(all in US$ unless otherwise noted)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alio Gold Inc. (TSX, NYSE AMERICAN: ALO) (“Alio Gold” or the “Company”), announces 2020 production and cost guidance.

In 2020, Alio Gold expects to produce between 72,500 and 85,000 ounces of gold at cash operating costs of between $1,150 and $1,250 per ounce.

Gold Production
(ounces) Cash Costs1 (US$/oz) Capital Spending (US$M)
Florida Canyon 60,000 – 70,000 $975 - $1,075 $25M
San Francisco 12,500 – 15,000 $1,700 - $1,800* Nil
Total 72,500 – 85,000 $1,150 - $1,250 $25M
* Cash costs at San Francisco include approximately $16 million of estimated and allocated inventory costs. The actual cash expenditure in 2020 to produce these ounces are expected to average between $700/oz and $800/oz.

Mark Backens, President and CEO of Alio Gold said, “As we look ahead to 2020, I am very pleased to finally see Florida Canyon begin to operate as we know it can. Our new loading and haulage fleet is nearing full commissioning and we are seeing our ore stacking rates steadily increasing, as per our plan. The second heap leach pad is under construction and remains on-budget and on-time for completion in the second quarter of 2020. With San Francisco now in residual leach, activities at Ana Paula curtailed, and corporate expenses greatly reduced, we are very well positioned to deliver for all our stakeholders. Over the coming year, we will continue to focus on driving safe, profitable performance at Florida Canyon and explore several intriguing options to enhance its current mine-life, as well as pursue opportunities to realize value from our other assets.”

Florida Canyon Mine (100% Owned)

Florida Canyon is Alio Gold’s cornerstone operating asset, located approximately 40 miles south of Winnemucca, Nevada. It is an open-pit, heap-leach gold mine that was acquired by Alio Gold in May 2018. Highlights at Florida Canyon planned for 2020:
•Ramping-up of the new loading and haulage fleet which was acquired in October 2019. There are approximately $10 million in costs associated with the leasing and maintenance of the new equipment that are expected to be capitalized and are included in the $25 million in capital spending in the table above.
•Completion of construction of the second heap-leach pad is expected to allow Alio Gold to begin loading ore early in 2020 through a phased commissioning approach. Total capital spending associated with the new pad is approximately $15 million, with an estimated $7 million remaining to be spent in 2020 to complete the project.
•Examination of near pit-rim oxide gold exploration potential in addition to investigating the sulfide potential below the existing pit designs where no systematic, modern exploration programme has taken place, but where historical drill holes have intersected mineralization.

San Francisco Mine (100% Owned)

San Francisco is an open-pit heap-leach gold mine in the state of Sonora, Mexico, located approximately 120 kilometres south of the United States-Mexico border. Active mining at San Francisco ceased earlier this year and the mine will process stockpiled material until around the end of 2019 at which time the operation will go into residual leaching. In 2020, reported cash costs will include significant inventory cost allocations that do not reflect the actual cash being spent in the period. These cost allocations, which will total an estimated $16 million, will add in excess of $1,000/oz to the reported cash costs at San Francisco, but do not reflect actual cash spending during 2020. Cash costs excluding these inventory adjustments will average between $700/oz and $800/oz.

Ana Paula Project (100% Owned)

The Company’s development stage Ana Paula Project is in the State of Guerrero, Mexico, approximately 180 kilometres from Mexico City. Ana Paula was placed on care and maintenance in August 2018, and the Company expects holding costs in 2020 to total approximately $3 million. Additionally, we may evaluate value-enhancing alternatives for the project in 2020 to allow for the recommencement of work without requiring additional expenditures by the Company.

Q4 2019 Operating Update

Operations at both Florida Canyon and San Francisco during the fourth quarter have continued to meet management expectations. With the new fleet ramping up as planned, material movements at Florida Canyon have begun to steadily increase over Q3 actuals. Specifically, total mining tonnages have averaged approximately 38,000 metric tonnes per day quarter to date, a more than 20% increase over Q3 actuals of 31,142 metric tonnes per day. Similarly, quarter to date ore processing rates have averaged in excess of 22,000 metric tonnes per day, a nearly 50% increase over the 15,098 metric tonnes per day rate achieved in the third quarter. Gold production levels in the fourth quarter are not expected to show a meaningful increase over Q3 actuals, but we expect to begin to see increased quarterly gold production levels through 2020. Specifically, we anticipate our quarterly production profile to be weighted towards the second half of 2020, as ounces stacked in the earlier parts of the year are recovered.

About Alio Gold
Alio Gold is a gold mining company. We are focused on the safe and profitable production of gold from our cornerstone asset, the 100% owned Florida Canyon Mine in Nevada, USA. The Company also owns the San Francisco Mine in Sonora, Mexico and the development stage Ana Paula Project in Guerrero, Mexico.