TORONTO, Jan. 11, 2018 /CNW/ - Anaconda Mining Inc.
("Anaconda" or the "Company") (TSX:ANX) is pleased to announce
production results and certain financial information for the four
month and seven month periods ended December
31, 2017. The Company recently announced a change to its
fiscal year end to December 31, from
its previous fiscal year end of May
31. Consequently, the Company will report audited financial
results for the seven month transitional fiscal year from
June 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017 (the "Transition Year").
All dollar amounts are in Canadian Dollars. The Company expects
to file its full audited financial statements and management
discussion and analysis for the Transition Year by March 1, 2018.
Highlights for the seven month Transition Year Ended
December 31, 2017
- Anaconda produced 10,002 ounces of gold and sold 9,509 ounces
during the Transition Year ended December
31, 2017, on track to exceed original guidance of 15,500
ounces for the twelve month period ending May 31, 2018, or pro-rated guidance of 9,042
ounces for the seven month period;
- The Company generated $15.4
million in revenue at an average sale price of $1,615 per ounce, and earned a further
$0.8 million from the sale of waste
rock as aggregate from its Point Rousse Project;
- The Pine Cove Mill achieved throughput of 275,640 tonnes during
the seven months ended December 31,
2017, reflecting a throughput rate of 1,316 tonnes per day,
an 8% improvement over the previous fiscal year;
- Anaconda mined 382,111 tonnes of ore during the Transition Year
at a strip ratio of 1.8 waste tonnes to ore tonnes, a 65% reduction
from the previous fiscal year strip ratio of 5.1;
- Anaconda has extended mining in the Pine Cove Pit into early
2018, and has commenced planning for the transition to the Stog'er
Tight deposit;
- Anaconda strengthened its Point Rousse infrastructure with the
government approval to convert the Pine Cove Pit into a tailings
facility with a 15-year storage capacity based on existing
throughput rates;
- The Company announced a Mineral Resource for the Argyle
Deposit, located 4.5 kilometres from the Pine Cove Mill, comprising
543,000 tonnes of Indicated Resources at 2.19 g/t (38,300 ounces)
and 517,000 tonnes of Inferred Resources at 1.8 g/t (30,300
ounces);
- With the completion of a $3
million non-brokered private placement in October 2017, the Company is undertaking
extension and infill drill programs at the Goldboro Project and the
Point Rousse Project.
President and CEO, Dustin Angelo,
stated, "The Point Rousse Project achieved strong performance
across all metrics for the Transition Year, and with gold
production of 10,002 ounces, the Company was well on track to
exceed its guidance of 15,500 ounces for the fiscal year that was
to end May 31, 2018. Looking ahead to
2018, Point Rousse will be transitioning to the higher grade
Stog'er Tight deposit by the end of Q2 2018, and the Company is
guiding to 18,000 ounces of gold production. Anaconda will
also be putting into service its in-pit tailings facility, and
progressing with the permitting process for the recently announced
Argyle deposit, located only 4.5 kilometres from the Pine Cove
Mill."
2018 Guidance
For the 2018 calendar year, the Company is projecting to produce
and sell approximately 18,000 ounces of gold, which at a budgeted
gold price of $1,550 will generate
revenue of approximately $28.0
million. The increase over the previous fiscal year
guidance of 15,500 ounces reflects the increasing grade profile as
the mine operation transitions to the Stog'er Tight deposit.
Production in the first two quarters is expected to be primarily
from remaining mining in the Pine Cove Pit and the existing ore
stockpiles, with ore delivery from Stog'er Tight expected to
commence in late Q2 2018. Quarterly mill throughput is expected to
remain consistent throughout the year, as lower relative tonnage
from Stog'er Tight is supplemented by marginal ore stockpiles.
Operating cash costs for the full year are expected to be around
$1,100 per ounce of gold sold,
consistent with historical levels over the past three years, with a
decreasing operating cost per ounce profile in the later part of
2018 as the operation transitions fully to higher-grade ore
production from Stog'er Tight.
Operating Statistics for the Transition Year Ended
December 31, 2017
|
Three months
ended
August 31, 2017
|
Four months ended
December 31, 2017
|
Transition Year
ended
December 31, 2017
|
Full Year ended
May 31, 2017
|
Mine
Statistics
|
|
|
|
|
Ore production
(tonnes)
|
158,857
|
223,254
|
382,111
|
432,081
|
Waste production
(tonnes)
|
364,380
|
328,434
|
692,814
|
2,197,251
|
Total production
(tonnes)
|
523,237
|
551,688
|
1,074,926
|
2,629,332
|
Waste: Ore
ratio
|
2.3
|
1.5
|
1.8
|
5.1
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mill
Statistics
|
|
|
|
|
Availability
(%)
|
97.0
|
98.6
|
97.9
|
95.0
|
Dry tonnes
processed
|
119,401
|
156,239
|
275,640
|
423,204
|
Tonnes per
day
|
1,338
|
1,299
|
1,316
|
1,223
|
Grade (grams per
tonne)
|
1.35
|
1.29
|
1.32
|
1.33
|
Recovery
(%)
|
86.8
|
85.0
|
85.8
|
85.0
|
Gold Ounces
Produced
|
4,581
|
5,421
|
10,002
|
15,566
|
Gold Ounces
Sold
|
4,723
|
4,786
|
9,509
|
15,562
|
Operations Overview for the Transition Year Ended
December 31, 2017
Anaconda sold 9,509 ounces of gold during the Transition Year,
generating gold revenue of $15.4
million, and had 600 ounces of gold doré in finished goods
as at December 31, 2017. Production
for the seven month period of 10,002 ounces was on track to exceed
the Company's guidance of 15,500 ounces for the twelve month period
ending May 31, 2018.
Point Rousse Mill Operations – The Pine
Cove Mill continues to demonstrate its value as a cornerstone asset
of the Company, demonstrating increases in availability and
throughput rates during the Transition Year. Preventative
maintenance continues to be a focus to maintain consistent levels
of production, with a liner change in ball mill planned for early
Q1 2018.
During the seven month period ended December 31, 2017, the mill processed 275,640
tonnes of ore, representing a throughput rate of 1,316 tonnes per
day, an 8% increase over the prior year. This enabled the mill to
achieve record quarterly throughput of 119,401 tonnes for the three
months ended August 31, 2017, and it
achieved production of 118,539 tonnes in the following three month
period ended November 30, 2017.
Overall mill recovery for the Transition Year was 85.8%, up
slightly from the previous year, at an average grade of 1.32 g/t,
which is consistent with the prior year. Gold production was 10,002
ounces for the seven months ended December
31, 2017, compared to 15,566 ounces in the full twelve month
period ended May 31, 2017, reflecting
the increase in throughput rate and average recovery rate.
Point Rousse Mine Operations – The mining
operation at the Point Rousse Project operated for 135 days during
the seven month period ended December 31,
2017, with activity in the later part of December focused on
development activity at Stog'er Tight, as mining areas become
constrained in the bottom of the Pine Cove Pit.
Ore produced from the Pine Cove Pit was 382,111 tonnes during
the Transition Year, which compares favourably to the 432,081
tonnes of production for the full year ended May 31, 2017. Total material moved during the
Transition Year of 1,074,926 tonnes is significantly lower than the
prior year, notwithstanding the shorter comparative period, which
is reflective of reduced mining rates as the operation approaches
the planned base of the Pine Cove Pit.
The decrease in material moved wholly relates to lower waste
material mined, due to the sequencing of the mine plan which
resulted in less waste mined in the current period as the mine
operation moved into the lower levels of the Pine Cove Pit. As a
result, the strip ratio for the Transition Year of 1.8 waste tonnes
to ore tonnes is significantly improved from 5.1 in the prior year,
which was also impacted by waste rock placement on the second
tailings storage facility.
Anaconda expects to complete mining in the main pit at Pine Cove
in the later part of the first quarter of 2018, and will commence
planning for small pushbacks of the main pit in 2018. As at
December 31, 2017, the Company
maintained an ore stockpile of 145,000 tonnes, which will be
processed over the first two quarters of 2018 as the mine operation
transitions to the Stog'er Tight deposit.
The mine operation has commenced development activities at the
Stog'er Tight deposit, including the dewatering of the nearby Fox
Pond, the construction of a settling pond, and pre-stripping of the
West Pit. Mining from the West Pit is expected to start in the
first quarter of 2018.
Upon completion of mining in the main Pine Cove Pit, the Company
plans to covert the Pit into a 7 million-tonne in-pit storage
facility, which will allow for the deposition of tailings into the
facility in the first quarter of 2018 (refer to press release dated
September 7, 2017). The conversion of
the Pit to a tailings facility has received approval from the
Newfoundland and Labrador
Department of Natural Resources.
Qualified Person
Gordana Slepcev, P. Eng., Chief Operating Officer, Anaconda
Mining Inc., is a "qualified person" as such term is defined in
National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the
technical information and data included in this press release.
ABOUT ANACONDA
Anaconda Mining is a TSX-listed gold mining, exploration and
development company, focused in the prospective Atlantic Canadian
jurisdictions of Newfoundland and
Nova Scotia. The Company operates
the Point Rousse Project located in the Baie Verte Mining District
in Newfoundland, comprised of the
Pine Cove open pit mine, the fully-permitted Pine Cove Mill and
tailings facility, the Stog'er Tight and Argyle deposits, and
approximately 5,800 hectares of prospective gold-bearing property.
Anaconda is also developing the recently acquired Goldboro Project
in Nova Scotia, a high-grade
Mineral Resource, with the potential to leverage existing
infrastructure at the Company's Point Rousse Project.
The Company also has a pipeline of organic growth opportunities,
including the Viking and Great Northern Projects on the Northern
Peninsula and the Tilt Cove Property on the Baie Verte
Peninsula.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains "forward-looking information"
within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation.
Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to,
statements regarding targets, estimates and/or assumptions in
respect of future production, mine development costs, unit costs,
capital costs, timing of commencement of operations and future
economic, market and other conditions, and is based on current
expectations that involve several business risks and
uncertainties. Generally, forward-looking information can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"plans", "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget",
"scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or
"does not anticipate", or "believes" or variations of such words
and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may",
"could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be
achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and
estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is
based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the
actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of
Anaconda to be materially different from those expressed or implied
by such forward-looking information, including risks associated
with the exploration, development and mining such as economic
factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices,
changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of
current production, development and exploration activities,
government regulation, political or economic developments,
environmental risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures,
operating or technical difficulties in connection with development
activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold
exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing
quantities of grades of resources, contests over title to
properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to
be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in Anaconda's
annual information form for the year ended May 31, 2017, available on
www.sedar.com. Although Anaconda has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those contained in forward-looking
information, there may be other factors that cause results not to
be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance
that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results
and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on forward-looking information. Anaconda does not
undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws.
SOURCE Anaconda Mining Inc.