Steppe Gold reports reports 2022 revenue $62.4M vs. $24.1M last year

During the year ended December 31, 2022, 958,289 tonnes of ore were mined and 922,051 tonnes of ore were stacked on the leach pad with an average gold grade of 1.82 g/t and an average silver grade of 12.06 g/t. The company said, "2022 was an active year for mining and stacking on the heap leach phase at the ATO gold mine. This has continued largely uninterrupted, in spite of strong headwinds from COVID-19 and the related supply chain problems. With the recent relaxation of the zero COVID restrictions in China, we have seen an improvement in parts of the China/Mongolia supply chain. With over 2,824,108 tonnes stacked on the leach pad and a further 498,697 tonnes on the ROM pad at year end, we are pleased to report continued strong gold and silver inventory build-up. The focus for 2023 will be to maximize oxide production from the substantial inventories on hand and aggressively move forward with the Phase 2 Expansion. Discussions are advancing on financing for Phase 2 Expansion in parallel with plans to pursue a dual listing of the Company’s common shares on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. On March 6, 2023, the Company entered into a binding letter of intent pursuant to which the Company, either directly or through a wholly-owned subsidiary, will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Anacortes Mining by way of a court approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act, in an all-share transaction. Under the terms of the Binding Agreement, Anacortes shareholders will receive 0.4532 of a Steppe Gold common share for each Anacortes common share, which represents consideration of approximately C$0.48 per Anacortes common share and a premium of 36% based on the closing prices of the Anacortes common shares on the TSX-V and the Steppe Gold common shares on the TSX, each as of the close of trading on March 3, 2023. The Transaction is subject to, among other things, the execution of an arrangement agreement, the receipt of all necessary regulatory, stock exchange and court approvals, and obtaining shareholder approval of the Transaction at a meeting of the Anacortes shareholders, which is expected to be held in Q2 2023."