TORONTO - Bunker Hill Mining Corp. (the 'Company') (CSE: BNKR, OTCQB: BHLL) is pleased to announce an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (the 'PEA' or the 'updated PEA') for the Bunker Hill Mine, showing materially improved financial returns, free cash flow, and unit costs.
The updated PEA contemplates a $44 million initial capital cost (including 20% contingency) to rapidly restart the mine over an 18-month period, generating approximately $25 million of annual average free cash flow over an extended 11-year mine life while producing nearly 1 billion zinc equivalent pounds of metal, including over 8 million ounces of silver. Metal price assumptions in the updated PEA remain unchanged from the PEA announced in April 2021 and published in June 2021 (the 'June PEA'), thereby not reflecting significant increases in zinc and lead prices since that time.
Sam Ash, CEO of Bunker Hill Mining, stated: 'We are very pleased to report the results of this summer's mine plan optimization work and its significant positive effect on estimated financial returns, free cash flow, and cost position relative to April's PEA. This is an important development milestone and affirms further the significant value to be realized from the rapid restart of the Bunker Hill Mine for our shareholders as well as our local partners and stakeholders.'
Concurrent with engineering studies designed to further enhance the project's economics, the Company and its advisors are actively engaged with capital providers that have expressed an interest in financing the rapid restart of the mine.
The PEA was prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ('NI 43-101'). MineTech USA, LLC ('MineTech') developed the mine infrastructure, capital expenditures and operating expenditures related portions of the updated PEA as well as the mine plan and operating schedules. Certain assumptions developed in coordination with Resource Development Associates Inc. ('RDA') and Pro Solv Consulting, LLC., including metallurgical assumptions, remain unchanged from the June PEA. The Company plans to file the completed updated PEA technical report on SEDAR within 45 days of this press release and make it available on the Company's website. All 't' references in this press release are to short tons and '$' references are in U.S. dollars.
Mineral Resource Inventory
As with the June PEA, the updated PEA is based on the Bunker Hill Mineral Resource, which was published on March 22, 2021, following the drilling program conducted in 2020 and early 2021 to validate the historical reserves. The PEA includes a mining inventory of 6.4Mt, which represents a portion of the 4.4Mt Indicated mineral resource and 5.6Mt Inferred mineral resource. Given the 11-year mine life, the mine plan has been based on prioritizing higher grade material. The mine production schedule is based on an $80 per ton NSR cut-off value, representing a more refined optimization approach relative to the June PEA in which a 5.0% zinc operating cut-off grade was utilized.
Initial Capital Costs
The majority of initial capital costs, including the process plant, shaft and tunnel rehabilitation, remain unchanged from the June 2021 PEA. The marginal increase in total initial capital costs from $42 million (June PEA) to $44 million (updated PEA) primarily reflects higher required up-front investment for waste development to enable the use of long-hole open stoping ('LHOS') as the predominant mining method in the mine plan, as opposed to the cut and fill method in the June PEA. All initial capital expenditures continue to include a 20% contingency.
ABOUT BUNKER HILL MINING CORP.
Under new Idaho-based leadership, Bunker Hill Mining Corp. intends to sustainably restart and develop the Bunker Hill Mine as the first step in consolidating a portfolio of North American precious-metal assets with a focus on silver.
Contact:
Email: ir@bunkerhillmining.com
CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as well as within the meaning of the phrase 'forward-looking information' in the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Instrument 51-102 - Continuous Disclosure Obligations. Forward-looking statements are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as 'may', 'will', 'could', 'should', 'expect', 'plan', 'anticipate', 'believe', 'intend', 'estimate', 'projects', 'predict', 'potential', 'continue' or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. The key risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: local and global political and economic conditions; governmental and regulatory requirements and actions by governmental authorities, including changes in government policy, government ownership requirements, changes in environmental, tax and other laws or regulations and the interpretation thereof; developments with respect to the coronavirus disease 2019 ('COVID-19') pandemic, including the duration, severity and scope of the pandemic and potential impacts on mining operations and other risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company's reports filed on SEDAR and EDGAR. Forward-looking information and statements in this news release include statements concerning, among other things: the potential of the Bunker Hill Mine to be re-started rapidly as a low-cost, long life, sustainable operation based on the results of the PEA; the PEA representing robust financial returns; the potential of the restart plan to create jobs, ensure long-term environmental-management partnerships, and drive the long-term development of the Bunker Hill Mine's resources; the timing for filing the PEA technical report; the timing, amount and duration of future production; future cash costs and AISC; commodity prices; the estimated capital and operating costs; the Company's ability to discover new mineralization; the Company's ability to self-fund high-grade silver exploration efforts to further increase cash flow margins; the timing for the Company's progression of further technical studies and project finance discussions; potential sustainability impacts based on the results of the PEA, including the Bunker Hill Mine's development and operations generating new jobs in Shoshone County, with such job creation having the potential to reduce unemployment in the county, procurement by the Bunker Hill Mine injecting additional funds into the local economy annually, and the Bunker Hill Mine achieving carbon neutrality in year one of operations and maintaining a minimal environmental footprint for the LOM; the potential for a reduction in the production of acid rock drainage; the potential for a reduction in the challenge and cost of water management; LOM capital improvements; metal recoveries; the Company's plans to reinvest a portion of its pre-tax cash flows on its high-grade silver program; the Company's goal to significantly increase free cash flow in the earlier years of the PEA based on its ongoing high-grade silver exploration program; the estimates of free cash flow, net present value and economic returns from the Bunker Hill Mine based on the results of the PEA; opportunities to increase the economics of the Bunker Hill Mine; our plans and expectations for the Bunker Hill Mine and the Company's intentions regarding its objectives, goals or future plans and statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: the ability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to the effects of COVID19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labor and international travel and supply chains; failure to identify mineral resources; failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves; the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision; the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results; delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, environmental or other project approvals; political risks; changes in equity markets; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future; the inability of the Company to budget and manage its liquidity in light of the failure to obtain additional financing, including the ability of the Company to complete the payments pursuant to the terms of the agreement to acquire the Bunker Hill Mine Complex; inflation; changes in exchange rates; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of projects; capital, operating and reclamation costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR and EDGAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors
This press release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates included in this press release have been disclosed in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian disclosure standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC'), and resource and reserve information contained in this press release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term 'resource' does not equate to the term 'reserves'. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a 'reserve' unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. The SEC's disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of information concerning 'measured mineral resources', 'indicated mineral resources' or 'inferred mineral resources' or other descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral deposits that do not constitute 'reserves' by U.S. standards in documents filed with the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors should also understand that 'inferred mineral resources' have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an 'inferred mineral resource' will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an 'inferred mineral resource' exists or is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of 'contained ounces' in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute 'reserves' by SEC standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. The requirements of NI 43-101 for disclosure of 'reserves' are also not the same as those of the SEC, and reserves disclosed by the Company in accordance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as 'reserves' under SEC standards. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.
BUNKER HILL MINING CORP. 
