Excelsior Mining Provides Update on Johnson Camp Mine Construction in SE Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona–(Newsfile Corp. – August 8, 2024) – Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX: MIN) (OTCQB: EXMGF) (FSE: 3XS) (“Excelsior” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that construction has commenced at the Johnson Camp Mine (“JCM”), in southeast Arizona, with first copper production anticipated in H1 of 2025.

Following the decision by Nuton LLC (“Nuton”), a Rio Tinto venture to proceed to Stage 2 of a process to restart the JCM mine using Nuton™ copper heap leaching technologies (see Excelsior press release dated May 15^th, 2024), Excelsior has completed the bulk of the planning & engineering and has mobilized crews to start construction. M3 Engineering based in Tucson has been awarded the EPCM contract. Earthworks related to the construction of the new leach pad has commenced, including crushing of the over-liner material. Rango Inc. from Mesa was awarded the leach pad construction and overliner crushing contract and is ramping up efforts to achieve the Excelsior milestones.

To facilitate the start of these activities and Stage 2, Nuton recently provided funding of $7.9 million through August 2024. Additional funding and activities will be announced as they progress. 

“The commencement of leach pad construction marks a key milestone in Excelsior’s partnership with Nuton. The M3 and Rango team we have assembled is world class and committed to delivering a safe and timely project. The opportunity to build and operate Nuton’s first demonstration of their state-of-the-art copper leaching technology is a privilege Excelsior and our team is proud to deliver,” comments Robert Winton, SVP Operations and General Manager of JCM. 

During construction, progress along with an image gallery will be posted on the company website at www.excelsiormining.com.

ABOUT NUTON

Nuton is an innovative venture that aims to help grow Rio Tinto’s copper business. At the core of Nuton is a portfolio of proprietary copper leaching related technologies and capability – a product of almost 30 years of research and development. Nuton offers the potential to economically unlock copper from primary sulfide resources through leaching, achieving market-leading recovery rates and contributing to an increase in copper production at new and ongoing operations. One of the key differentiators of Nuton is the ambition to produce the world’s lowest footprint copper while having at least one Positive Impact at each of our deployment sites, across our five pillars: water, energy, land, materials and society.

ABOUT THE JOHNSON CAMP MINE

The Johnson Camp Mine is a past producing open pit, heap leach operation. The operation includes two open pits, a fully functioning SX-EW plant capable of producing 25 million pounds of cathode copper per year, a complete set of PLS and raffinate ponds, and full infrastructure (ancillary facilities, access, power, water, and communications).

ABOUT EXCELSIOR MINING

Excelsior “The Copper Solution Company” is a mineral exploration and production company that owns and operates the Gunnison Copper Project in Cochise County, Arizona. The project is a low cost, environmentally friendly in-situ recovery copper extraction project that is permitted to 125 million pounds per year of copper cathode production. Excelsior also owns the past producing Johnson Camp Mine, which with Nuton LLC, a Rio Tinto Venture is in Stage 2 of a process to restart the mine using Nuton technologies, with first copper expected to be produced in 2025. Excelsior additionally owns a portfolio of exploration projects, including the Peabody Sill and the Strong and Harris deposits.

For more information on Excelsior, please visit our website at www.excelsiormining.com. 

For further information regarding this press release, please contact:

Excelsior Mining Corp.
Concord Place, Suite 300, 2999 North 44^th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85018.

Shawn Westcott
T: 604.365.6681
E: info@excelsiormining.com
www.excelsiormining.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking information” concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward-looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the potential of well stimulation to improve performance of the Company’s mineral projects; (ii) the intention to deploy the Nuton® technology at the Johnson Camp mine and future production therefrom; (iii) the details and expected results of the stage two work program; and (iv) future production and production capacity from the Company’s mineral projects.

In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “occur” or “be achieved” suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the amended permit will not be appealed, work plans will be approved in a timely manner, the availability of financing to continue as a going concern and implement the Company’s operational plans, the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, expectations and anticipated impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, copper and other metal prices, the timing and amount of future development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs (including the price of acid), the availability of labour, material and acid supply, receipt of and compliance with necessary regulatory approvals and permits, the estimation of insurance coverage, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks related to the Company not obtaining adequate financing to continue operations, the breach of debt convenants, risks inherent in the construction and operation of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may not be sustained at the Gunnison Copper Project, risks related to the delay in approval of work plans, variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in copper and other commodity prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of copper and related products, risks related to increased competition in the market for copper and related products, risks related to current global financial conditions, risks related to current global financial conditions and the impact of any resurgence of COVID-19 on the Company’s business, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, risks related to the ability to access acid supply on commercially reasonable terms, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the construction or mining process, regulatory risks including the risk that permits may not be obtained in a timely fashion or at all, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interests, environmental risks and the additional risks identified in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators. 

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/219202