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TSX: RIO - Rio2 Limited

Rio2 Ltd: Its gold, gold, gold for Rio2 …. and copper


Rio2 Ltd Executive Chairman Alex Black on 3AW, 2GB, 4BC & 6PR Bulls N' Bears Report


Listen to TSX-listed Rio2 Ltd Executive Chairman Alex Black talk to Bulls N’ Bears’ Matt Birney about Rio2 kicking the door down at the gold producers club and announcing its arrival as a producer just as the gold price touches new highs.


TO LISTEN TO THE RIO2 LIMITED AUDIO INTERVIEW - CLICK BELOW



In what can only be described as exquisite timing TSX listed Rio2 has officially crossed the line from developer to gold producer, pouring first gold at its Fenix heap leach Gold mine in Chile after a long and sometimes difficult development journey. With first gold already produced, the mine is now ramping up operations and the company is now looking at meaningful gold production in year one – and I might add , just as the gold price gets all stratospheric.


RADIO INTERVIEW - TRANSCRIPT


Matt Birney - Welcome to Bulls N' Bears, brought to you today by TSX listed gold producer Rio2


Matt Birney - TSX code - RIO.


Matt Birney - I'm Matt Birney and I'm joined now all the way from Peru by the Executive Chairman of Rio2, Alex Black.


Matt Birney - Hi, Alex.


Alex Black - Hi, Matt. Good to catch up.


Matt Birney - Okay, Alex. So, Rio2 has just managed to make that giant leap from developer to gold producer at your Fenix heap Leech gold mine in Chile. Let's start with a headline. How much gold did you produce in that first commercial pour and when?


Alex Black - We produced just over 1,200 ounces and that was done on Friday the 23rd of January.


Matt Birney - What's the resource at this project? Tonnes and grade.


Alex Black - I'll give it to you in ounces. It's 4.8 million ounces in M&I at a grade of about half a gram, but it's bulk tonnage heap leach and very economic.


Matt Birney - Yeah. Well, let's get into that heap leach. I mean, this is different to a typical hard rock mine. Bang out the advantages of heap leaching for me over a typical hard rock mine.


Alex Black - Positives are no crushing, grinding, middling, producing tailings. It's just an earthmoving exercise, moving mineralized material to a pad and irrigating it with cyanide and out comes the gold.


Matt Birney - I see you got a strip ratio of less than 1:1 which is amazing. Now I know you produced a feasibility study on this project and I'm guessing it's way outdated now with the rampaging gold price but firstly tell me what gold price did you use in that study and what's the gold price today?


Alex Black - $1,750 was used for the study and gold price touched just on $5,200 today.


Matt Birney - What have you spent building the project?


Alex Black - About $150 million.


Matt Birney - How much free cash will this thing spit out after tax over its life at mine?


Alex Black - It'll be in the billions. For the first year 2026, it will be over $250 million.


Matt Birney - And what's the expected mine life?


Alex Black - Expected mine life at 20,000 tonnes a day is 17 years.


Matt Birney - And production per year?


Alex Black - Production per year will average just under a 100,000 ounces, but we have a plan to expand the project to four times the size, producing about 300,000 ounces per annum for about 10 years from 2030.


Matt Birney - I know you've just bought a producing copper mine, too. So, you got your hands full.


Matt Birney - Alex Black from Rio2


Matt Birney - Thanks for joining me on Bulls N' Bears and remember we're only here to give you information, not advice, which you should of course seek independently.


Matt Birney - I'm Matt Birney and this is Bulls N' Bears.


Outro - For more public company interviews go to the money page on the 6PR, 2GB, 3AW and 4BC websites and click the public companies tab.



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