Altius Provides 2024 Year-End Project Generation Update

Rhea-AI Summary

Altius Minerals has reported significant growth in its Project Generation business and junior equities portfolio, which reached $60.4 million in value by December 31, 2024, up from $45.1 million in 2023. The company monetized certain liquid equities early in 2024, generating $26.4 million in gross proceeds, with $11.3 million invested in Orogen shares.

Key highlights include Altius's 19.6% stake in Orogen Royalties, which generated over $5 million in royalty revenue from its Ermitano gold mine. Notable developments include progress at AngloGold Ashanti's Expanded Silicon project and Silvercorp's acquisition of Adventus Mining, with production at El Domo copper-gold project targeted for late 2026. The company maintains various equity positions and royalty interests across multiple exploration projects, including Golden Baie, Golden Rose, and Taylor Brook.

Positive

• Portfolio value increased 34% YoY to $60.4M from $45.1M
• Generated $26.4M in gross proceeds from equity monetization
• Orogen Royalties generated >$5M in royalty revenue from Ermitano gold mine
• El Domo copper-gold project advancing toward production in late 2026
• Strategic expansion of royalty portfolio through project generation

Negative

• Net monetization of $15.1M indicates significant portfolio reduction

Insights

Financial Analyst

The update reveals notable portfolio value appreciation from $45.1 million to $60.4 million in 2024, representing a 34% increase despite $15.1 million in net monetization. Strategic monetization of $26.4 million was executed to fund share buybacks and new investments, demonstrating active portfolio management.

The significant 19.6% stake in Orogen Royalties represents a cornerstone investment, with Orogen generating over $5 million in royalty revenue from Ermitano mine alone. The discovery of the Navidad vein system and progress at the Silicon project indicate potential for substantial future royalty growth.

The El Domo copper-gold project's advancement to construction phase by Silvercorp, with production targeted for late 2026, adds near-term royalty potential through Altius's 2% NSR position. The diverse portfolio of exploration-stage royalties and strategic investments provides multiple paths for value creation.

Mining Industry Expert

The portfolio restructuring and strategic focus on royalty-generating assets demonstrates evolution toward a more sustainable business model. The Ermitano mine's performance and Navidad discovery highlight the quality of underlying assets, while the AngloGold Ashanti's Expanded Silicon project represents a potential tier-1 asset in a premier jurisdiction.

The Nevada strategic alliance with Orogen is particularly noteworthy, as it's already yielding results with the Cuprite and Celts gold projects being monetized. The geological similarities to the Silicon discovery suggest potential for additional significant finds.

The diversified exposure across precious metals, base metals and various jurisdictions, combined with the mix of producing, development and exploration assets, creates a balanced risk-reward profile typical of successful project generation companies.

ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Altius Minerals Corporation (TSX: ALS) (OTCQX: ATUSF) (“Altius”) is pleased to provide an update on its Project Generation (“PG”) business activities and its public junior equities portfolio. The market value of the junior equities portfolio at December 31, 2024 was $60.4 million, compared to $45.1 million at December 31, 2023.

Early in 2024 a decision was made to monetize certain liquid equities in the portfolio to fund an acceleration of purchases under Altius’s share buyback program and other investment opportunities, and as such $26.4 million in gross proceeds were generated. A total of $11.3 million was invested into additional purchases of Orogen (TSX-V:OGN) shares as well as modest amounts in other equities that resulted in net monetization of $15.1 million for the year, which is not included in the $60.4 million current portfolio value noted above.

An updated list of the public equity holdings has been posted to the Altius website at https://altiusminerals.com/project-generation/junior-equities-portfolio/.

Junior Equities Portfolio 2024 Highlights

The Corporation currently holds 39,557,961 common shares or an approximate 19.6% interest in Orogen Royalties Inc. (TSX-V:OGN) (“Orogen”). Orogen continued to execute on its business model of project generation-based royalty creation with noteworthy highlights including greater than $5 million in 2024 royalty revenue from its Ermitano gold mine royalty as well as the announcement of the discovery of the Navidad vein system at the project which offers the potential for an extended mine life. It also benefited from strong progress at AngloGold Ashanti’s (“AGA”) Expanded Silicon project in Nevada, over which Orogen holds a 1% NSR royalty (Altius also directly holds a 1.5% NSR royalty). This project encompasses both the Silicon and Merlin deposits, which are rapidly emerging as important new world-class gold discoveries in Nevada.

Altius and Orogen also continued their strategic alliance in Nevada generating several new projects that the partners recognize as holding geologic similarities to the Silicon discovery, two of which, the Cuprite and Celts gold projects, have been sold to Strikepoint Gold (TSX-V:SKP) and Eminent Gold (TSX-V:EMNT) respectively, while other projects continue to advance towards marketable status.

Adventus Mining Corp. (“Adventus”), of which Altius was a co-founding shareholder, was acquired by Silvercorp Metals Inc. ("Silvercorp") (TSX: SVM) (NYSE American: SVM) during the year. Silvercorp has subsequently announced the initiation of mine infrastructure construction and a target of first production in late 2026 from the El Domo copper-gold project in Ecuador, over which Altius holds a 2% NSR royalty.

Altius also holds several additional junior equity positions and/or royalty interests relating to a diverse range of exploration projects in several jurisdictions that hold potential for multiple commodities, including the following.

• Canstar Resources Inc. (ROX:TSX-V) continued to advance its Golden Baie Project in central Newfoundland, which Altius originated and over which it holds a 2% NSR royalty.
  
  
• Tru Precious Metals Corp. (TRU:TSX-V) (“TRU”) continued to advance its Golden Rose project in central Newfoundland through an earn-in option agreement with Eldorado Gold Corp. to earn an 80-per-cent ownership interest. Altius is a substantial shareholder of TRU, following its vend-in of the Golden Rose project, and retains a 2% NSR royalty over the property.
  
  
• Churchill Resources Inc. (TSX-V:CRI) (“Churchill”) undertook further geophysical surveying and drilling at its Taylor Brook nickel property in western Newfoundland. Altius is a substantial shareholder of Churchill based on its origination and sale of the Taylor Brook project and retains a 2% NSR royalty over the project.

Altius also continues to carry out exploration programs across a variety of wholly owned and joint venture projects with a goal of generating royalty and other interests.

Qualified Person

Lawrence Winter, Ph.D., P.Geo., Vice President, Generative & Technical, for Altius, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, is responsible for the scientific and technical data presented herein and has reviewed, prepared and approved this release.

About Altius

Altius’s strategy is to create per share growth through a diversified portfolio of royalty assets that relate to long life, high margin operations. This strategy further provides shareholders with exposures that are well aligned with sustainability-related global growth trends including the electricity generation transition from fossil fuel to renewables, transportation electrification, reduced emissions from steelmaking and increasing agricultural yield requirements. These macro-trends each hold the potential to cause increased demand for many of Altius’s commodity exposures including copper, renewable based electricity, several key battery metals (lithium, nickel and cobalt), clean iron ore, and potash. In addition, Altius runs a successful Project Generation business that originates mineral projects for sale to developers in exchange for equity positions and royalties. Altius has 46,290,608 common shares issued and outstanding that are listed on Canada’s Toronto Stock Exchange. It is a member of both the S&P/TSX Small Cap and S&P/TSX Global Mining Indices.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250109293587/en/

For further information, please contact:

Chad Wells

Email: Cwells@altiusminerals.com

Tel: 1.877.576.2209

Flora Wood

Email: Fwood@altiusminerals.com

Tel: 1.877.576.2209

Direct: 1.416.346.9020

Source: Altius Minerals Corporation

FAQ

What was Altius Minerals' (ATUSF) portfolio value at the end of 2024?

Altius Minerals' junior equities portfolio value was $60.4 million as of December 31, 2024, up from $45.1 million at the end of 2023.

How much did Altius (ATUSF) invest in Orogen shares in 2024?

Altius invested $11.3 million in additional purchases of Orogen shares during 2024.

What is Altius's (ATUSF) ownership percentage in Orogen Royalties?

Altius holds approximately 19.6% interest in Orogen Royalties, representing 39,557,961 common shares.

When is the El Domo copper-gold project expected to start production under Altius's (ATUSF) royalty agreement?

Silvercorp has announced a target of first production from the El Domo copper-gold project in late 2026.

How much royalty revenue did Orogen generate from the Ermitano gold mine in 2024?

Orogen generated more than $5 million in royalty revenue from its Ermitano gold mine royalty in 2024.