Classified in: Mining industry, Business
Subject: ERN

Atlantic Reports Q2 2018 Financial Results

CASH COSTS CAD $569/OZ (USD $432/OZ @0.76 USD/CAD)

AISC CAD $743/OZ (USD $565/OZ @0.76 USD/CAD)

MINE OPERATING EARNINGS CAD $15.5 MILLION

OPERATING CASH FLOW CAD $19.4 MILLION ($0.10 PER SHARE)

REMAINS ON TRACK TO MEET ANNUAL PRODUCTION AND COST GUIDANCE

Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted

VANCOUVER, Aug. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - Atlantic Gold Corporation (TSX-V: AGB) ("Atlantic" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its operational and financial results for the second quarter of 2018 at its Moose River Consolidated Gold Mine ("MRC") in Nova Scotia, Canada.

 

The Company remains on track to deliver on its annual guidance of producing 82,000 - 90,000 ounces at a cash cost (see "Non-IFRS Performance Measures") of CAD $500 - CAD $560 per ounce and an AISC between CAD $675 - CAD $735 per ounce. The Company previously released its gold production and revenue for the second quarter of 2018 (see news release dated July 09, 2018).

Additionally, in July 2018, the Company announced the execution of a credit approved commitment letter for a fully underwritten CAD $150,000,000 senior secured revolving credit facility with National Bank of Canada. This facility will be used to repay the Company's project financing loan and for general working capital purposes.

The Company has a total cash balance at June 30, 2018 of CAD $33 million, which includes $17 million of restricted cash that will be released upon execution of the credit facility with National Bank of Canada.

Throughout the second half of 2018, the Company will continue to focus on the following:

• Producing 82,000 - 90,000 ounces from Touquoy in 2018 at a cash cost of $500 - $560 per ounce (US$400 ? US$448 per ounce @ an exchange rate of CAD$0.80), and an AISC between $675 and $735 per ounce (US$540 ? US$588 per ounce, @ an exchange rate of CAD$0.80).
• Progressing the Company's Phase 4 Corridor Regional diamond drilling program which commenced in April 2018, with the objective to systematically explore the regional prospective host structure targeting the Company's disseminated style gold deposit model amenable to open pit mining.
• Completing formal documentation in respect of the senior secured revolving credit facility with National Bank of Canada.
• Progressing and seeking approval of the Environmental Impact Statement for Beaver Dam which was submitted in June 2017.
• Preparation of the Fifteen Mile Stream and Cochrane Hill Projects Environmental Impact Statements, with submissions expected in Q1 2019.

Q2 and YTD 2018 Operating Results**:

 

Gold production and sales
During the three months ended June 30, 2018, MRC produced 22,269 ounces of gold (which was above Q2 2018 production guidance of 21,000 to 22,000 ounces of gold) and sold 22,728 ounces of gold.

During the first half of 2018, the Company produced 40,452 ounces of gold, which included 9,373 ounces of gold produced during operation ramp up in January and February 2018, prior to commencement of commercial production. Gold sales during the first half of 2018 was 39,915 ounces, which includes 9,432 ounces of gold sold during operation ramp up in January and February 2018, prior to commencement of commercial production.

Mining
During the three months ended June 30, 2018, a total of 757,865 tonnes of ore were mined at a waste to ore ratio of 1.39:1 with a total of 1,812,803 tonnes of material moved.

During the first half of 2018, a total of 1,852,353 tonnes of ore were mined, at a waste to ore ratio of 0.85:1 with a total of 3,421,473 tonnes of material moved.  Approximately 49% of the ore mined in the first half of 2018 was stockpiled as low and medium-grade material which will be readily available for processing later in the mine life. This material was assumed to be waste in the 2015 Feasibility Study.  Waste material was used to build the Tailings Management Facility ("TMF") and the waste dump with its ditches and water collection area.

Processing
During the three months ended June 30, 2018, a total of 567,238 tonnes of ore was processed at an average grade of 1.28 g/t Au and average process recovery of 95.2% which exceeded the design recovery of 94%.  The decrease in grade for Q2 2018 is attributed to physical constraints in accessing the ore due to the removal of historical tailings that required permitting plus supervision by independent consultants and prevented access to higher grade ore for more than 8 weeks.  Access to the higher-grade mining blocks was achieved by the end of June.

A total of 986,388 tonnes of ore was processed during the first half of 2018, at an average grade of 1.35 g/t Au with a recovery of 95%.

As with Q1, during the second quarter, the Company continued its efforts to optimize certain areas of the plant including the crushing circuit, reagents consumption and overall energy management. Operations statistics since the commencement of commercial production on March 1, 2018 supports the Company's full year production guidance for 2018.

Sustaining capital
The Company incurred a total of $2,400,054 and $4,428,850 in sustaining capital expenditures during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively.  The vast majority of the expenditures relate to the scheduled TMF raise which commenced ahead of schedule due to favorable weather conditions at the end of the first quarter of 2018.

Growth capital
The Company incurred a total of $2,126,754 and $4,889,196 in growth capital expenditures during the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, respectively. A large proportion of the expenditures in the first half of 2018 relate to development of the waste dump area, removal of historic tailings, and costs associated with initial fit-out of site infrastructure, as well as costs incurred due to design and commissioning issues identified as part of the ramp-up process.

Q2 2018 Financial Results

 

In the three months ended June 30, 2018 the Company had earnings of $8,342,731, an increase of $9,335,357, when compared to the 2017 comparative period as the Company commenced commercial production in 2018, recognizing mine operating earnings of $15,483,426 for the three months ended June 30, 2018. The mine operating earnings were before general and administration expenses of $2,407,082 and $2,953,404 in finance costs.

The income (loss) for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 is comprised of the following items:

 

Mine operating earnings

The mine operating earnings for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 is comprised of the following.

 

During the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company sold 22,728 ounces of gold at an average price of $1,583 resulting in net revenue of $35,888,640.  The Company delivered 16,983 ounces into fixed price contracts and the remaining 5,745 ounces were sold at spot price. Revenue is net of treatment and refining costs which were $78,985 for the three months ended June 30, 2018.

The costs of sales are comprised of production costs, including mining, processing, maintenance, site administration and site share-based payments. Cash costs per ounce sold for the three months ended June 30, 2018 were $569 (see Non-IFRS Performance Measures section).

Depreciation and depletion was $7,208,292.  Most assets are depreciated or depleted on a units-of-production basis over the reserves to which they relate.

AISC per ounce sold for the three months ended June 30, 2018 was $743 (see Non-IFRS Performance Measures section).  This is slightly higher than average guidance as the MRC process facility was still being optimized during Q2 2018, but generally consistent with guidance for the full year of 2018.

General and administration

General and administration for the three months ended June 30, 2018 and 2017 is comprised of:

 

In the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company experienced an increase in general and administration costs over the three months ended June 30, 2017 due to increased activity and aligning staffing to an appropriate level for that of an operating entity.

Management fees, salaries and benefits were $757,208 in the three months ended June 30, 2018, an increase of $366,380 over the three months ended June 30, 2017. The increase is a result of the growth of the Company largely stemming from increased activity, specifically, the commencement of operations at MRC and the further development of the Company's other Nova Scotia deposits.  

Share-based payments, increased by $544,245 to $1,049,743 and represents the Black-Scholes calculated value of stock options issued to directors, officers, consultants and employees which vested during the period. The increase in share-based payments is due primarily to the increase in the number of options granted and vesting and to the increased share price, which, with all other variables being equal increases the value assigned to each option. The average exercise price of options granted was $1.85 per share in the three months ended June 30, 2018 compared to $1.01 per share in the 2017 year.  

Financing Costs

Financing costs are comprised of interest incurred on the Company's long-term debt facilities, and amortization of deferred transaction costs. Prior to the start of commercial production on March 1, 2018, the interest, accretion and amortization of the transaction costs related to the long-term debt facilities were capitalized to mineral properties and expensed thereafter.

Financing costs for the three months ended June 30, 2018 were comprised of:     

 

In the three months ended June 30, 2017 there was $2,056,190 finance costs which were all capitalized to mineral properties and development costs, compared to a total of $2,835,383 finance costs in the current period, which all were expensed to the statement of income (loss), as a result of the Company commencing commercial production on March 1, 2018. The costs in the three months ended June 30, 2017 were lower as the loan balances were lower on the Company's long-term debt facilities during the same period in the prior year, resulting in lower interest charges. The Company's Project Loan Facility ("PLF") was not fully drawn until Q3 2017.  In May, 2018 the convertible debentures and the all unpaid interest owing was converted into 21,927,360 common shares of the Company. 

In the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Company incurred $240,368 of standby fees related to the PLF and Equipment Facility. There were no standby fees incurred in the three months ended June 30, 2018 as the PLF was fully drawn at the end of Q3 2017.  Accretion expense on the reclamation obligation was $18,021 in the three months ended June 30, 2018 compared to $13,506 in the three months ended June 30, 2018.

Deferred Income Tax Recovery/(Loss)
During the three months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recognized a deferred income tax loss of $1,879,389, a non-cash accounting loss, versus a deferred income tax recovery of $719,854 for the three months ended June 30, 2017.  This does not represent cash taxes payable at the end of the current period. The expense recognized in the current period is largely a result of taxable temporary differences resulting from the income generated at MRC consuming formerly recognized loss tax pools which are categorized as deductible temporary differences.  A deferred income tax asset was not recorded in prior periods as up until 2018, there was no reasonable expectation of realizing such assets through a history of income.  Furthermore, taxable temporary differences exist as a result of the Company incurring flow through related expenditures which are capitalized on the Company's balance sheet but have no tax basis as the expenditures are renounced to the related flow through investor.

Working Capital and Liquidity
The Company has a working capital deficit position as at June 30, 2018 of CAD $32,913,256. Included in this deficit position is CAD $47,278,643 related to principal payments under the Company's senior project loan facility ("PLF"). These amounts are intended to be refinanced from the new $150,000,000 revolving credit facility (discussed above).

The Company believes that it has sufficient funding to meet its obligations and to maintain administrative and operational expenditures for the next 12 months from existing treasury, estimated future operating cash flows, as well as the new revolving credit facility. MRC is expected to produce 82,000 to 90,000 ounces of gold in 2018 at a cash costs of between CAD $500 to CAD $560 per ounce. In order to mitigate gold price risk, the Company entered into margin free gold forward sales contracts for 215,000 ounces which is at a flat forward price of CAD $1,550 per ounce and scheduled out its hedged contracts over the life of the PLF (the "Hedge Facility") to be delivered during production in 2018 and beyond. As of June 30, 2018, there were 189,473 ounces committed to the gold forward contracts for delivery between July 2018 and February 2021.

Exploration Update

The Company completed its Phase 3 Expansion drilling program at Fifteen Mile Stream and Cochrane Hill in the first quarter of 2018. The objectives of the Phase 3 Expansion drilling program were to:

• identify additional gold resources immediately peripheral to those resources previously defined at Fifteen Mile Stream and Cochrane Hill;
• at Cochrane Hill and at Fifteen Mile Stream ? particularly at the Hudson and Plenty zones, to upgrade previously defined Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured and Indicated categories; and
• seek additional new Mineral Resources within the 350-metre gap between the Plenty and Egerton MacLean zones at Fifteen Mile Stream.

The Phase 3 Resource Expansion diamond drilling program at Fifteen Mile Stream comprised 185 holes to December 31, 2017 and was completed at the end of January with a total of 24,325m drilled in 221 holes. Holes were generally drilled on 25m x 20m centres, except for the first-pass drilling along the 350m gap between Plenty and Egerton MacLean where holes were drilled on 50m-spaced sections. The Phase 3 Resource Expansion diamond drilling program at Cochrane Hill was completed at the end of December, 2017 with a total of 44 holes for 6,900 metres having been drilled.

Further drilling is planned for Q3, 2018 to further define the additional mineralization identified, particularly in the Egerton-MacLean and Plenty Zones at Fifteen Mile Stream and at Cochrane Hill.  The Company currently plans to have the updated resource estimates completed in Q4, 2018 when the results of planned drilling have been received and analysed.  Results from the Phase 3 Resource Expansion diamond drilling program were announced in news releases dated December 20, 2017, January 17, 2018, January 24, 2018, February 22, 2018, March 15, 2018 and April 4, 2018.

In respect of Beaver Dam, the Company incurred $592,984 on Beaver Dam during the six months ended June 30, 2018.  The focus of expenditures at Beaver Dam were to secure the environmental approval expected in early 2019.

Phase 4 Program

The Phase 4 Corridor Regional Program is designed to systematically explore along the + 45km un-tested structure hosting all existing deposits. This under-explored and geologically prospective 45km trend extends northeast from the central processing facility at Touquoy to the Beaver Dam gold deposit and through to the Fifteen Mile Stream gold deposit in the east.

Two diamond drill rigs commenced drilling in early April and a total of 7,037 metres in 53 holes have been completed to June 30, 2018. The objective of the program is to explore the gaps between the three known deposits along this trend. The program will comprise up to a total of 100,000 metres of diamond drilling distributed throughout the Touquoy-Beaver Dam-Fifteen Mile Stream Corridor.

The first results of the Phase 4 Corridor Regional Program, announced in a news release on June 28, 2018, reported the discovery of a new zone of significant mineralization at the 149 Prospect, approximately 1km east from the Fifteen Mile Stream project.

Targeted as part of the Corridor Regional Program on the basis of favourable geological position and historical anomalous mineralization, initial widely spaced drilling produced encouraging results which, when followed up, resulted in the discovery of shallow, near surface gold mineralization over a strike length of 250m.

Early stage interpretation suggests that mineralization is of a style similar to that located in the Egerton-MacLean zone of the Fifteen Mile Stream deposits. The gold mineralization is associated with disseminated arsenopyrite and banded pyrrhotite in argillite units on the northern flank of an east-west trending anticlinal structure. Based on limited drilling to date, the mineralization appears to dip approximately 60-75° north, may be up to 25m in true thickness and is covered by a modest 5m glacial till cover.

The latest results of the drill program can be found in the Company's news release on the Company's website. Drilling continues to infill and expand the zone of mineralization which is open at depth and along strike to the east. Drilling also continues to complete additional regional traverses within the Corridor Regional program.

Qualified Persons

Kodjo Afewu, PhD, SME (CP), Plant Manager for the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical information related to operations matters contained in this news release.

Doug Currie, P. Geo., MAusIMM (CP), General Manager of Exploration for the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical information related to exploration matters contained in this news release.

Conference Call Details

Atlantic Gold Corporation is hosting a live Q&A conference call to discuss the results on August 15, 2018 at 2:00 pm Eastern time (11:00 am Pacific time) with the Atlantic executive team.  Participants may join the call by dialing:

Participant Dial-in Numbers:

 

Additional International Dial-in Numbers: UK: 08006522435, Switzerland: 0800312635, Germany: 08007240293, Hong Kong: 800962712

Please provide the company name (Atlantic Gold Corporation) to the operator.  A recorded playback of the call will be available one hour after the call's completion until September 15^th, 2018 by dialing:

 

Enter the playback passcode: 191950#, an MP3 recording will also be available on the Atlantic website.

Further updates will be provided in due course.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Steven Dean
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Neither the 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.

About Atlantic:

Atlantic is a well-financed, growth-oriented gold development group with a long term strategy to build a mid-tier gold production company focused on manageable, executable projects in mining-friendly jurisdictions.

Atlantic is focused on growing gold production in Nova Scotia beginning with its MRC phase one open pit gold mine which declared commercial production in March 2018, and its phase two Life of Mine Expansion which will ramp up gold production to + 200,000 ounces per year at industry lowest quartile cash and all-in-sustaining-costs (as stated in the Company's news releases dated January 19, 2018 and January 29, 2018).

Atlantic is committed to the highest standards of environmental and social responsibility and continually invests in people and technology to manage risks, maximize outcomes and returns to all stakeholders.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This release contains certain "forward looking statements" and certain "forward-looking information" as defined under applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this press release, and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding discussions of future plans, guidance, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations with respect to, among other things, the activities contemplated in this news release and the timing and receipt of requisite regulatory, and shareholder approvals in respect thereof. Forward looking information, including future oriented financial information (such as guidance) provide investors an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company.  Forward-looking statements in this news release include, without limitation, statements related to proposed exploration and development programs, grade and tonnage of material and resource estimates. These forward looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results may vary. Important factors that may cause actual results to vary include without limitation, the timing and receipt of certain approvals, changes in commodity and power prices, changes in interest and currency exchange rates, risks inherent in exploration estimates and results, timing and success, inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral reserves and resources), changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications, cost escalation, unavailability of materials, equipment and third party contractors, delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters), political risk, social unrest, and changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets. In making the forward-looking statements in this press release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, the assumptions that: (1) market fundamentals will result in sustained gold demand and prices; (2) the receipt of any necessary approvals and consents in connection with the development of any properties; (3) the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of any mineral properties; and (4) sustained commodity prices such that any properties put into operation remain economically viable. Information concerning mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates also may be considered forward-looking statements, as such information constitutes a prediction of what mineralization might be found to be present if and when a project is actually developed. Certain of the risks and assumptions are described in more detail in the Company's audited financial statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2017 and for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The actual results or performance by the Company could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any forward-looking statements relating to those matters. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what impact they will have on the results of operations or financial condition of the Company. Except as required by law, the Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update, alter or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Non-IFRS Performance Measures

The Company has included certain non-IFRS measures in this news release.  The company believes that these measures, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, provide investors an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the company. The non-IFRS measures are 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. These measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and therefore may not be comparable with other issuers.  Readers should refer to the Company's management discussion and analysis, available on the Company's profile on SEDAR and on the Company's website, under the heading "Non-IFRS Performance Measures" for a more detailed discussion of how the Company calculates certain such measures and reconciliation of certain measures to IFRS terms.

Cash costs

Cash costs are a common financial performance measure in the gold mining industry but with no standard meaning under IFRS. Atlantic 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.

Cash costs include production costs such as mining, processing, refining and site administration, less non-cash share-based compensation divided by gold ounces sold to arrive at total cash costs per gold ounce sold. Costs include royalty payments and permitting costs Production costs are exclusive of depreciation. Other companies may calculate this measure differently.

All-in sustaining costs

The Company believes that AISC more fully defines the total costs associated with producing gold. The company calculates all-in sustaining costs as the sum of total cash costs (as described above), corporate general and administrative expense (net of stock-based compensation), reclamation cost accretion and amortization and sustaining capital, all divided by the gold ounces sold to arrive at a per ounce figure.

Other companies may calculate this measure differently as a result of differences in underlying principles and policies applied. Differences may also arise due to a different definition of sustaining versus growth capital.

SOURCE Atlantic Gold Corporation

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