Atico Mining Corporation (TSX-V: ATY) (OTCQX: ATCMF) is pleased to announce operating results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2023 from its El Roble mine. Production totaled 4.37 million pounds of copper with 2,578 ounces of gold for the fourth quarter and 13.24 million pounds of copper with 10,149 ounces of gold in concentrates for the full year 2023.
“Operationally the Company had a challenging first half of the year. The team turned things around in the third quarter and continued to improve all metrics to finish the year delivering just under our production guidance. At the same time, we saw very prospective drill results from our El Roble mine vicinity drill program which could point towards an extension of the current life of mine,” said Fernando E. Ganoza, CEO. “In the upcoming year, we continue to have significant milestones ahead of us yet to achieve. In the first half of the new year, our main focus will be on the El Roble mine resource update, completion of the La Plata Feasibility Study and delivering on all requirements to receive the environmental permit for the La Plata project.”
Fourth Quarter and Full Year Operational Highlights
Fourth Quarter
2023 Year-end
Fourth Quarter and Full Year Operational Details
Q1 Total | Q2 Total | Q3 Total | Q4 Total | 2023 Total | |
Production (Contained in Concentrates) | |||||
Copper (000s pounds) | 2,310 | 2,803 | 3,762 | 4,367 | 13,242 |
Gold (ounces) | 2,553 | 2,313 | 2,705 | 2,578 | 10,149 |
Mine | |||||
Tonnes of ore mined | 60,568 | 72,340 | 77,947 | 78,132 | 288,987 |
Mill | |||||
Tonnes processed | 62,793 | 68,471 | 74,580 | 73,030 | 278,874 |
Tonnes processed per day | 748 | 800 | 888 | 853 | 822 |
Copper grade (%) | 1.87 | 2.05 | 2.46 | 2.89 | 2.34 |
Gold grade (g/t) | 2.23 | 1.80 | 1.83 | 1.75 | 1.89 |
Recoveries | |||||
Copper (%) | 89.1 | 90.6 | 93.0 | 94.0 | 92.1 |
Gold (%) | 57.0 | 58.4 | 62.0 | 62.7 | 60.6 |
Concentrates | |||||
Copper and gold concentrates (dmt) | 5,815 | 6,789 | 9,336 | 10,725 | 32,665 |
Payable copper produced (000s lbs) | 2,169 | 2,639 | 3,537 | 4,106 | 12,451 |
Note: Metal production figures are subject to adjustments based on final settlement.
Concentrate Inventory
The number of shipments the Company can export in any given quarter depends on several variables some of which the Company does not control, hence there may be an inherent variability in tonnes shipped quarter to quarter.
Q4 2023 | |
Amounts in dry metric tonnes | |
Opening inventory | 7,939 |
Production | 10,725 |
Sales | -10,433 |
Number of shipments | 1 |
Adjustments | -4 |
Closing inventory | 8,227 |
Note: Concentrate figures are subject to adjustments based on final surveys and final settlement of sales.
2024 Operating and Cost Guidance
Copper (000s pounds) | 13,600 to 15,200 |
Gold (ounces) | 10,200 to 11,400 |
C1 Cash Cost ($US)(1) | $1.97 to $2.18 |
Note: Please see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” at the end of this release. C1 cash cost per pound of payable copper produced net of by-product credits and selling costs.
El Roble Mine
The El Roble mine is a high grade, underground copper and gold mine with nominal processing plant capacity of 1,000 tonnes per day, located in the Department of Choco in Colombia. Its commercial product is a copper-gold concentrate.
Since obtaining control of the mine on November 22, 2013, Atico has upgraded the operation from a historical nominal capacity of 400 tonnes per day.
El Roble has Proven and Probable reserves of 1.00 million tonnes grading 3.02% copper and 1.76 g/t gold, at a cut-off grade of 1.3% copper equivalent with an effective date of September 30, 2020. Mineralization is open at depth and along strike and the Company plans to further test the limits of the deposit. On the larger land package, the Company has identified a prospective stratigraphic contact between volcanic rocks and black and grey pelagic sediments and cherts that has been traced by Atico geologists for ten kilometers. This contact has been determined to be an important control on VMS mineralization on which Atico has identified numerous target areas prospective for
VMS type mineralization occurrence, which is the focus of the current surface drill program at El Roble.
Qualified Person
Mr. Thomas Kelly (SME Registered Member 1696580), advisor to the Company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 standards, is responsible for ensuring that the technical information contained in this news release is an accurate summary of the original reports and data provided to or developed by Atico.
About Atico Mining Corporation
Atico is a growth-oriented Company, focused on exploring, developing and mining copper and gold projects in Latin America. The Company operates the El Roble mine and is pursuing additional acquisition opportunities.
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