Minera IRL Provides Q2 Results and a Brief Corporate Update

LIMA, Perú, Aug. 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Minera IRL Limited ("Minera IRL" or the "Company") (BVL:MIRL, CSE:MIRL) is pleased to provide its financial and operating results for its second fiscal quarter ended 30 June 2019 ("Q2 2019"), and a brief corporate update.

During the Q2 2019, the Company reduced by 10% the all-in sustaining costs ("AISC")¹ per ounce of gold, from US$1,218 to US$1,092, and increased by 2% the amount of income and gold sold, reducing its losses before and after taxes compared to the second quarter of 2018.

Commenting on these quarterly results, Gerardo Pérez, the Company's Chairman, stated that the Corihuarmi Gold Mine continues to exceed expectations. "We have managed to improve production and substantially reduce production costs since we started an optimization program in April 2018.  The Company maintains its production budget of 22,500 ounces of gold at the end of 2019."

"We have just renewed our dump truck fleet for US$2 million which will be paid for through the sale of the old fleet for US$ 0.8 million together with a suppliers credit for the balance of US$1.2 million. The trucks are Mercedes Benz - Actros Euro V of the latest technology that save fuel and generate less CO2 emission. With this acquisition, the loading capacity has been increased from 27 to 40 tons for each of the ten trucks that transport mineralized material in the mine, which we expect to allow us to continue reducing costs," Gerardo Pérez added.

The Company plans to begin a new exploration campaign in Corihuarmi during the second half of 2019, with the objective of extending life of mine.  In addition, the Company continues to evaluate financing options for the construction of the Ollachea project while awaiting the results of the COFIDE arbitration.

The Company maintains an excellent relationship with the Ollachea and Corihuarmi Communities. Recently, the women of the social program AMARE de Ollachea, which is supported by the Company, participated in the Cultural Fair of the Pan American Games Lima 2019. Ollachea competed and was selected as one of 40 organizations chosen throughout Peru to participate in this program, achieving record sales of AMARE hand-knitted alpaca wool products. 

HIGHLIGHTS

Financial

• Gold sales of 5,704 ounces (Q2 2018: 5,613 ounces) at an average realized gold price of $1,286 per ounce (Q2 2018: $1,286 per ounce).
• Revenue of $7.3 million, (Q2 2018: $7.2 million) 
• Gross profit of $1.4 million (Q2 2018: $1.0 million).
• Loss before tax of $1.9 million (Q2 2018: 2.8 million).
• After tax loss of $2.0 million (Q2 2018: $2.8 million).
• Cash balance of $1.6 million at 30 June 2019 (31 December 2018: $2.3 million).
• Debt of $86.2 million at 30 June 2019, up from $83.0 million at 31 December 2018 (including amounts due to COFIDE and Rio Tinto).

Operational Performance

Corihuarmi, Peru

• Gold production from the Corihuarmi Gold Mine of 5,691 ounces (Q2 2018: 5,413 ounces).
• Mineralized material mined and stacked of 1,106,462 tonnes (Q2 2018: 1,059,832 tonnes).
• Waste of 786,017 tonnes (Q2 2018: 408,401 tonnes).
• Total cash cost per ton of mineralized material mined of $3.79 (Q2 2018: $3.97)
• Total cash costs were $902 per ounce produced (Q2 2018: $985).
• AISC was $1,092 per ounce produced (Q2 2018: $1,218)

Ollachea, Peru

• The Company is engaged in ongoing discussions with potential investors in a continuing effort to refinance the COFIDE Bridge Loan and advance the Ollachea project.
• The Company continues with its Community programs and maintains an excellent relationship with the Ollachea Community

¹ Notes:
All-in sustaining costs is a non-GAAP metric that has been widely adopted by gold mining companies as part of their overall disclosure.  It includes cash costs, plus administrative expenses, mine closure accretion, exploration expenses and capital expenditures. These costs are then divided by the ounces sold to arrive at all-in sustaining cost per ounce produced
- All numbers are expressed in US dollars

For additional details, please see the Company's quarterly filings on SEDAR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Minera ??IRL ??Limited
Gerardo Pérez
Chairman                                                                            
+51 1 418 - 1230

Diego Benavides                                                                   
Director and CEO
+51 1 418 - 1230

Carlos Ruiz de Castilla                                                         
Chief Financial Officer  
+1 778 387 5434      

No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained in this news release.

Forward Looking Statements

This News Release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of that term in the securities laws of applicable jurisdictions.  Forward looking statements in this news release include the Company's decision to maintain its production budget of 22,500 ounces of gold by the end of 2019, its expectation that its new truck fleet will allow it to continue reducing costs, and its plan to begin a new exploration program during the second half of 2019.  Risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the Company's actual results, performance, production or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements (and from past results, performance or achievements).  These factors include, but are not limited to, variations in global demand and price for gold, the cost of producing gold over the balance of the year, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, the actual speed of the arbitration process and other risks discussed in the Company's periodic disclosure filings.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  Although Minera IRL believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward looking statements.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/dfa51a92-2d58-4186-8f0d-c6c9e7f8688a