TORONTO, March 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Gammon Gold
Inc. ("Gammon") (TSX: GAM) (NYSE: GRS): Gammon is pleased to
report financial results from the fourth quarter and year-ended
December 31, 2010. All amounts are in
U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated.
Gammon concluded the fourth quarter with
Company-wide record revenues, record operating cash flow, record
margins, a strong cash balance, new discoveries and increased
Reserves and Resources at its Ocampo and El
Cubo projects, with development activities at the
El Cubo slated to resume next
month.
Company-Wide Quarterly and Subsequent Highlights
- Net earnings of $23.5 million, or
$0.17 per share
- Record operating cash flow of $35.6
million, or $0.26 per
share
- Net free cash flow of $7.1
million, or $0.05 per
share
- Cash balance of $113.1
million
- Available liquidity of approximately $160.7 million
- Addition to company-wide year-end Reserves of 18% before mining
depletion, or 9% post mining depletion
- Addition to company-wide year-end Measured and Indicated
Resources of 47%
- El Cubo to resume operations
under a more productive Collective Agreement
Ocampo Quarterly Highlights
- Record earnings before other items of $33.6 million
- Record operating cash flow of $41.9
million
- Net free cash flow of $15.0
million
- Gold equivalent production of 51,199 ounces at cash costs of
$427 per ounce1 for a
record margin of $954 (69%) per gold
equivalent ounce1
-
- Gold production of 29,384 ounces at cash costs of negative
$388 per ounce2 for a
record margin of $1,769 (128%) per
gold ounce2
- Silver production of 1,199,829 ounces at cash costs of negative
$15.21 per ounce3 for a
record margin of $42.61 (156%) per
silver ounce3
- Record production at the North-East underground mine of 1,671
tonnes per day
- Commissioned second underground mine, Santa Eduviges, in late December
- Identified new Reserves of 398,000 gold equivalent
ounces4
"The Ocampo
team has delivered a set of record results for the mine and the
company including $116 million in
operating cash flow in 2010. We have achieved consecutive quarter
over quarter improvements throughout 2010, de-risked the operation
through a dedicated capital re-investment program and increased our
Reserve and Resource base," stated René Marion, President and Chief
Executive Officer, "In 2011, we anticipate Ocampo's strong performance will continue
where we will not only benefit from the expected strong gold price
environment but will continue to leverage our considerable silver
production to the strongly appreciating silver price. In the coming
months, we will also recommence production at El Cubo and advance our portfolio of
development and exploration properties for the benefit of our
shareholders."
Corporate Highlights
- On Feb. 23, 2011, the Company
announced a new Collective Agreement at the El Cubo mine. The Company believes this new
agreement will allow for improved productivity and cost reductions.
Operating supplies and mobile equipment began arriving during the
week of March 14. Underground
development work is expected to begin in April.
- On Feb. 28, 2011, the Company
announced a company-wide pre-depletion increase of 459,000 gold
equivalent ounces4 (18%) to Proven and Probable Reserves
estimates and a pre-depletion increase of 238,000 (47%) gold
equivalent ounces1 to Measured and Indicated Resources.
This represents the first increase in reserves and resources since
the Ocampo mine was
commissioned.
- Underground mine productivity at Ocampo in January and February continues to
exceed targets, reporting an average rate of 1,877 tonnes per
day
- The second underground mine at Ocampo, Santa
Eduviges, was commissioned in late December, 2010 and
continues to ramp-up in production during January and
February.
- The three-phased mill expansion at Ocampo was completed in the third quarter of
2010 that increased processing capacity by 127% from 2007
processing rates.
- The conversion of the Ocampo
heap leach facility to a valley leach design was completed during
2010 and provided an additional 10 million tonnes of stacking
capacity.
- The Company appointed four new independent directors to the
board including Mr. Colin K. Benner
(Chairman), Mr. Richard M.
Colterjohn, Mr. Alan R.
Edwards and Mr. Joseph G.
Spiteri, all of whom bring a wealth of mining experience and
possess solid industry reputations.
- The Company also appointed Ambassador Martha I. Lara-Alatorre of Mexico as Government Relations Advisor to its
Board of Directors. As an elected official and career diplomat,
Ambassador Lara-Alatorre worked in public service and the Mexican
Foreign Service from 1971 until December
2007.
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(in thousands, except ounces and total
cash costs) |
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OCAMPO |
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EL
CUBO |
THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31 |
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2010 |
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2009 |
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2010 |
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2009 |
Gold ounces sold |
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28,207 |
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29,463 |
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- |
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8,786 |
Silver ounces sold |
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1,170,723 |
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1,125,069 |
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- |
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384,442 |
Gold equivalent ounces sold
(realized)5 |
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51,439 |
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47,539 |
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- |
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14,923 |
Gold ounces produced |
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29,384 |
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27,932 |
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- |
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8,897 |
Silver ounces produced |
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1,199,829 |
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1,068,731 |
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- |
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396,367 |
Gold equivalent ounces produced
(realized)5 |
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53,030 |
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45,167 |
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- |
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15,240 |
Revenue from mining operations |
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$71,017 |
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$51,783 |
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- |
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$16,437 |
Mine standby costs |
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- |
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- |
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$1,413 |
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- |
Net earnings / (loss) before other items |
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$33,636 |
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$22,254 |
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($1,736) |
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$3,635 |
Cash flow from operations |
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$41,894 |
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$34,840 |
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($2,959) |
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$8,399 |
Total cash costs per gold
equivalent ounce (realized)5 |
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$411 |
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$384 |
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- |
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$643 |
Total cash costs per gold
ounce2 |
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($388) |
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($51) |
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- |
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$320 |
Gold equivalent ounces sold
(55:1)1 |
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49,493 |
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49,918 |
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- |
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15,776 |
Gold equivalent ounces produced
(55:1)1 |
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51,199 |
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47,363 |
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- |
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16,103 |
Total cash costs per gold
equivalent ounce (55:1)1 |
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$427 |
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$366 |
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- |
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$608 |
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(in thousands, except ounces and total cash
costs) |
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OCAMPO |
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EL
CUBO |
YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31 |
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2010 |
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2009 |
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2010 |
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2009 |
Gold ounces sold |
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100,615 |
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105,818 |
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11,160 |
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27,185 |
Silver ounces sold |
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4,415,308 |
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3,976,304 |
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555,469 |
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1,170,280 |
Gold equivalent ounces sold
(realized)6 |
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173,716 |
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166,071 |
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19,713 |
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44,782 |
Gold ounces produced |
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103,220 |
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108,467 |
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10,844 |
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27,842 |
Silver ounces produced |
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4,417,413 |
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3,982,175 |
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536,457 |
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1,183,339 |
Gold equivalent ounces produced
(realized)6 |
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176,458 |
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168,494 |
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19,108 |
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45,578 |
Revenue from mining operations |
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$215,717 |
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$162,579 |
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$22,549 |
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$44,222 |
Mine standby costs |
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- |
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- |
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$9,214 |
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$1,905 |
Net earnings / (loss) before other items |
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$89,616 |
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$54,240 |
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($10,018) |
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($327) |
Cash flow from operations |
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$116,108 |
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$87,182 |
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($3,434) |
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$12,874 |
Total cash costs per gold
equivalent ounce6 |
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$440 |
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$417 |
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$826 |
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$630 |
Total cash costs per gold
ounce2 |
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($146) |
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$95 |
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$587 |
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$390 |
Gold equivalent ounces sold
(55:1)1 |
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180,893 |
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178,114 |
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21,259 |
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48,463 |
Gold equivalent ounces produced
(55:1)1 |
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183,537 |
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180,871 |
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20,596 |
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49,357 |
Total cash costs per gold
equivalent ounce (55:1)1 |
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$423 |
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$389 |
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$766 |
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$582 |
_____________________________________________
1 Using the Company's long-term gold equivalency ratio
of 55:1.
2 Using silver revenues as a by-product cost credit.
3 Using gold revenues as a by-product cost credit.
4 Using the reserve metal prices of $1,025/oz for gold and $16.60/oz for silver for a gold to silver ratio
of 61.75:1.
5 Using the realized gold equivalency ratio of 50:1 in
2010 and 62:1 in 2009.
6 Using the realized gold equivalency ratio of 61:1 in
2010 and 66:1 in 2009.
Audited Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and
Analysis
The audited financial statements and related Management's
Discussion and Analysis can be found on the Company's website at
www.gammongold.com or under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com.
The Company's Form 40-F containing the complete audited financial
statements has also been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Upon request, the
Corporation will provide a hard copy of the Company's complete
audited financial statements free of charge.
Conference Call and Webcast
The Company's audited year-end financial results for the period
ended December 31, 2010 will be
released before the market open on Wednesday, March 23, 2011. The financial
statements will be available on the Company's website at
www.gammongold.com or www.sedar.com.
A webcast and conference call will be held on
Thursday, March 24, 2011
starting at 10:00 am Eastern
Time. Senior management will be on hand to discuss the
results.
Conference Call Access:
- Canada & US Toll Free:
1-(888) 231-8191
- International & Toronto: 1-(647) 427-7450
When the Operator answers please ask to be placed into the
Gammon Gold Fourth Quarter and Year End 2010 Results Conference
Call.
Archive Call Access:
If you are unable to attend the conference call, a replay will be
available until midnight, March 31,
2011 by dialing the appropriate number below:
- Local Toronto Participants:
1-416-849-0833 Passcode: #40954049
- North America Toll Free:
1-800-642-1687 Passcode: #40954049
Archive Webcast:
The webcast will be archived for 90 days by following the link
provided below:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID=3390640
or via the Company's website at www.gammongold.com.
About Gammon Gold
Gammon Gold Inc. is a mid-tier gold and silver producer with
properties in Mexico. Gammon's flagship Ocampo Mine is
located in Chihuahua State. Gammon also owns the El Cubo Mine
in Guanajuato State, which is undergoing re-commissioning, and the
Guadalupe y Calvo development property in Chihuahua State. In
2010 Gammon completed option purchase agreements to acquire the Los
Jarros and Venus Projects located directly north and east of the
Ocampo mine, the Mezquite Project
in Zacatecas State, and has signed a binding Letter of Intent to
joint venture into the La Bandera Gold Project in Durango State.
The Company has made strategic investments in Golden Queen Mining
Co. Ltd. and Corex Gold Corporation. The Company's Executive
Office is located in Toronto,
Ontario.
Cautionary Statement
Cautionary Note to US Investors - The United
States Securities and Exchange Commission permits US mining
companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those
mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally
extract or produce. This press release uses certain terms, such as
"measured," "indicated," and "inferred" "resources," that the SEC
guidelines strictly prohibit US registered companies from including
in their filings with the SEC. US Investors are urged to consider
closely the disclosure in Gammon Gold's Annual Report on Form 40-F,
which may be secured from Gammon Gold, or from the SEC's website
at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
No stock exchange, securities commission or
other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the
information contained herein.
Certain statements included herein, including
information as to the future financial or operating performance of
the Company, its subsidiaries and its projects, constitute
forward-looking statements. The words ''believe'', ''expect'',
''anticipate'', ''target'', ''continue'', ''estimate'',
" ''may'', and similar expressions identify forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things,
statements regarding anticipated future financial and operational
performance, the future price of gold and silver, the timing of
re-commissioning and re-commencement of production at El Cubo, the de-risking of operations, future
exploration results of its exploration and development program at
Guadalupe y Calvo, the Company's ability to delineate additional
resources and reserves as a result of such program, and the
company's ability to mine such targets by
mid-2011, statements regarding its financial exposure to
litigation, targets, estimates and assumptions in respect of gold
and silver production and prices, operating costs, results and
capital expenditures, mineral reserves and mineral resources and
anticipated grades, recovery rates, future financial or operating
performance, margins, operating and exploration expenditures, costs
and timing of completion of the Ocampo expansion program and improvements to
the heap leach pad, costs and timing of the development and
commencement of production of new deposits, costs and timing of
construction, costs and timing of future exploration and
reclamation expenses including, anticipated 2011 results, operating
performance projections for 2011, our ability to fully fund our
business model internally, 2011 gold and silver production and the
cash and operating costs associated therewith, the ability to
achieve productivity and operational efficiencies, and the timing
of each thereof. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based
upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered
reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant
business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties
and contingencies. Many factors could cause the Company's actual
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any
forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, the Company.
Such factors include, among others, known and unknown uncertainties
and risks relating to additional funding requirements, reserve and
resource estimates, commodity prices, hedging activities,
exploration, development and operating risks, illegal miners,
political and foreign risk, uninsurable risks, competition, limited
mining operations, production risks, environmental regulation and
liability, government regulation, currency fluctuations, recent
losses and write-downs, restrictions in the Company's loan
facility, dependence on key employees, possible variations of ore
grade or recovery rates, failure of plant, equipment or process to
operate as anticipated, accidents and labour disputes. Investors
are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and, accordingly, investors are cautioned not to
put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the
inherent uncertainty therein.
SOURCE GAMMON GOLD INC.