Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the "Exchange Act"), that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements based on our current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about future events, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, our industry and the regulatory environment in which we operate. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of those terms, or other comparable terms intended to identify statements about the future. The forward-looking statements included herein are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of which are beyond our control, include, but are not limited to those made below under “Summary of Risk Factors” and in Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Annual Report.
You should carefully consider these risks, as well as the additional risks described in other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). We also operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements included herein are based on current expectations of our management based on available information and are believed to be reasonable. In light of the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in the forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that such results will be achieved, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this Annual Report and the documents we file with the SEC, with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and achievements may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by the cautionary statements referenced above.
Glossary of Technical Terms
Certain terms and abbreviations used in this prospectus are defined below:
“Ag” means the chemical symbol for the element silver.
“Au” means the chemical symbol for the element gold.
“Breccias” are rocks composed of broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a finer grained matrix.
“Coeval” means having the same age or date of origin.
“Collar Locations” are the geographic coordinates of the surface location of a drill hole.
“Concentrate” is the product of a physical concentration process, such as flotation or gravity concentration, which involves separating ore minerals from unwanted waste rock. Concentrates require subsequent processing (such as smelting or leaching) to break down or dissolve the ore minerals and obtain the desired elements, usually metals.
“CRD” or “Carbonate Replacement Deposits” means high-temperature Ag-Pb-Zn deposits in carbonate rocks such as limestone.
“Cu” means the chemical symbol for the element copper.
“DC/IP” means an induced polarization geophysical survey that uses Direct Current Resistivity to recover conductivity and chargeability distribution.
“Development” is work carried out for the purpose of accessing a mineral deposit. In an underground mine, this work includes shaft sinking, crosscutting, drifting and raising. In an open pit mine, development includes the removal of overburden.
“Dilution” is an estimate of the amount of waste or low-grade mineralized rock which will be mined with the ore as part of normal mining practices in extracting an ore body.
“Exploration” is prospecting, sampling, mapping, diamond drilling and other work involved in searching for ore.
“Feasibility Study” is a comprehensive study of a mineral deposit in which all geological, engineering, legal, operating, economic, social, environmental and other relevant factors are considered in sufficient detail that it could reasonably serve as the basis for a final decision by a financial institution to finance the development of the deposit for mineral production.
“Grade” means the concentration of each ore metal in a rock sample, usually given as weight percent. Where extremely low concentrations are involved, the concentration may be given in grams per tonne (g/t) or ounces per ton (oz/t). The grade of an ore deposit is calculated, often using sophisticated statistical procedures, as an average of the grades of a very large number of samples collected from the deposit.
“g/t” means grams per tonne.
“Hypogene” means processes occurring at depth; especially, the primary hydrothermal processes that form a mineral deposit.
“ICP-MS” means inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
“Indicated Mineral Resources” or “Indicated Resources” is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of adequate geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological certainty associated with an indicated mineral resource is sufficient to allow a qualified person to apply modifying factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit.
“Induced Polarization Survey” means a method of ground geophysical surveying employing an electrical current to determine indications of mineralization.
“Inferred Mineral Resources” or “Inferred Resources” is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological uncertainty associated with an inferred mineral resource is too high to apply relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospects of economic extraction in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability.
“Intrusive Belt” means means a band of igneous rocks that have formed parallel to and due to the subduction of a plate and can range up to several 100’s of km in length.
“km2” means square kilometers.
“kt” means kilotonnes.
“kW” means kilowatts.
“m2” is square meters.
“Ma” means mega-annum or million years.
“masl” is meters above sea level.
“Mill” is a processing facility where ore is finely ground and thereafter undergoes physical or chemical treatments to extract the valuable metals.
“Mineral Reserves” means the economically mineable part of a Measured or Indicated Resource demonstrated by at least a preliminary feasibility study. This study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified. A Mineral Reserve includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined.
“Mineral Resources” means a concentration or occurrence of diamonds, natural solid inorganic material, or natural solid fossilized organic material including base and precious metals, coal, and industrial minerals in or on the earth’s crust in such form and quantity and of such a grade or quality that it has reasonable prospects for economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge.
“Moz” means million troy ounces.
“Mt” means mega-tonnes or a million tonnes.
“Mtpa” means million tonnes per annum.
“MW” means megawatts or a million watts.
“MWh” means megawatt hours.
“NI 43-101” means National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects adopted by the Canadian Securities Administrators.
“NSR” means Net Smelter Return, which refers to the proceeds returned from the smelter and/or refinery to the mine owner, taken as a) the sale price of the metal products less certain transportation, treatment and refining costs, or b) for Cordoba’s San Matias project as below:
NSR_Cu = Cu_% * MiningRec_% * MillCuRec_% * 51.53/% Cu (On Site Value)
NSR_Au = Au_g/t * MiningRec_% * MillAuRec_% * 46.55_$/g (On Site Value)
NSR_Ag = Ag_g/t * MiningRec_% * MillAgRec_% * 0.54_$/g (On Site Value)
NSR = NSR_Cu + NSR_Au + NSR_Ag
◦98% dilution was applied to estimated Cu, Au, and Ag grades.
“Ore” is rock, generally containing metallic or non-metallic minerals and non-ore minerals, that can be mined and processed at a profit.
“Ore Body” is a sufficiently large amount of ore that can be mined economically.
"oz" means troy ounces or 31.1035 grams
“Pb” means the chemical symbol for the element lead.
“Probable Mineral Reserve” means the economically mineable part of an Indicated, and in some circumstances a Measured Mineral Resource demonstrated by at least a preliminary feasibility study. This study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic, and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified.
“Proven Mineral Reserve” means the economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource demonstrated by at least a preliminary feasibility study. This preliminary feasibility study must include adequate information on mining, processing, metallurgical, economic, and other relevant factors that demonstrate, at the time of reporting, that economic extraction can be justified.
“QA/QC” means quality assurance/quality control.
“Re” means the chemical symbol for the element rhenium.
“Reclamation” is the process by which lands disturbed as a result of mining activity are modified to support beneficial land use. Reclamation activity may include the removal of buildings, equipment, machinery and other physical remnants of mining, closure of tailings, leach pads and other features, and contouring, covering and re-vegetation of waste rock and other disturbed areas.
“Recovery Rate” is a term used in process metallurgy to indicate the proportion of valuable material physically recovered in the processing of ore. It is generally stated as a percentage of material recovered compared to the material originally present.
“Refining” is the final stage of metal production in which impurities are removed from the molten metal.
“Sampling” is a naturally occurring area where metals and elements leached from nearby rocks have accumulated at surface, typically in the form of oxide minerals.
“Specific Gravity” means density.
“Smelting” is an intermediate stage metallurgical process in which metal is separated from impurities by using thermal or chemical separation techniques.
“Stringers” are narrow veins or irregular filaments of a mineral or minerals traversing a rock mass.
“Supergene” means a process by which mineralization is enriched by the circulation of groundwater and the weathering process; significant in porphyry-copper and iron oxide-copper-gold deposits, where zones of much higher-grade mineralization may be found.