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CAMINO ROJO

LocationZacatecas, Mexico
Ownership100%
StatusIn Construction
Type of MineOpen pit heap leach
Gold Mineral Reserve1.6 Moz Total Proven and Probable (67.4 Mt at 0.73 g/t)*
Gold Mineral Resource9.5 Moz Total M&I (353.4 Mt at 0.83 g/t) *
Crusher Throughput18,000 tpd
Estimated Avg. Annual Production94,000 oz Au, 597,000 oz Ag
Estimated StartupQ4 2021
Exploration163,000 Ha land package

* Refer to January 11, 2021 News Release “Orla Mining Increases Gold Mineral Reserves by 54% With Updated Feasibility Study at the Camino Rojo Oxide Gold Project” on this website or on SEDAR

The Camino Rojo Project is a high quality, advanced oxide heap leach project in a low risk jurisdiction. This type of project leverages management’s and the board’s extensive exploration, development and operating experience in Mexico.

The Camino Rojo updated Feasibility Study considers open pit mining of 67.4 million tonnes of oxide and transitional ore at a rate of 18,000 tonnes per day. Ore from the pit will be crushed to 80% passing 28 mm, conveyor stacked onto a heap leach pad and leached using a low concentration sodium cyanide solution. Pregnant solution from the heap leach will be processed in a Merrill-Crowe recovery plant where gold and silver will be precipitated and doré will be produced. The site’s proximity to infrastructure, low stripping ratio, compact footprint, and flat pad location all contribute to the Project’s simplicity and low estimated AISC of $543 per ounce of gold.

The updated Feasibility Study was conducted using a gold price of $1,600 per ounce and a silver price of $20 per ounce and is expressed in U.S. dollars.

The updated Feasibility Study was prepared by a team of independent industry experts led by Kappes Cassiday and Associates (“KCA”) and supported by Independent Mining Consultants (“IMC”), Resource Geosciences Incorporated (“RGI”), John Ward Groundwater Consultant, Barranca Group LLC, Piteau Associates Engineering Ltd. and HydroGeoLogica Inc (“HGL”).

The updated Feasibility Study incorporates geological, assay, engineering, metallurgical, geotechnical, environmental, and hydrogeological information collected by Orla and previous owners since 2007, including 370,566 metres of drilling in 911 holes. Predicted average gold recoveries of 62% are based on results from 85 column tests.

Operating costs are based on contract mining with all other mine components being owned and operated by Orla. Approximately 58% of capital costs are based on purchase orders and updated firm proposals for equipment, material, and construction contracts from ongoing EPCM and site activities. For capital items not yet purchased, budgetary supplier quotes were used.

Camino Rojo Oxide Feasibility Study Update HighlightsUnitsValues
Throughput Rate per Daytonnes18,000
Total Ore to Leach PadM tonnes67.4
Gold Grade (Average)g/t0.73
Silver Grade (Average)g/t14.5
Contained Goldounces1,588,000
Contained Silverounces31,506,000
Average Gold Recovery%62%
Average Silver Recovery%20%
Recovered Goldounces980,000
Recovered Silverounces6,189,000
Mine Lifeyears10.4
Average Annual Gold Productionounces94,000
Strip Ratiowaste : ore0.92
Initial CapexUS$ million$134
Avg. Life of Mine Operating costs$/t ore processed$8.17
Total Cash Cost (net of by-product credits)1$/oz Au$490
All-In Sustaining Cost (“AISC”)1$/oz Au$543
Pre -Tax - NPV (5% discount rate)US$ million$668
Pre-Tax IRR%82%
After-Tax - NPV (5% discount rate)US$ million$452
After-Tax IRR%62%
Paybackyears1.5

1 Total cash cost and AISC are non-GAAP measures and are net of silver credits and includes royalties payable. See reference below regarding non-GAAP measures.

*All dollar amounts in US dollars

430,000 person-hours worked at the Camino Rojo Oxide Project (the “Project” or “Camino Rojo”) with zero lost time incidents (“LTI”) since the start of construction. There are currently 826 workers at the Project as part of construction activities with 15% from the local communities, 30% from the State of Zacatecas, and 55% from other states within Mexico.

Continued development of Camino Rojo with activities now focused on earth moving, concrete pouring, and structural and mechanical installations in the areas of the crushing circuit, Merrill-Crowe plant, heap leach and process pond, camp, and administration offices.

Camino Rojo engineering is 95% complete and construction is 22% complete. Project capital committed totalled $104.6 million at the end of the first quarter and $107.0 million on April 30, 2021. Contracts and purchases awarded to date have been in line with estimated capital costs.

Camino Rojo capital expenditures totalled $15.3 million in the first quarter and total $64.3 million for the Project to date, on April 30, 2021, out of a total project capital expenditure estimate of $134.1 million.

First gold production is planned for late 2021.

Orla will begin working on a Change of Land Use permit amendment for the expanded pit and other permitting requirements for the increased tonnes planned to be mined as a result of the Layback Agreement.Additional work is required to bring material on the Fresnillo concession to the measured and indicated mineral resource category which will then facilitate a mineral reserve update. Work required includes an estimated 2,500 metres of drilling, detailed QA/QC, and integration of Orla’s geological and resource models with Fresnillo’s drill data.

Reserve Category000'sGoldSilverGoldSilverGoldSilver
tonnes(g/t)(g/t)(g/t)(g/t)(koz)(koz)(koz)
0.80215.44668,949
Probable Mineral Reserve49,2960.70814.231,122.8022,555
Total Proven & Probable Reserve67,3650.73414.551,588.7031,503
Resource Type by Category000'sGoldSilverGoldSilver
tonnes(g/t)(g/t)(koz)(koz)(koz)
Leach Resource:
Measured Mineral Resource19,3910.7714.9482.39,305
Indicated Mineral Resource75,2490.712.21,680.7029,471
Meas./Ind. Mineral Resource94,6400.7112.72,163.0038,776
Inferred Mineral Resource4,3550.865.6119.8805
Mill Resource:
Measured Mineral Resource3,3580.699.274.2997
Indicated Mineral Resource255,4450.887.47,221.4060,606
Meas./Ind. Mineral Resource258,8030.887.47,295.6061,603
Inferred Mineral Resource56,5640.877.51,576.9013,713
Total Mineral Resource
Measured Mineral Resource22,7490.7614.1556.510,302
Indicated Mineral Resource330,6940.848.58,902.1090,078
Meas./Ind. Mineral Resource353,4430.838.89,458.60100,379
Inferred Mineral Resource60,9190.877.41,696.7014,518
Resource Type by Category000'sLeadZincLeadZinc
tonnes(%)(%)(M lbs)(M lbs)(M lbs)
Mill Resource:
Measured Mineral Resource3,3580.130.389.328.2
Indicated Mineral Resource255,4450.070.26404.31,468.70
Meas./Ind. Mineral Resource258,8030.070.26413.61,496.80
Inferred Mineral Resource56,5640.050.2363.1290.4

Mineral Reserves Notes:

  1. The Mineral Reserve estimate has an effective date of January 11, 2021 and was prepared using the CIM Definition Standards.
  1. Columns may not sum exactly due to rounding.
  1. Mineral Reserves are based on prices of $1250/oz gold and $17/oz silver.
  1. Mineral Reserves are based on NSR cut-offs that vary by time period to balance mine and plant production capacities. They range from a low of $4.93/t to a high of $12.00/t.
  1. NSR value for leach material is as follows:

Kp Oxide: NSR ($/t) = 27.37 x gold (g/t) + 0.053 x silver (g/t), based on gold recovery of 70% and silver recovery of 11%

Ki Oxide: NSR ($/t) = 21.90 x gold (g/t) + 0.073 x silver (g/t), based on gold recovery of 56% and silver recovery of 15%

Tran-Hi: NSR ($/t) = 23.46 x gold (g/t) + 0.131 x silver (g/t), based on gold recovery of 60% and silver recovery of 27%

Tran-Lo: NSR ($/t) = 15.64 x gold (g/t) + 0.165 x silver (g/t), based on gold recovery of 40% and silver recovery of 34%

  1. Please see Forward-Looking Statements below regarding mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates and footnote 14 of Table 7

Mineral Resource Notes:

  1. The mineral resource has an effective date of June 7, 2019. The mineral resources are classified in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards in accordance with the disclosure requirement of NI 43-101.
  1. Columns may not sum exactly due to rounding.
  1. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
  1. Mineral resources for leach material are based on prices of $1,400/oz gold and $20/oz silver.
  1. Mineral resources for mill material are based on prices of $1,400/oz gold, $20/oz silver, $1.05/lb lead, and $1.20/lb zinc.
  1. Mineral resources are based on net smelter return cut-off of $4.73/t for leach material and $13.71/t for mill material.
  1. Includes 2% royalty and an USD:MXN exchange rate of 19.3.
  1. Operating costs for Leach resource - mining $1.65/t mined; process $3.41/t processed; G&A $1.32/t processed; Operating costs for Mill resource - mining $1.65/t mined; process $12.50/t processed; G&A $1.20/t processed.
  1. Leach resource payable – Au 100%; Ag 100%; Mill resource payable – Au 95%, Ag 95%, Pb 95%, Zn 85%.
  1. Leach resource refining costs - Au $5.00/oz; Ag $0.50/oz; Mill resource refining costs - Au $1.00/oz; Ag $1.50/oz; Pb $0.194/lb; Zn $0.219/lb.
  1. The mineral resource estimate assumes that the floating pit cone used to demonstrate reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction extends onto land held by the Fresnillo. Any potential development of the Camino Rojo Project that includes an open pit encompassing the entire mineral resource estimate would be dependent on obtaining an agreement with Fresnillo (or subsequent owner).
  1. Mineral resources are inclusive of mineral reserves.
  1. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an indicated mineral resource and must not be converted to a mineral reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration.

14.Please see Forward-Looking Statements below regarding mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates. Please also refer to the Unconstrained Feasibility Study NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Camino Rojo Gold Project – Municipality of Mazapil, Zacatecas, Mexico dated January 11, 2021 for further details regarding the key assumptions, parameters, and methods used in the mineral resource estimate (including risk factors).

Refer to “Camino Rojo Project Feasibility Study NI 43-101 Technical Report” on this website or on SEDAR