March
2015, in full settlement of such indebtedness. Today the
Corporation further announces that it has also reached an agreement
with additional major creditors of Maudore, who are owed an
aggregate of approximately $2.0
million. This agreement calls for the payment to them of
nine monthly instalments of $56,500
beginning in June 2014, in full
settlement of such indebtedness and of various other obligations
owing to them.
"While this restructuring and additional
availability of working capital is an important milestone, we
continue to face challenges as we work to develop the potential of
the Sleeping Giant Mine," said Greg
Struble. "The course forward will be to use this financing
as a step toward the validation of the new resource zones recently
opened up at depth and to further refine our strategic options for
the Corporation going forward. The first step in this process will
be, effective today, a temporary layoff to reduce the overall
manpower by 54% down to a level that will only support the test
mining in the new zones as well as continue to support toll milling
for third parties as practical. In the coming weeks, we will be
working closely with our lenders, suppliers and customers to
develop a longer term strategy and mining plan based on the options
assessed in our strategic review. We recognize the impact that this
will have on our employees and the immediate communities and
express our gratitude to them and to our lenders and business
partners for their assistance and support in this endeavour."
About Maudore Minerals Ltd.
Maudore is a Quebec-based junior
gold company in production, with mining and milling operations as
well as more than 22 exploration projects. Five of these projects
are at an advanced stage of development with reported current and
historical resources and mining. Currently, all gold production is
coming from the Sleeping Giant mine. The Corporation's projects
span some 120 km, east-west, of the underexplored Northern Volcanic
Zone of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt and cover a total area of 1,285
km², with the Sleeping Giant Processing Facility within trucking
distance of key development projects.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This release and other documents filed by the Corporation contain
forward-looking statements. All statements that are not clearly
historical in nature or that necessarily depend on future events
are forward-looking, and the words "intend", "anticipate",
"believe", "expect", "estimate", "plan" and similar expressions are
generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements include, without limitation, performance
and achievements of the Corporation, business and financing plans,
business trends and future operating revenues. These statements are
inherently uncertain and actual achievements of the Corporation or
other future events or conditions may differ materially from those
reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of
risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without
limitation, financial related risks, unstable gold and metal
prices, operational risks including those related to title,
significant uncertainty related to inferred mineral resources,
operational hazards, unexpected geological situations, unfavourable
mining conditions, changing regulations and governmental policies,
failure to obtain required permits and approvals from government
authorities, failure to obtain any required approvals of the TSX
Venture Exchange, failure to obtain any required financing or
identify or implement any strategic alternatives for the
Corporation, increased competition from other companies many of
which have greater financial resources, dependence on key personnel
and environmental risks and the other risks described in the
Corporation's continuous disclosure documents.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies
of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the
adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Maudore Minerals Ltd.