Austral Gold Reports Q1 2018 Results
Austral Gold Reports Q1 2018 Results
Sydney, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 30, 2018) - Austral Gold Limited
(ASX: AGD) (TSXV: AGLD) ('the Company') is
pleased to report results from its activities during its first quarter ended 31 March 2018.
Stabro Kasaneva, CEO of Austral Gold said, "This has been a difficult quarter as production at Guanaco and Casposo were
below expectations. However, we remain confident that we can solve our issues and meet our forecasted production for the
year.
We also continue to evaluate and pursue strategic opportunities."
Key
Highlights:
Quarterly production (100% of the Casposo, Guanaco and Amancaya mines) was 14,258 gold ounces and 486,591 silver
ounces (20,367 gold equivalent ounces) or 13,462 gold ounces and 370,583 silver ounces (18,122 gold equivalent
ounces) net to Austral*.
The combined production target for calendar year 2018 remains on target at 92,000 AuEq oz net to Austral* or 105,000
AuEq oz (100% basis).
Quarterly operating cash cost (C1) and all-in-sustaining cost (AISC) across all operations were US$1,151 and US$1,409
per gold equivalent ounce respectively with average selling prices at US$1,1324 per ounce of gold and US$16.8 per
ounce of silver.
Sales proceeds for the quarter were US$30.2m of which the Guanaco/Amancaya mine contributed US$17.4m and the
Casposo mine US$12.8m.
Guanaco and Amancaya Mines Production
Quarterly production was 11,606 gold ounces and 99,865 silver ounces (12,852 gold equivalent ounces) compared to the
December quarter where production was 11,370 gold ounces and 73,440 silver ounces (or 12,329 gold equivalent
ounces).
Underground operations at Amancaya started during the March quarter in parallel with the exploitation of the open pit.
Production at the Guanaco mine was affected by unexpected higher copper grades in the ore, and the Amancaya mine
faced some short-term production issues with grade dilution due to narrow vein mining. Both cases were solved and
grades control procedures have improved.
Casposo
Mine
Production
Quarterly production was 2,652 gold ounces and 386,726 silver ounces (100% basis) (7,515 gold equivalent ounces).
Austral Gold's share of production was 1,856 gold ounces and 270,708 silver ounces (5,261 gold equivalent ounces ((70%
basis)). (December quarter production was 5,544 gold ounces and 517,125 silver ounces (100% basis) (12,292 gold
equivalent ounces).
Production at the Casposo mine decreased from the prior quarter mainly due to lower head grades due to blending ore
from the underground mine with low-grade ore stocks fed to the mill to compensate for the deficit of ore extraction from the
mine. To improve production at the Casposo mine, the Company plans to use additional mining equipment in the following
quarter.
Operations
Guanaco/
Amancaya Mines
Casposo Mine
(100% basis)
Net to Austral Gold*
Q1
2018
Actual
Calendar
2018
Forecasted
Q1
2018
Actual
Calendar
2018
Forecasted
Q1
2018
Actual
Calendar
2018
Forecasted
Gold produced (oz)
11,606
54,000
2,652
24,000
13,462
71,000
Silver produced (oz)
99,865
520,000
386,726
1,400,000
370,573
1,520,000
Gold-Equivalent (oz) ***
12,852
62,000
7,515
43,000
14,914
92,000
C1 Cash Cost
(US$/AuEq oz) **
1,205
600-700
1,457
800-900
1,151
700-800
All-in Sustaining Cost (US$/Au oz)
#
1,429
850-950
1,934
1,050-1,150
1,409
900-1,050
Sustaining Capital
($000's)
1,462
13,500
2,657
13,500
4,119
26,500
Realised gold price (US$/Au oz)
1,322
1,250
1,329
1,250
1,324
1,250
Realised silver price (US$/Ag oz)
17
17
17
17
17
17
*
Austral Gold owned 70% of Casposo since March 2017; 51% since March 2016
** The cash cost (C1) includes: Mine, Plant, On-Site G&A, Smelting, Refining, and Royalties (excludes Corporate G&A)
# The All-in Sustaining Cost (AISC) includes: C1, Sustaining Capex, Brownfield Exploration, and Mine Closure Amortisation
*** AuEq ratio is calculated at 80:1 Ag:Au for March Quarter 2018; 77:1 Ag:Au for December Quarter 2017; 70:1 Ag:Au for
March Quarter 2017
Exploration
Exploration in Chile is focused on drilling the extensions of the Dumbo open pit mineralised structures at the Guanaco
mine, and the upper parts of the Amancaya mine to support those portions of the model evaluated mainly with Reverse
Circulation drill holes. A complementary DDH drill program of twelve holes was completed on the Nueva vein,
approximately 5km north of the Amancaya open pit operation, with four areas of gold mineralisation encountered,
confirming a structure 2.8km in strike length.
Exploration in Argentina is focused on testing the extensions of the Inca and Aztec veins at the Casposo mine, with
underground drilling (nine holes), and the extension of the Mercado vein with two drill holes. Drilling operations moved to
the Julieta brownfield target to complete the program before winter. Three holes were completed in Q1 2018.
Financial Figures
Cash on hand at 31 March 2018 was US$3.3m.
Total consolidated debt at 31 March 2018 was US$~25m (of which ~US$16m is short- term debt by way of financial
leases, revolving export facilities and a credit facility). Net debt repayments during the quarter totalled US$0.2m.
Further details can be found in the Company's Quarterly Activity Report filed at
www.australgold.com
,
http://www.asx.com.au
and
on
www.sedar.com
.
* Non-IFRS Measures
The Company has included certain non-IFRS measures including "Cash cost per gold ounce sold" and "All-in sustaining cost per
gold ounce sold" in this press release. Cash cost per gold ounce sold is equal to production costs less silver sales divided by
gold ounces sold. All-in sustaining cost per gold ounce sold is equal to production costs less silver sales plus general and
administrative expenses, exploration expenses, accretion of reclamation provision and sustaining capital expenditures divided
by gold ounces sold. The Company believes that these measures provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the
performance of the Company. Non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS. Therefore,
they may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies. The data 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.
Qualified Persons
The scientific and technical content of this news release has been prepared by, or under the supervision of Michael Brown,
MAIG, and has been reviewed and approved by him. Mr Brown is a Geologist and Member of Australian Institute of
GeoScientists and a consultant of Austral Gold Limited. Mr. Brown is a "qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument
43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
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Austral Gold Limited is a growing precious metals mining, development and exploration company building a portfolio of
quality assets in Chile and Argentina. The Company's flagship Guanaco project in Chile is a gold and silver producing mine
with further exploration upside. The Company is also operator of the underground silver-gold Casposo mine in San Juan,
Argentina. With an experienced local technical team and highly regarded major shareholder, Austral's goal is to continue to
strengthen its asset base through acquisition and discovery. Austral Gold Limited is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange
(TSXV:AGLD), and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: AGD). For more information, please consult the company's
website
www.australgold.com
.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release
.
On behalf of Austral Gold Limited:
"Stabro Kasaneva"
CEO
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Chief Financial Officer
Austral Gold Limited
+54 (11) 4323 7558
Andrew Bursill
Company Secretary
Austral Gold Limited
+61 (2) 9299 9690
Forward Looking Statements
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
statements that are not historical, and consist primarily of projections - statements regarding future plans, expectations and
developments. Words such as "expects", "intends", "plans", "may", "could", "potential", "should", "anticipates", "likely",
"believes" and words of similar import tend to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news
release include: the Company's 2018 forecasted production and costs and the Company plans to use additional mining
equipment in the following quarter to improve production at the Casposo mine. All of these forward-looking statements are
subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ
from those expressed or implied, including, without limitation, business integration risks; uncertainty of production, development
plans and cost estimates, commodity price fluctuations; political or economic instability and regulatory changes; currency
fluctuations, the state of the capital markets, uncertainty in the measurement of mineral reserves and resource estimates,
Austral's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and management, potential labour unrest, reclamation and closure
requirements for mineral properties; unpredictable risks and hazards related to the development and operation of a mine or
mineral property that are beyond the Company's control, the availability of capital to fund all of the Company's projects and other
risks and uncertainties identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's continuous disclosure documents filed on
SEDAR. You are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used.
Austral cannot assure you that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements,
and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Austral's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations
regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and Austral does not assume any
obligation to update forward looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should
change other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, you should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements.