February 5, 2019, Toronto: Alacer Gold Corp. (“Alacer” or the “Corporation”) [TSX: ASR and ASX: AQG] announced today that it has filed its operating and financial results and related management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) for the full-year ended December 31, 2018. The corresponding financial statements and MD&A are available on www.AlacerGold.com and on www.SEDAR.com. All currencies referenced herein are denominated in USD unless otherwise stated.
Rod Antal, Alacer’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We had a strong finish to 2018 with full-year gold production of ~171 thousand ounces, meeting production guidance. Our All-in Sustaining Costs per oxide ounce were $609, beating our 2018 cost guidance. Most importantly, we completed construction of the sulfide plant and poured ~22 thousand ounces of gold in December, which was the first full month of both autoclaves in operation.
With 2019 consolidated production guidance of 320,000 to 380,000 ounces of gold at All-in Sustaining Costs of $675 to $725 an ounce, we become a significant free cash flow generating intermediate gold producer. We are off to a good start with the sulfide plant ramp up to nameplate capacity underway achieving operating time of 80% over the first two months of operation.”
Highlights
Strategic
. The sulfide plant construction is complete and will be delivered approximately 11% under budget. The sulfide plant produced 23,246 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter with 21,916 ounces produced in December from sulfide ore.
. The Çakmaktepe1 Environmental Impact Assessment and operating permits were received in 2018 and mining commenced. Production from this third ore source, at the Çöpler Gold Mine, occurs in 2019.
. A maiden Mineral Resource of 294,000 Indicated and 85,000 Inferred oxide gold ounces was announced for Ardich2 which is located approximately 6km from Çöpler. The size of the Ardich deposit is prospective, with this maiden Mineral Resource representing the first estimate of a potentially larger deposit.
. The expansion of the Çöpler heap leach pad capacity to 58 million tonnes was completed which maximizes the processing capacity of the oxide plant for known oxide ore reserves. A feasibility study will be completed in 2019 to potentially further expand the Çöpler heap leach pad by approximately 20 million tonnes.
Operational
. The Çöpler Gold Mine, including the Sulfide Project, operated 766 days and surpassed 19.1 million hours worked without a lost time injury as of December 31, 2018.
. Full-year gold production was 170,865 ounces which was within updated guidance of 160,000 - 230,000 ounces.
. Full-year Total Cash Costs (C2) per oxide ounce3 were $506 and full-year All?in Sustaining Costs per oxide ounce3 were $609, which was lower than guidance of $650 - $700.
? In-pit exploration at the Çöpler Gold Mine was successful with the discovery of limestone rich oxide material that was blended with previously stockpiled lower sulfide, high carbonate ore for stacking on the heap leach pad that contributed to 2018 production.
? Sulfide ore stockpiles at December 31, 2018 were 8.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 3.20 g/t gold or approximately 850,000 contained gold ounces.
Financial
? The Corporation ended the year with consolidated cash of $105 million and debt of $350 million.
? The Corporation sold 167,1724 ounces of gold in 2018 resulting in cash proceeds of $212 million.
? Cash flow from operating activities during the year totaled $99.3 million.
? Working capital was $96.9 million at December 31, 2018.
? Full-year attributable earnings of $15.1 million and $0.05 per share and normalized attributable earnings of $44.4 million and $0.15 per share5.
Conference Call / Webcast Details
Alacer will host a conference call on Tuesday, February 5, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. (North America Eastern Standard Time) / Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. (Australian Eastern Daylight Time).
You may listen to the call via webcast at http://services.choruscall.ca/links/alacer20190205.html. The conference call presentation will also be available at the link provided prior to the call commencing.
1 Detailed information regarding the maiden Mineral Reserve can be found in the press release entitled “Alacer Gold Announces Maiden Mineral Reserve and a 70% Increase in Indicated Mineral Resource for Çakmaktepe as well as Additional Exploration Results for Çakmaktepe,” dated December 18, 2017, available on www.sedar.com and on www.asx.com.au.
2 Detailed information regarding the maiden Mineral Resource for Ardich can be found in the press release entitled “Alacer Gold Announces a Maiden Mineral Resource for the Ardich Oxide Gold Deposit Located in the Çöpler District” dated December 10, 2018, available on www.sedar.com and on www.asx.com.au.
see & read more on http://www.alacergold.com/docs/default-source/press-releases/2019-02-05-fy18-results-final.pdf?sfvrsn=6 |
