TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2018 /CNW/ - Guyana Goldfields Inc. (TSX: GUY) (the "Company") reports its 2017 full year and fourth quarter operational and financial results. A conference call will be held today at 10:00 am ET to discuss 2017 full year and fourth quarter results. The Company previously released its preliminary fourth quarter 2017 operational results on January 9, 2018. All amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.
Q4 2017 Highlights
2017 Highlights
Scott Caldwell, President & CEO stated, "Guyana Goldfields closed out 2017 on an operational high note, achieving record gold production along with record low operating cost metrics. Looking ahead for 2018, we are looking forward to maintaining this momentum as we deliver on the optimized life of mine plan which envisages 200,000 ounces of gold produced for 2018 and providing consistent production growth thereafter. The Phase 1 mill expansion is expected to be completed on-time and on-budget by the end of March and we expect the Phase 2 mill expansion, which would increase hard rock throughput capacity to 7,500 tonnes per day, to be completed by the end of this year. In addition, we look forward to initiating the development of the underground in the fourth quarter of this year in our effort to accelerate selective mining of higher grade stopes starting in 2019."
Aurora Gold Mine Operational and Financial Statistics
2017 |
Q4 2017 |
Q3 2017 |
Q2 2017 |
Q1 2017 | |||
Gold Sold |
ounces |
157,700 |
48,000 |
39,000 |
30,000 |
40,700 | |
Gold Produced |
ounces |
160,500 |
48,900 |
41,000 |
29,700 |
40,900 | |
Average Realized Gold Price |
US$/ounce |
1,265 |
1,280 |
1,287 |
1,263 |
1,227 | |
Gross Revenue |
US$ mlns |
$199.5 |
$61.4 |
$50.2 |
$37.9 |
$50.0 | |
Cash costs¹ (before royalty) |
US$/ounce |
556 |
433 |
595 |
757 |
516 | |
All-in Sustaining Cost¹ |
US$/ounce |
846 |
665 |
828 |
1,144 |
861 | |
Cost of sales (prod, royalty, dep) |
US$/ounce |
897 |
752 |
940 |
1,164 |
827 | |
Ore Mined |
tonnes |
2,412,900 |
714,500 |
688,100 |
511,600 |
498,800 | |
Waste Mined |
tonnes |
10,029,500 |
1,596,400 |
2,946,300 |
3,097,200 |
2,389,700 | |
Total Mined |
tonnes |
12,442,400 |
2,310,800 |
3,634,400 |
3,608,800 |
2,888,400 | |
Strip Ratio |
waste:ore |
4.2 |
2.2 |
4.3 |
6.1 |
4.8 | |
Tonnes Mined per Day |
tpd |
34,100 |
25,100 |
39,500 |
39,700 |
32,100 | |
Ore Processed |
tonnes |
2,239,000 |
552,600 |
568,000 |
515,600 |
602,800 | |
Tonnes Processed per Day |
tpd |
6,100 |
6,000 |
6,200 |
5,700 |
6,700 | |
Head Grade |
g/t Au |
2.46 |
2.90 |
2.53 |
2.06 |
2.44 | |
Recovery |
% |
89.7 |
91.7 |
90.0 |
86.5 |
89.7 |
Full Year and Q4 2017 Operational Results Summary
Key Financial Statistics
Three months ending |
Years ending December 31, | ||||||||||
2017 |
2016 |
2017 |
2016 |
2015 | |||||||
Revenue |
$ |
61,417 |
$ |
54,809 |
$ |
199,480 |
$ |
194,153 |
$ |
- | |
Earnings (loss) from mine Operations |
$ |
25,340 |
$ |
20,673 |
$ |
58,197 |
$ |
71,099 |
$ |
- | |
Net Income |
$ |
14,012 |
$ |
3,405 |
$ |
26,994 |
$ |
26,985 |
$ |
20,063 | |
Comprehensive income |
$ |
9,460 |
$ |
14,215 |
$ |
33,275 |
$ |
47,683 |
$ |
20,063 | |
Net earnings per share (EPS) |
|||||||||||
Basic |
$ |
0.08 |
$ |
0.02 |
$ |
0.16 |
$ |
0.17 |
$ |
0.13 | |
Diluted |
$ |
0.08 |
$ |
0.01 |
$ |
0.15 |
$ |
0.16 |
$ |
0.13 | |
Total assets |
$ |
472,016 |
$ |
438,835 |
$ |
472,016 |
$ |
438,835 |
$ |
367,391 | |
Total debt |
$ |
60,000 |
$ |
80,000 |
$ |
60,000 |
$ |
80,000 |
$ |
155,660 | |
Total non-current liabilities |
$ |
61,107 |
68,068 |
$ |
61,107 |
$ |
68,068 |
$ |
121,711 | ||
Cash flow from operations |
$ |
30,022 |
$ |
25,490 |
$ |
66,505 |
$ |
85,713 |
$ |
(4,927) | |
Cost of sales per ounce |
$ |
752 |
$ |
750 |
$ |
897 |
$ |
789 |
$ |
- | |
Cash costs per ounce before royalty¹ |
$ |
433 |
$ |
446 |
$ |
556 |
$ |
496 |
$ |
- | |
All-in sustaining cost per ounce¹ |
$ |
665 |
$ |
678 |
$ |
846 |
$ |
738 |
$ |
- |
Full Year and Q4 2017 Financial Performance
Full Year and Q4 2017 Liquidity and Capital Resources
Financial Risk Management
Exploration Activities
2018 Outlook and Opportunities
The Company's production and cost guidance for 2018 was issued on Wednesday, February 20, 2018 and is provided below. Production is expected to be weighted towards the second half of the year due to mine sequencing and increased throughput to be available with the completion of the phase 1 expansion after the first quarter of 2018. The 2018 mine plan is primarily made up of all hard rock ore from the central tonalite/diorite ore at Rory's Knoll and East Walcott deposits.
Operating costs (including depreciation) are expected to be $850-$900 per ounce and all-in sustaining costs¹ of $830-$880 per ounce. These costs are based on an increased stripping rate during 2018, offset by the increased and more cost-efficient production offered by the process plant expansion investments. The royalty cost is based on an assumed gold price of $1,200 per ounce.
2018 Guidance | |
Gold production (000's ounces) |
190,000-210,000 |
Cost of sales (production costs, royalty & depreciation) ($ per ounce) |
850-900 |
Cash cost¹, excluding royalty ($ per ounce) |
430-480 |
AISC¹ ($ per ounce) |
830-880 |
This release should be read in conjunction with the Company's fourth quarter 2017 financial statements and MD&A report on the Company's website, www.guygold.com, in the "Financial Reports" section under "Investors", or on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.
Conference Call
A conference call will be held today at 10:00 am ET to discuss annual and fourth quarter 2017 operational and financial results.
A webcast will be available on the Company's website following the call or through the following link at:
http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1574850&s=1&k=097DFCF33FD67CAC5DEE0A76375E9414
Conference Call Details:
Date of Call: Friday, February 23, 2018
Time of Call: 10:00am EST
Conference ID: 4794869
Dial-In Numbers:
North America Toll-Free: (888) 231-8191
International: (647) 427-7450
A recorded playback of the call will be available until March 2, 2018 by dialing: 1-855-859-2056 or 416-849-0833 and entering the call back passcode 4794869.
Non-GAAP Performance Measures
The Company has included certain non-GAAP performance measures in this document including total cash costs per ounce, all-in sustaining cost per ounce, total cash cost per ounce before royalty, and free cash flow. These measures are not defined under IFRS and should not be considered in isolation. The Company believes that these measures, together with measures determined in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. The inclusion of these measures is meant to provide additional information and should not be used as a substitute for performance measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures are not necessarily standard and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.
The Company has applied the World Gold Council's June 2013 published guidance in reporting cash costs and all-in sustaining costs to its mining operations. Adoption of cash costs and all-in sustaining cost metrics is voluntary and not necessarily standard, and therefore, these measures presented by the Company may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. The Company believes that the cash costs and all-in sustaining cost measures complement existing IFRS measures reported by the Company.
Total cash costs per ounce
Total cash costs is a common financial performance measure in the gold mining industry but with no standard meaning under IFRS. The Company reports total cash costs on a sales basis. The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, such as sales, certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company's performance and ability to generate operating earnings and cash flow from its mining operations. Management uses this metric as an important tool to monitor operating cost performance.
Total cash costs include production and royalty costs. Production costs include mining, processing, refining and transportation, and site administration, and in total are then divided by gold ounces sold to arrive at total cash costs per gold ounce sold. This measure also includes other mine related costs incurred such as mine standby costs and any current inventory write downs. Production costs are exclusive of depreciation. Royalty costs are excluded from the above total cash costs figure to arrive at total cash costs per ounce ? before royalty. Other companies may calculate these measures differently.
All-in sustaining cost per ounce
"All-in sustaining cost per ounce" is also a non-GAAP performance measure. The Company believes this measure more fully defines the total costs associated with producing gold; however, this performance measure has no standardized meaning. Accordingly, there may be some variation in the method of computation of "all-in sustaining cost per ounce" as determined by the Company compared with other mining companies. In this context, the Company calculates AISC as the sum of total cash costs (as described above), share-based compensation, corporate general and administrative expense, exploration and evaluation expenditures that are sustaining in nature, reclamation cost accretion, sustaining capital including deferred stripping, and realized gains and losses on diesel derivative contracts, all divided by the gold ounces sold to arrive at a per ounce figure.
Sustaining capital expenditures are expenditures that do not increase annual gold ounce production at a mine site and excludes expenditures at the Company's development projects as well as expenditures that are deemed expansionary in nature.
Additional GAAP financial performance measures
The Company has included the additional IFRS measure "Earnings from mine operations" in the financial statements. Management believes that that "Earnings from mine operations" provides useful information to investors as an indication of the Company's principal business activities before consideration of how those activities are financed, and before sustaining capital expenditures, corporate general and administrative expenses, exploration and evaluation expenses, stock based compensation, non-mine related depreciation, net finance expenses, and taxation.
About Guyana Goldfields Inc.
Guyana Goldfields Inc. is a Canadian based mid-tier gold producer primarily focused on the exploration, development and operation of gold deposits in Guyana, South America.
Forwarding-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the estimation of mineral resources, future included principal debt repayments, the expectation that certain current liabilities will be funded from operating cash flows, and the expectation of reduced future mining costs. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words and phrases such as "plans," "expects," "is expected," "budget," "scheduled," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "anticipates," or "believes" or variations (including negative 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 statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are based on various assumptions.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, among others, future included principal debt repayments, the expectation that certain current liabilities will be funded from operating cash flows, the expectation of reduced future mining costs, fulfilling all conditions and payments pursuant to the debt facility, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of exploration activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
1 This is a non-IFRS measure. Refer to "Non-IFRS Performance Measures" section in this MD&A |
SOURCE Guyana Goldfields Inc.
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