- all amounts discussed herein are denominated in U.S. dollars
Thunder Bay, May 6, 2020 – Premier Gold Mines Limited (“Premier” or “The Company”) (TSX:PG) (OTCPK: PIRGF) reports its operating and financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The Company previously released first quarter production results on April 23, 2020.
Premier is a growth-oriented, Canadian-based mining company involved in the exploration, development and production of gold and silver deposits in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The Company manages a high-quality pipeline of precious metal projects in safe, proven, and accessible mining jurisdictions and is focused on stable production from its two producing mines and growth through the development of its advanced-stage, multi-million ounce, gold deposits.
2020 First Quarter Highlights
•Gold production for Q1 2020 totaled 18,317 ounces, up 4% from Q1 2019;
•Gold sales totaled 14,992 ounces despite increased production quarter over quarter due to the nature of the JV arrangement with Barrick, where gold from South Arturo is delivered to Premier the month following production, as well as to COVID-19 related challenges encountered at Mercedes toward the end of Q1;
•Revenue of $22.7 million reported during the quarter is relatively consistent with that of Q1 2019 but lower than anticipated as a result of lower associated sales levels, and higher inventories at period end where 4,900 ounces of gold remained in inventory on March 31, 2020.
•The Company reported a mine operating loss of $0.5 million and a net loss of $11.9 million for the quarter after taking into account $3.9 million in exploration and development expense and $5.3 million in non-cash expenses during the period;
•Period end cash and cash equivalents balance of $66.4 million after taking into account the payment of $22.9 million in accrued liabilities carried over from prior year-end and over $4.4 million in capital expenditures during the quarter.
CEO Commentary
“El Nino produced strong cash flow during Q1 and will do so for the remainder of the year.”, stated Ewan Downie, President & CEO. “When Mercedes ramps up following the Mexican Government imposed care and maintenance, we will implement further initiatives to reduce costs, improve grade and maximise the profitability of the operation. Permitting initiatives at the McCoy-Cove and Hardrock Projects and planning of further mine development projects at South Arturo continue to provide Premier with a peer best organic growth platform”.
Three months ended March 31, 2020
A total of 18,317 ounces of gold and 52,832 ounces of silver were produced during Q1 2020 compared to 17,614 ounces of gold and 57,681 ounces of silver during Q1 2019.
The Company reported total revenue of $22.7 million and a mine operating loss of $0.5 million during the first quarter compared to revenue of $23.1 million and mine operating income of $3.7 million during Q1 2019. The increase in first quarter gold production when compared to the same period in 2019 is due to production from the El Nino underground mine at South Arturo which came on stream in the fall of 2019. Total revenue was similar quarter over quarter due to a $203 per ounce increase in average selling price per ounce in 2020 versus 2019 despite a 2,528 ounce reduction in ounces sold during Q1 2020. The reduction in mine operating income for Q1 2020 compared to that of Q1 2019 is due to the lower sales volume during Q1 2020 and to increased unit costs quarter over quarter as operating costs at Mercedes remained relatively constant while both grade and production were lower in Q1 2020. A total of $4.0 million in exploration and pre-development expenses were incurred during the quarter. These expenses, when factored with the reduction in mine operating income, contributed to a net loss of $11.5 million reported for the quarter. Consolidated quarter operating results are provided in Table 1 below.
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https://www.premiergoldmines.com/2020-q1-results |
