TORONTO, March 2, 2018 /CNW/ - Anaconda Mining Inc.
("Anaconda" or the "Company") – (TSX:ANX) is pleased to announce
the filing of a technical report prepared in accordance with
National Instrument 43-101 regarding a Preliminary Economic
Assessment ("PEA") for its 100%-owned Goldboro Gold Project
("Goldboro", or the "Project") in Nova
Scotia, Canada.
The technical report is available under the Company's profile on
SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at
www.anacondamining.com.
Anaconda announced the results of this PEA on January 17, 2017, which included the following
highlights:
- Undiscounted cash flow before income and mining taxes of
$189 million;
- Pre-tax Net Present Value ("NPV") at a 7% discount rate of
$120 million and a pre-tax Internal
Rate of Return ("IRR") of 38% implying a pre-tax payback period of
2.9 years;
- Total capital expenditures of $89
million, including pre-production capital expenditures of
$47 million;
- Undiscounted cash flow after income and mining taxes of
$106 million;
- After-tax NPV at a discount rate of 7% of $61 million and an after-tax IRR of 26%, implying
an after-tax payback period of 3.4 years;
- Life of mine ("LOM") of 8.8 years, with 2.4 million tonnes of
potential mill feed at an average grade of 5.13 grams per tonne
("g/t") and recovery rate of 93.6%, resulting in gold production of
375,900 ounces;
- Mining rate of 600 tonnes per day ("tpd") of mineralized
material at an average open pit grade of 2.99 g/t and underground
grade of 6.83 g/t; processing at 800 tpd (600 tpd of run-of-mine
high-grade material and re-handle of 200 tpd of stockpiled open pit
lower grade material);
- Average annual gold production of 41,800 ounces with up to
62,000 ounces in year 5; and
- LOM average operating cash cost of $654 per ounce* (~US$525 per ounce) and all-in sustaining cash
cost of $797 per ounce* (~US$640 per ounce) at a 0.80 USD: CAD exchange rate.
*Refer to Non-IFRS Measures section below
The technical report, entitled "Anaconda Mining Inc., Goldboro
Project Preliminary Economic Assessment" and which is dated
March 2, 2018, was authored by
independent qualified persons Joanne
Robinson, P.Eng., Garth
Liukko, P.Eng., and Sebastian
Bertelegni, P.Eng., all of WSP Canada Inc., Michael Cullen, P.Geo. of Mercator Geological
Services Inc., J. Dean Thibault,
P.Eng., of Thibault & Associates Inc., and qualified person
Gordana Slepcev, P.Eng., of Anaconda.
Cautionary Statements
The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes the use of
inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative
geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them
that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Thus,
there is no certainty that the results stated in the PEA will be
realized. Actual results may vary, perhaps materially. Mineral
resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability.
Qualified Persons
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.
A version of this news release will be available in French on
Anaconda's website (www.anacondamining.com) in two to three
business days.
ABOUT ANACONDA MINING INC.
Anaconda is a TSX-listed gold mining, development and
exploration 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 Mine, the Argyle Deposit, 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, disclosure regarding the economics
and project parameters presented in the PEA, including, without
limitation, IRR, all-in sustaining costs, NPV and other costs and
economic information, possible events, conditions or financial
performance that is based on assumptions about future economic
conditions and courses of action; the timing and costs of future
development and exploration activities on the Company's projects;
success of development and exploration activities; permitting time
lines and requirements; time lines for further studies; planned
exploration and development of properties and the results thereof;
and planned expenditures and budgets and the execution thereof.
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 the risks outlined in this
news release, 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.
NON-IFRS MEASURES
Anaconda has included certain
non-IFRS performance measures as detailed below. In the gold mining
industry, these are common performance measures but may not be
comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. The
Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures
prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use this
information to evaluate the Company's performance and ability to
generate cash flow. Accordingly, it is intended to provide
additional information and should not be considered in isolation or
as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance
with IFRS.
Operating Cash Costs per Ounce of Gold – Anaconda calculates
operating cash costs per ounce by dividing operating expenses per
the consolidated statement of operations, net of silver sales
by-product revenue, by the gold ounces sold during the applicable
period. Operating expenses include mine site operating costs such
as mining, processing and administration as well as royalties,
however excludes depletion and depreciation and rehabilitation
costs.
All-In Sustaining Costs per Ounce of Gold – Anaconda has
adopted an all-in sustaining cost performance measure that reflects
all of the expenditures that are required to produce an ounce of
gold from current operations. While there is no standardized
meaning of the measure across the industry, the Company's
definition conforms to the all-in sustaining cost definition as set
out by the World Gold Council in its guidance dated June 27, 2013. The World Gold Council is a
non-regulatory, non-profit organization established in 1987 whose
members include global senior mining companies. The Company
believes that this measure will be useful to external users in
assessing operating performance and the ability to generate free
cash flow from current operations.
The Company defines all-in sustaining costs as the sum of
operating cash costs (per above), sustaining capital (capital
required to maintain current operations at existing levels),
corporate administration costs, sustaining exploration, and
rehabilitation accretion and amortization related to current
operations. All-in sustaining costs excludes capital expenditures
for significant improvements at existing operations deemed to be
expansionary in nature, exploration and evaluation related to
growth projects, financing costs, debt repayments, and taxes.
Canadian and US dollars are noted for realized gold price,
operating cash costs per ounce of gold and all-in sustaining costs
per ounce of gold. Both currencies are considered relevant and the
Company uses the average foreign exchange rate for the
period.
SOURCE Anaconda Mining Inc.