MIDAS GOLD ENTERS INTO COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITIES SURROUNDING ITS SITE AGREEMENT ENSURES TRANSPARENCY THROUGHOUT THE STIBNITE GOLD PROJECT & ESTABLISHES FOUNDATION
VANCOUVER, BC – Midas Gold Corp. (“Midas Gold” or the “Company”) (MAX:TSX / MDRPF:OTCQX), its wholly owned subsidiary, Midas Gold Idaho, Inc. (“Midas Gold Idaho”) and seven of the communities closest to the Stibnite Gold Project site have officially established a community agreement. Through the creation of the Stibnite Advisory Council, the agreement establishes a collaborative environment for the companies and local communities to work together throughout the life of the project and provides a venue for cities and counties to address concerns and opportunities directly with Midas Gold. It also creates the Stibnite Foundation to support community projects.
“We are looking forward to working with the members of the Stibnite Advisory Council,” said Laurel Sayer, CEO of Midas Gold Idaho. “Working alongside communities has always been an important pillar of the Stibnite Gold Project. We’ve spent a lot of time out in the community speaking with our neighbors and listening to their ideas because we know this information helps make our project stronger. With this agreement, we’ve formalized this philosophy and given every signatory to the agreement a voice and seat at the table throughout the life of our project.”
Since August, Cascade, Council, Donnelly, Idaho County, New Meadows, Riggins and Yellow Pine all unanimously voted to sign onto the community agreement, which has an effective date of November 30, 2018. Anne Labelle, Midas Gold Idaho Board Member, and Belinda Provancher, community relations manager for Midas Gold Idaho, worked closely with each of the communities to gather their feedback and incorporate it into the final community agreement. Each signatory is now in the process of appointing representatives to the Stibnite Advisory Council and Stibnite Foundation.
“Midas Gold has shown itself to be a good corporate citizen and partner. The Company has taken its commitment to another level with the community agreements,” said Julie Good, the President of the New Meadows City Council. “We are pleased to be a part of the Stibnite Advisory Council and look forward to working with Midas Gold and giving our community a voice in the Stibnite Gold Project.”
Under the agreement, the Stibnite Advisory Council will meet regularly to get updates from Midas Gold and discuss topics of concern or interest regarding the Stibnite Gold Project. The advisory council held an initial planning meeting and is currently scheduling an organization meeting. At this meeting, the Stibnite Advisory Council will establish its regular meeting schedule and start to discuss how partnerships can be formed around workforce training, housing and infrastructure, employment, recreational access and business opportunities. Each advisory council member is tasked with sharing information from the meetings with the communities they represent.
“I am grateful Midas Gold sees the value of working collaboratively with those who live closest to the site,” said Bob Crump, a Riggins business owner. “As the Stibnite Gold Project moves forward, it gives me peace of mind knowing the community agreements are in place and local voices will be able to help shape the plan for the restoration and redevelopment of the site. I am also excited for the opportunities the Stibnite Foundation will create in our communities. This foundation will help all of us benefit from the Stibnite Gold Project.”
The Stibnite Foundation will support projects that benefit communities surrounding the project. While Midas Gold will be required to directly address impacts of the project, such as power and road improvements and environmental mitigation, as part of the permitting process, the foundation will be a tool to fund projects that address other community needs that may arise. Midas Gold will fund the foundation through a combination of milestone cash payments by Midas Gold Idaho and stock contributions from Midas Gold. The Stibnite Foundation is being established in a manner that will allow it to continue even after mining at the Stibnite Gold Project ends.
Midas Gold is pleased that the Community Agreement has been finalized so its neighbors can have a meaningful way to work with the Company now and into the future.
A detailed description of the Project can be found in the Plan of Restoration and Operations which is available on the Company’s website at www.midasgoldcorp.com. Details of previous news releases and technical studies can be found filed under Midas Gold’s profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or at www.midasgoldcorp.com.
About Midas Gold and the Stibnite Gold Project
Midas Gold Corp., through its wholly owned subsidiaries are focused on the exploration and, if warranted, site restoration and development of gold-antimony-silver deposits in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district of central Idaho that are encompassed by its Stibnite Gold Project.
Forward-Looking Information
Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are “forward-looking information” or “forward-looking statements” (collectively, “Forward-Looking Information”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward Looking Information includes, but is not limited to, disclosure regarding the funding of the Stibnite Foundation. In certain cases, Forward-Looking Information can be identified by the use of words and phrases such as “once”, “estimates”, “potential”, “confirm”, “if” or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” “be achieved”. In preparing the Forward-Looking Information in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, that all necessary regulatory consents and/or approvals to fund the Stibnite Foundation through stock contributions will be obtained in a timely manner and on acceptable terms, the continuity of the price of gold and other metals, economic and political conditions and operations. Forward-Looking Information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to the availability of financing on commercially reasonable terms; operations and contractual obligations; future prices of metals; environmental risks, including environmental matters under US federal and Idaho rules and regulations; impact of environmental remediation requirements and the terms of existing and potential consent decrees on the Company’s planned exploration and development activities on the Stibnite Gold Project; certainty of mineral title; community relations; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; fluctuations in mineral prices; the Company’s dependence on one mineral project; the Company’s lack of operating revenues; governmental regulations and the ability to obtain necessary licenses and permits; currency fluctuations; changes in environmental laws and regulations and changes in the application of standards pursuant to existing laws and regulations which may increase costs of doing business and restrict operations; risks related to dependence on key personnel; and estimates used in financial statements proving to be incorrect; as well as those factors discussed in the Company’s public disclosure record. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that Forward-Looking Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.