St. Augustine Gold & Copper Files Second Quarter 2016 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update

HONG KONG, Aug. 15, 2016 /CNW/ - St. Augustine Gold and Copper Limited (TSX: SAU) ("St. Augustine" or the "Company"), a development-stage company advancing the King-king Copper-Gold Project ("King-king" or the "Project") in Mindanao, Philippines, announced that it has filed its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30 2016.  All amounts, unless otherwise indicated, are in U.S. dollars. 

Q2 Corporate Highlights

• Progressed with engineering and corporate social responsibility programs aimed at supporting the projected initiation of Project construction in 2017.
• The Company's joint venture partner, Nadecor, received a ruling from the Supreme Court that its President, Conrado Calalang, and current Board of Directors are the organization's rightful and authorized representatives.  The ruling is consistent with St. Augustine's long-held belief on the legitimacy of the Calalang Board.  St. Augustine has been interacting with NADECOR's current Board since they were initially elected in August 2011.
• Shareholders elected Paolo Villar, Michael McGee, Yolanda Coronel-Amenta, Marcelino Mendoza and Patrick Caoile as Directors at the Company's Annual General Meeting held on June 24 in Manilla.
• At June 30, 2016, St. Augustine had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $1.3 million and working capital of approximately $300,000. These compare to approximately $3.2 million in cash and cash equivalents and working capital of approximately $2.5 million at December 31, 2015.

Highlight Subsequent to Quarter End

• The Company's joint venture partner received notification from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Philippine Government that the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) for the King-king Copper-Gold Project has been renewed for a period of 25 years.  The MPSA is an agreement under which the Philippine Government grants an exclusive right to conduct mining activities within the contract area and the Government receives a share of the gross revenues of the mine operations.  St. Augustine through its joint venture partner, NADECOR, will provide the necessary financing, technology, management and personnel for King-King's development, construction and operation.

Outlook

"The recent renewal of the MPSA underscores our ongoing efforts to advance and de-risk the King-king Project," said St. Augustine Gold and Copper Ltd. President and CEO Paolo A. Villar.  "With King-king now fully permitted, we have considerably strengthened our ability to secure financing and proceed and next phase of King-King's development, including the completion of a Feasibility Study."

St. Augustine expects to focus its efforts completing a number of milestones and targets over the near and longer term, including:

• Structuring financing arrangements with strategic parties and major financial institutions in coordination with NADECOR;
• Advancing other permitting related activities;
• Continuing efforts to re-classify King-king project lands for industrial use; and
• Advancing critical work necessary to bring the King-king project to a more advanced stage, including developing a Feasibility Study.

St. Augustine's financial statements and management's discussion for the period ended June 30, 2016 are available on the Company's website, www.sagcmining.com and via SEDAR.

The King-king Copper-Gold Project
The King-king Copper-Gold Project is located in Compostela Valley in the Philippines, and is expected to recover 3.16 billion pounds (1.43 million tonnes) of copper and 5.43 million troy ounces (169,000 kilograms) of gold over its 25 year mine and process life. According to the Preliminary Feasibility Study that was released on September 18, 2013, and then filed on www.sedar.com on November 1, 2013, the Project has a pre-tax NPV of $2.0 billion with an IRR of 24.8%. The estimated mineral reserves amount to 617.9 million tonnes at 0.300% total copper and 0.395 g/t gold.

About St. Augustine
St. Augustine (SAU.T) is a TSX-listed mining company focused on the development of the King-king Copper-Gold Project. The Project is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in the world, and is listed as a top three-priority mining project by the Philippine government.

NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 43-101 COMPLIANCE
Mr. James J. Moore, P.E., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") has reviewed and approved the scientific, technical and economic information contained in this news release.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation.  All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and are based on certain factors and assumptions. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include uncertainties related to fluctuations in gold, copper and other commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties relating to interpretation of drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of mineral deposits; uncertainties relating to the completion of a bankable feasibility study; uncertainty of estimates of capital and operating costs, recovery rates production estimates and estimated economic return; the need for cooperation of the Company's joint venture partner and government agencies in the development of the Company's mineral projects; the need to obtain further permits and additional financing to develop the Company's mineral projects; the possibility of delay in development programs or in construction projects and uncertainty of meeting anticipated program milestones for the Company's mineral projects; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2016, and filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. 

SOURCE St. Augustine Gold and Copper Ltd.