Anaconda Mining Inc. (TSX: ANX) (OTCQX: ANXGF) is pleased to announce production results and certain financial information from the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019. All dollar amounts are in Canadian Dollars. The Company expects to file its third quarter financial statements and management discussion and analysis on or around November 5, 2019.
Q3 2019 Highlights
1 Refer to Non-IFRS Measures Section below. |
“After a challenging second quarter for Anaconda, the Company is back on track at the Point Rousse Complex and is making significant advancements at its Goldboro Gold Project and Tilt Cove Project. Thanks to the demonstrated commitment of Anaconda’s mine and mill operators at Point Rousse and strong senior mine leadership, gold production is back on track, realizing $8.8M in revenue from the sale of 4,652 ounces of gold and generating operating cash flow. Importantly, the Company has made critical investments in the mill and improved preventative maintenance programs to ensure the sustainability of the operations moving forward. We are also pleased to have begun processing the bulk sample for the Goldboro Gold Project and expect to announce results in November. In the Baie Verte Mining District, we are also excited with our progress at the prospective Tilt Cove Gold Project, located approximately 40 kilometres east of the Pine Cove Mill and along strike from the past-producing, high-grade Nugget Pond Gold Mine. We have commenced prioritizing drill targets having completed LIDAR, geochemical and geophysical programs over the last quarter, and expect to be mobilizing a drill next month.”
~ Kevin Bullock, President and CEO, Anaconda Mining Inc.
Third Quarter Operating Statistics
Three months ended September 30, |
Three months ended September 30, |
Nine months ended September 30, |
Nine months ended September 30, |
|
Mine Statistics | ||||
Ore production (tonnes) | 134,347 | 51,620 | 289,837 | 228,293 |
Waste production (tonnes) | 545,873 | 380,580 | 1,252,710 | 987,354 |
Total material moved (tonnes) | 680,220 | 432,200 | 1,542,547 | 1,215,647 |
Waste: Ore ratio | 4.1 | 7.4 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
Mill Statistics | ||||
Availability (%) | 97 | 98 | 87 | 97 |
Dry tonnes processed | 114,373 | 120,374 | 291,026 | 350,892 |
Tonnes per day (“tpd”) | 1,282 | 1,332 | 1,225 | 1,328 |
Grade (grams per tonne) | 1.49 | 1.52 | 1.53 | 1.45 |
Recovery (%) | 85.6 | 86.6 | 81.7 | 85.9 |
Gold Ounces Produced | 4,687 | 5,099 | 11,770 | 14,024 |
Gold Ounces Sold | 4,652 | 4,314 | 13,057 | 13,170 |
Operations Overview for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2019
Anaconda sold 4,652 ounces of gold during the third quarter of 2019, generating metal revenue of $8.8 million at an average realized gold price1 of C$1,885 per ounce, and year-to-date has sold 13,057 ounces to generate metal revenue of $23.0 million. As at September 30, 2019, the Company also had over 650 ounces of gold doré inventory, which will be sold in October. In July, the Company revised its guidance to 16,000 to 17,000 ounces of gold in light of the potential expansion opportunities at Pine Cove. The Pine Cove Mine is immediately adjacent to the processing facility and is very well understood geologically and from a mining perspective, limiting technical risk, and requires low capital expenditure to continue production. The decrease in guidance reflects the deferral of the development of the Argyle Deposit into 2020, which is subject to ongoing permitting activities. The Company has now received a Mining Lease for Argyle and has submitted the development and rehabilitation plan for review by the Department of Natural Resources in Newfoundland.
1 Refer to Non-IFRS Measures Section below. |
Point Rousse Mill Operations – The Pine Cove Mill processing facility re-established itself as a cornerstone asset of the Company, after a challenging second quarter when unplanned maintenance of the regrind mill impacted mill availability, which in turn impacted throughput and recovery. Anaconda took the opportunity to accelerate other planned maintenance programs to minimize future mill downtime and made significant investments in critical spares and upgrading key parts of the mill. The Company appointed a new General Manager with strong mining experience to provide the oversight required to ensure sustainability of the operation and bolstered the maintenance team and preventative maintenance programs.
As a result, the Pine Cove Mill is now operating in line with historical results, milling 114,373 tonnes during Q3 2019, an 18% improvement from the second quarter when it processed only 96,895 tonnes. The mill achieved throughput of 1,282 tonnes per day in Q3 2019, demonstrating continuous quarterly improvement since the first quarter of 2019, and the mill exceeded throughput of 1,300 tonnes per day in September. Mill availability of 97% was a significant improvement from Q2 2019, and back in-line with the availability achieved in the corresponding period of 2018.
Average grade during the third quarter of 2019 was 1.49 g/t from ore feed primarily from the Pine Cove Pit, a slight decrease over the third quarter of 2018 when a greater proportion of mill feed was from the high-grade Stog’er Tight Mine. It however represents a 19% increase over the second quarter of 2019 when mill feed included lower-grade development ore from pushbacks at the Pine Cove Pit. The mill achieved an average recovery rate of 85.6% during Q3 2019, a significant increase from 74.7% in Q2 2019, resulting in quarterly gold production of 4,687 ounces for the third quarter of 2019.
Point Rousse Mine Operations – During the third quarter of 2019, the mine operation produced 134,347 tonnes of ore from the Pine Cove Pit, a 72% increase from the second quarter of 2019 when mining activity was focused at the Stog’er Tight Mine and Pine Cove development. Similarly, tonnes mined were up significantly compared to the same period in 2018 when mining was exclusively focused at Stog’er Tight. Total material moved in Q3 2019 was 680,220 tonnes, a 35% increase over the second quarter of 2019 when mine operations were scaled back during mill downtime, and a 57% increase over Q3 2018 when mining was taking place at Stog’er Tight. The mine operations achieved a strip ratio of 4.1 waste tonnes to ore tonnes in Q3 2019, a decrease from a strip ratio of 5.5 in the second quarter of 2019 when mining activity at Pine Cove was focused on development.
As at September 30, 2019, the mine operation had stockpiled over 39,100 tonnes of ore with an estimated average grade of 1.45 g/t.
For the remainder of 2019, mine operations will remain focused on pushbacks and mine production from the south and southwest areas of the Pine Cove Pit. As a result of recent successful infill and expansion drilling at the Pine Cove open pit mine announced in February 2019, the Company continues to see potential to expand the mine life at Pine Cove and consequently has deferred the development of the Argyle Deposit into 2020. As a result, the Company revised its guidance for 2019 to 16,000 to 17,000 ounces of gold.
Permitting activities continue with respect to the Argyle Deposit; the Company has now received a Mining Lease for Argyle and has submitted the development and rehabilitation plan for review by the Department of Natural Resources in Newfoundland.
Qualified Person
Gordana Slepcev, P. Eng., Chief Operating Officer, Anaconda Mining Inc., is a “qualified person” as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the technical information and data included in this press release.
ABOUT ANACONDA
Anaconda is a TSX and OTCQX-listed gold mining, development, and exploration company, focused in Atlantic Canada. The company operates mining and milling operations in the prolific Baie Verte Mining District of Newfoundland which includes the fully-permitted Pine Cove Mill, tailings facility and deep-water port, as well as ~11,000 hectares of highly prospective mineral lands including those adjacent to the past producing, high-grade Nugget Pond Mine. Anaconda is also developing the Goldboro Gold Project in Nova Scotia, a high-grade resource and the subject of an on-going feasibility study.
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