Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX:VGCX) is pleased to announce its third quarter and year to date 2021 summary financial and operating results.
Financial Highlights – Third Quarter 2021
All amounts are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated. This release should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Financial Statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, available on the Company’s website or on SEDAR.
Mr. John McConnell, President and CEO commented, “In October, we pre-released our record breaking quarterly gold production of 55,827 ounces. This has resulted in record breaking quarterly numbers across our third quarter financial statements including Revenue, Gross Profit, Net Income, EBITDA and Free Cash Flow. I would like to express gratitude to our women and men with boots on the ground at the Eagle Gold Mine who have worked tirelessly during this prolonged and challenging health environment.”
Operational Highlights – Third Quarter 2021
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1 Refer to “Non-IFRS Performance Measures” section.
Third Quarter and Year to Date 2021 Operating Results
Three months ended | Nine months ended | ||||
September 30, 2021 |
September 30, 2020 |
September 30, 2021 |
September 30, 2020 |
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Operating data | |||||
Ore mined | t | 3,122,007 | 2,077,132 | 6,972,426 | 5,281,938 |
Waste mined | t | 3,829,647 | 4,434,163 | 11,827,872 | 9,285,388 |
Total mined | t | 6,951,654 | 6,511,295 | 18,800,298 | 14,567,326 |
Strip ratio | w:o | 1.23 | 2.13 | 1.70 | 1.76 |
Mining rate | tpd | 75,561 | 70,775 | 68,866 | 53,165 |
Ore stacked on pad | t | 3,270,692 | 1,909,412 | 6,618,004 | 4,954,853 |
Ore stacked grade | g/t Au | 0.90 | 0.85 | 0.86 | 0.86 |
Throughput (stacked) | tpd | 35,551 | 20,754 | 24,242 | 18,083 |
Gold ounces produced | oz | 55,827 | 35,312 | 114,726 | 74,355 |
Gold ounces sold | oz | 53,248 | 32,029 | 109,517 | 62,528 |
Gold production and sales
During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Eagle Gold Mine produced 55,827 ounces of gold, compared to 35,312 ounces of gold production in Q3 2020. The 58% increase in gold production is attributed to the increase in ore mined and stacked, along with higher ore grades.
During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Company sold 53,248 ounces of gold, compared with 32,029 gold ounces sold in Q3 2020. The 66% increase in gold sold is primarily attributed to the increase in gold produced.
Mining
During the three months ended September 30, 2021, a total of 3.1 million tonnes of ore were mined, at a strip ratio of 1.2:1 with a total of 6.9 million tonnes of material mined. In comparison, a total of 2.1 million tonnes of ore were mined, at a strip ratio of 2.1:1 with a total of 6.5 million tonnes of material mined for the prior comparable period in 2020.
Total tonnes mined were 6% higher during the three months ended September 30, 2021 due to overall operation improvement.
Processing
During the three months ended September 30, 2021, a total of 3.3 million tonnes of ore was stacked on the heap leach pad at a throughput rate of 35.6 k tonnes per day. A total of 1.9 million tonnes of ore was stacked on the heap leach pad at a throughput rate of 20.8 k tonnes per day for the prior comparable period in 2020.
Ore stacked on the pad increased by 73% during the three months ended September 30, 2021 as the Company was still in operational ramp up in Q3 2020. Q3 2021 also benefited from improved material handling.
Gold for the quarter had an average head grade of 0.90 g/t Au, compared to 0.85 g/t Au in the prior comparable period in 2020 due to mine sequencing.
As at September 30, 2021, the Company estimates there are 106,000 recoverable ounces within mineral inventory.
Capital
The Company incurred a total of $24.5 million in capital expenditures during the three months ended September 30, 2021: (1) sustaining capital of $12.3 million (including scheduled capital component rebuilds on mobile mining fleet and continued construction of the truck shop and water treatment facility); (2) capitalized stripping activities of $4.1 million, and; (3) $8.1 million adjustment to the Company’s asset retirement obligation during the quarter.
Third Quarter and Year to Date 2021 Financial Results
Three months ended | Nine months ended | ||||
September 30, 2021 |
September 30, 2020 |
September 30, 2021 |
September 30, 2020 |
||
Financial data | |||||
Revenue | $ | 119,548,442 | 80,526,228 | 245,806,593 | 80,526,228 |
Gross profit | $ | 53,637,812 | 33,155,437 | 101,186,405 | 33,155,437 |
Net income (loss) | $ | 31,615,252 | 20,272,444 | 64,707,707 | (39,959,228) |
Earnings (loss) per share – Basic | $ | 0.51 | 0.33 | 1.04 | (0.67) |
Earnings (loss) per share – Diluted | $ | 0.48 | 0.31 | 0.99 | (0.67) |
As at September 30, 2021 |
As at December 31, 2020 |
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Financial position | |||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 14,829,155 | 56,136,314 |
Working capital | $ | 44,309,531 | 25,370,418 |
Property, plant and equipment | $ | 618,248,577 | 579,617,049 |
Total assets | $ | 826,878,965 | 776,760,617 |
Long-term debt | $ | 171,532,053 | 209,660,142 |
Revenue
For the third quarter, the Company recognized revenue of $119.5 million compared to $80.5 million for the previous year’s comparable period. The increase in revenue is attributed to a higher number of gold ounces sold, partially offset by a lower average realized price. Revenue is net of treatment and refining charges, which were $0.2 million for the quarter. The Company sold 53,248 ounces of gold at an average realized price1 of $2,239 (US$1,777), compared to 32,029 ounces at an average1 realized price of $2,512 (US$1,886), in the third quarter of 2020.
Cost of goods sold
Cost of goods sold was $48.0 million for the third quarter compared to $34.4 million for the previous year’s comparable period. The increase in cost of goods sold is primarily attributed to the increase in production costs as a result of higher tonnes mined, crushed and stacked and gold ounces produced, (including mining, processing, site services and site general and administration costs), royalty and selling costs.
Depreciation and depletion
Depreciation and depletion was $17.9 million for the third quarter compared to $13.0 million for the previous year’s comparable period. Assets are depreciated on a straight-line basis over their useful life, or depleted on a units-of-production basis over the reserves to which they relate.
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1 Refer to “Non-IFRS Performance Measures” section.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At September 30, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $14.8 million and a working capital surplus of $44.3 million. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents of $41.3 million over the year ended December 31, 2020 was due to operating activities and changes in working capital including foreign exchange gains on cash balances ($78.9 million increase in cash), offset by investing activities ($75.9 million decrease in cash) primarily from capital expenditures incurred at the Eagle Gold Mine and financing activities ($44.3 million decrease in cash) from principal and interest repayments made on credit facilities.
2021 Outlook
2021 production and financial guidance remain intact assuming there is no unforeseen significant impact on operations at the Eagle Gold Mine. The Company has taken precautions to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 on operations, however, the COVID-19 pandemic and any future emergence and spread of similar pathogens could have a material adverse impact on our business, operations and operating results, financial condition, liquidity and market for our securities.
The Company produced 114,726 ounces of gold during the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The Company’s 2021 gold production will be heavily weighted to the second half of 2021. Original guidance at the Eagle Gold Mine was 180,000 ounces to 200,000 ounces. Based on actual production over the first nine months, current stacking rates and forecasted gold production, the Company anticipates full year 2021 production to be close to the lower end of the guidance range of 180,000 ounces.
The Company’s AISC1 per ounce of gold sold during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 was US$1,256. The Company expects unit costs to fall materially in the second half of 2021 as gold production and sales increase. Original AISC1 guidance at the Eagle Gold Mine was US$1,050 to US$1,175 per ounce of gold sold. With production anticipated to be at the lower end of guidance and costs trending higher due to wide spread escalation, the Company anticipates full year 2021 AISC1 to be close to the top end of guidance of US$1,175.
The Company has initiated ‘Project 250’ aimed at increasing the average annual gold production of the Eagle Gold Mine to 250,000 ounces of gold by 2023. The two primary opportunities to increase production are the scalping of fine ore from the crushing circuit and adjusting the seasonal stacking plan. Scalping of fine ore is expected to reduce wear and energy requirements as well as increase overall capacity of the crushing circuit. Further investigation is underway on year-round stacking of ore to the heap leach pad. Early engineering on Project 250 is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Qualified Person
The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul D. Gray, P.Geo, as the “Qualified Person” as defined in National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.
About the Dublin Gulch Property
Victoria Gold’s 100%-owned Dublin Gulch gold property is situated in central Yukon Territory, Canada, approximately 375 kilometers north of the capital city of Whitehorse, and approximately 85 kilometers from the town of Mayo. The Property is accessible by road year round, and is located within Yukon Energy’s electrical grid.
The Property covers an area of approximately 555 square kilometers, and is the site of the Company’s Eagle and Olive Gold Deposits. The Eagle Gold Mine is Yukon’s newest operating gold mine. The Eagle and Olive deposits include Proven and Probable Reserves of 3.3 million ounces of gold from 155 million tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.65 grams of gold per tonne, as outlined in a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine dated December 3, 2019. The Mineral Resource under National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) for the Eagle and Olive deposits has been estimated to host 227 million tonnes averaging 0.67 grams of gold per tonne, containing 4.7 million ounces of gold in the “Measured and Indicated” category, inclusive of Proven and Probable Reserves, and a further 28 million tonnes averaging 0.65 grams of gold per tonne, containing 0.6 million ounces of gold in the “Inferred” category.
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