TORONTO,
May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -
Gammon Gold Inc. ("Gammon") (TSX:GAM) (NYSE:GRS):
Gammon is pleased to report financial results from the first
quarter ended March 31, 2011. All
amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Gammon concluded the first quarter on plan,
with Ocampo delivering record
underground production, record profit margins, record operating
cash flow and record net free cash flow. The Company now
operates three wholly owned gold mines and two advanced development
projects in Mexico that is
expected to underpin the Company's peer-leading growth targets in
2011 and beyond.
The Company also reiterates its consolidated
2011 production guidance of 167,000-189,000 gold ounces, 4.8-5.6
million silver ounces, or 255,000-290,000 gold equivalent ounces at
cash costs of $455-485 per gold
equivalent ounce (assuming a 55:1 gold equivalency
ratio).
Company-Wide Quarterly and Subsequent Highlights
- Revenues of $70.3 million
- Earnings from operations of $23.6
million, or $0.17 per
share
- Net earnings of $19.3 million, or
$0.14 per share, prior to a charge of
$7.6 million, or $0.05 per share, in restructuring costs for the
re-start of operations at the El
Cubo mine (the "El Cubo Charge")
- Strong operating cash flow of $41.2
million, or $0.30 per share,
before the restructuring costs for the re-start of operations at
the El Cubo
- Net free cash flow1 of $6.4
million, or $0.05 per share,
after the El Cubo restructuring
costs and $9.8 million in
discretionary company-wide exploration expenditures.
- Cash balance of $119.1 million,
as of March 31, 2011
- Successfully resolved the labour disruption at the El Cubo mine and resumed mining activities as
of May 1, 2011, with processing
scheduled in the third quarter
- Completed the acquisition of Capital Gold Corporation effective
April 8, 2011
- Immediate implementation of strategic productivity enhancement
initiatives at the El Chanate mine including:
-
- Integration of operations and administration already
underway
- Additional mining equipment being mobilized
Ocampo Quarterly Highlights
- Record earnings before other items of $37.6 million
- Record operating cash flow of $51.6
million
- Record net free cash flow of $25.6
million
- Gold equivalent production of 49,854 ounces at a 43:1 realized
Q1-11 gold equivalency ratio and a cash cost of $382 per ounce1, for a record
margin of $1,004 (72%) per gold
equivalent ounce
-
- Gold production of 25,882 ounces at cash costs of negative
$572 per gold ounce1,2 for
a record margin of $1,958 (141%) per
gold ounce2
- Silver production of 1,035,174 ounces at cash costs of negative
$15.76 per silver ounce3
for a record margin of $48 (149%) per
silver ounce3
- Gold equivalent production of 44,703 ounces at a 55:1 gold
equivalency ratio at a cash cost of $427 per ounce1, for a record margin
of $958 (69%)
- Record underground production rate of 1,968 tonnes per day
- Record development of 7,291 metres at the three underground
operations
"Our strengthened operations team at
Ocampo has delivered another
consecutive quarter of record margins, operating cash flow and net
free cash flow. At the El Chanate gold mine, we have been impressed
by the level of expertise of the operations team who are already
implementing a number of operational synergies identified during
our operational integration review, including the mobilization of
additional equipment to accelerate open pit mining rates which is
expected to provide increased ore tonnage for processing." stated
René Marion, President and Chief Executive Officer. He continued,
"At our El Cubo mine, stoping
activities began on May
1st and we expect to begin processing ore in the
third quarter, resulting in the Company operating three wholly
owned and producing gold mining operations in Mexico together with a significantly enhanced
portfolio of two development projects and six exploration
properties, all in Mexico."
Further Corporate Highlights
- The Company has completed a total of 56,704 metres of drilling
at Ocampo (as of April 30, 2011) that has focused on 10
underground and open pit targets. Results from the 2011 drilling
program continue to report significant results, including multiple
high-grade intercepts, demonstrating the continued prospectivity of
the Ocampo Operations.
- Regional exploration is proving prospective with a high-grade
discovery at the La Balleza vein in the Venus Project that reported
0.7 metres grading 62.20 grams per tonne gold and 2,700 grams per
tonne silver, located only 3km from the Ocampo property boundary.
- On February 28, 2011, the Company
announced a company-wide pre-depletion increase of 459,000 gold
equivalent ounces4 (18%) to Proven and Probable Reserves
estimates and a pre-depletion increase of 238,000 (47%) gold
equivalent ounces5 to Measured and Indicated Resources.
These results arise from the first systematic exploration program
at Ocampo since 2003.
Operational Results
Three Months Ended March 31
(in thousands, except ounces and total cash costs) |
Ocampo |
El
Cubo |
|
2011 |
2010 |
2011 |
2010 |
Gold ounces sold |
26,031 |
22,406 |
- |
6,650 |
Silver ounces sold |
1,060,306 |
1,020,204 |
- |
319,454 |
Gold equivalent ounces sold (realized) |
50,681 |
37,861 |
- |
11,531 |
Gold ounces produced |
25,882 |
21,855 |
- |
6,576 |
Silver ounces produced |
1,035,174 |
960,817 |
- |
323,254 |
Gold equivalent ounces produced (realized) |
49,854 |
36,546 |
- |
11,515 |
Revenue from mining operations |
$70,313 |
$41,902 |
- |
$12,785 |
Mine standby costs |
- |
- |
$7,555 |
- |
Net earnings / (loss) before other items |
$37,579 |
$15,161 |
($7,926) |
$1,063 |
Cash flow from operations |
$51,564 |
$16,034 |
($11,570) |
$2,783 |
Total cash costs per gold equivalent
ounce1 (realized) |
$382 |
$455 |
- |
$763 |
Total cash costs per gold ounce1,2 |
($572) |
$3 |
- |
$515 |
Gold equivalent ounces sold
(55:1)5 |
45,309 |
40,955 |
- |
12,458 |
Gold equivalent ounces produced
(55:1)5 |
44,703 |
39,325 |
- |
12,453 |
Total cash costs per gold equivalent ounce
(55:1)1,5 |
$427 |
$421 |
- |
$706 |
- Non-GAAP measures are described on page 24 of the first quarter
2011 Management's Discussion and Analysis
- Using silver revenues as a by-product cost credit.
- Using gold revenues as a by-product cost credit.
- Using the reserve metal prices of $1,025/oz for gold and $16.60/oz for silver for a gold to silver ratio
of 61.75:1. For a breakdown of reserves and resources by category
and additional information relating to reserves and resources, see
pages 15-18 of the Company's 2010 Annual Information Form that is
available on the Company's website at www.gammongold.com or
www.sedar.com.
- Using the Company's long-term gold equivalency ratio of
55:1.
Conference Call and Webcast
The Company will release the Company's first quarter financial
results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2011 before the market opens on
Thursday, May 12, 2011. The
Company's Consolidated First Quarter 2011 Financial Statements and
Management's Discussion and Analysis is available on the Company's
website at www.gammongold.com or www.sedar.com.
A webcast and conference call will be held on
Thursday, May 12, 2011
starting at 9:00 am Eastern
Time. Senior management will be on hand to discuss the
results.
Conference Call Access:
- Canada & US Toll Free:
1-(888) 231-8191
- International & Toronto: 1-(647) 427-7450
When the Operator answers please ask to be placed into the
Gammon Gold First Quarter 2011 Results Conference Call.
Conference Call Webcast:
The conference call event will be broadcast live on the internet
via webcast.
To access the webcast please follow the link provided below:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID=3487440
Archive Call Access:
If you are unable to attend the conference call, a replay will be
available until midnight, May 19,
2011 by dialing the appropriate number below:
- Local Toronto Participants:
1-416-849-0833 Passcode: #60684299
- North America Toll Free:
1-800-642-1687 Passcode: #60684299
Archive Webcast:
The webcast will be archived for 90 days by following the link
provided below:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID=3487440
or via the Company's website at www.gammongold.com.
About Gammon Gold
Gammon Gold Inc. is a publicly traded mid-tier gold and silver
producer engaged in the mining, development, exploration and
acquisition of resource properties in North America. The Company owns and operates
three producing mines in Mexico,
the Ocampo mine in Chihuahua
State, the El Chanate project in Sonora State, and the El Cubo mine in Guanajuato State. Gammon Gold
also owns the Guadalupe y Calvo advanced exploration property in
Chihuahua State and the Orion Project in the State of Nayarit, and has six exploration
properties in various states throughout Mexico. The Company's Executive Office is
located in Toronto, Ontario.
Cautionary Statement
Cautionary Note to US Investors - The United
States Securities and Exchange Commission permits US mining
companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those
mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally
extract or produce. This press release uses certain terms, such as
"measured," "indicated," and "inferred" "resources," that the SEC
guidelines strictly prohibit US registered companies from including
in their filings with the SEC. US Investors are urged to consider
closely the disclosure in Gammon Gold's Annual Report on Form 40-F,
which may be secured from Gammon Gold, or from the SEC's website
at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
No stock exchange, securities commission or
other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the
information contained herein.
Certain statements included herein, including
information as to the future financial or operating performance of
the Company, its subsidiaries and its projects, constitute
forward-looking statements. The words ''believe'', ''expect'',
''anticipate'', ''target'', ''continue'', ''estimate'', ''may'',
and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements
regarding anticipated future financial and operational performance,
the future price of gold and silver, the timing of re-commissioning
and re-commencement of production at El
Cubo, the de-risking of operations, future exploration
results of its exploration and development program at Guadalupe y
Calvo, the Company's ability to delineate additional resources and
reserves as a result of such program, and the company's
ability to mine such targets by mid-2011, statements
regarding its financial exposure to litigation, targets, estimates
and assumptions in respect of gold and silver production and
prices, operating costs, results and capital expenditures, mineral
reserves and mineral resources and anticipated grades, recovery
rates, future financial or operating performance, margins,
operating and exploration expenditures, costs and timing of
completion of the Ocampo expansion
program and improvements to the heap leach pad, costs and timing of
the development and commencement of production of new deposits,
costs and timing of construction, costs and timing of future
exploration and reclamation expenses including, anticipated 2011
results, operating performance projections for 2011, our ability to
fully fund our business model internally, 2011 gold and silver
production and the cash and operating costs associated therewith,
the ability to achieve productivity and operational efficiencies,
and the timing of each thereof. Forward-looking statements are
necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that,
while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject
to significant business, economic, competitive, political and
social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors could cause
the Company's actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements made by, or
on behalf of, the Company. Such factors include, among others,
known and unknown uncertainties and risks relating to additional
funding requirements, reserve and resource estimates, commodity
prices, hedging activities, exploration, development and operating
risks, illegal miners, political and foreign risk, uninsurable
risks, competition, limited mining operations, production risks,
environmental regulation and liability, government regulation,
currency fluctuations, recent losses and write-downs, restrictions
in the Company's loan facility, dependence on key employees,
possible variations of ore grade or recovery rates, failure of
plant, equipment or process to operate as anticipated, accidents
and labour disputes. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and,
accordingly, investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on
forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty
therein.
SOURCE GAMMON GOLD INC.