TORONTO, Oct. 14, 2020 /CNW/ - Karora Resources Inc. (TSX: KRR) ("Karora" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce another strong quarter, with consolidated gold production of 24,717 gold ounces during Q3 2020 from its Beta Hunt and Higginsville mines in Western Australia. Gold sales for the quarter were 22,912 ounces. The difference in ounces sold vs. produced was due to timing of gold deliveries to the Perth Mint.

Karora Resources Inc. (CNW Group/Karora Resources Inc.)

Karora's consolidated cash balance increased to $67.3 million as at September 30, 2020, a 34% increase from $50.2 million on June 30, 2020.

Paul Andre Huet, Chairman & CEO, commented: "I am extremely pleased with our solid progress during the third quarter both operationally and on the corporate level. Our operations continued the now well-established trend of consistent and reliable gold production against the backdrop of the challenges we have all faced associated with the prudent precautions in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is now our fifth straight quarter of strong gold production results since acquiring Higginsville in June of 2019. These results are a testament to the dedication and talent of our operations team.

Production for the first three quarters of 2020 was 73,612 ounces, which is in line with our 2020 gold production guidance of 90,000-95,000 ounces and AISC1 of US$1,050-$1,200 per ounce sold.

Most importantly we continue to add significant cash to our balance sheet, with $17 million added to our cash position during the quarter, bringing our total to $67.3 million in cash as of September 30, 2020.

On the corporate side, we completed a number of important milestones during the quarter that position us well to continue our positive momentum going forward. We completed a 4.5 to 1 share consolidation, closed the Maverix Metals transaction to reduce the Beta Hunt gold royalty by 37%, closed the acquisition of the Spargos Reward High-Grade Gold Project, announced new gold and nickel discoveries at the Beta Hunt Mine and, on the back of ongoing drilling success at Higginsville and Beta Hunt, increased our 2020 exploration budget across our Western Australia operations by 50% to A$15 million.

We remain confident that we will reach our target of reducing AISC cost to US$1,000 per ounce by the end of 2020, despite the cost and disruption associated with the temporary measures we've put in place to mitigate the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the highly competitive market for mining talent and services in Western Australia.

Overall, I could not be happier with both the corporate transformation and operational turnaround we have executed this year. Heading into the final quarter with an aggressive drilling program backed by strong free cash flow generating assets has us excited to deliver on our remaining internal targets."
1.
Non-IFRS: the definition and reconciliation of these measures are included in the Non-IFRS Measures section of Karora's MD&A dated August 10, 2020.

About Karora Resources
Karora is focused on growing gold production and reducing costs at its integrated Beta Hunt Gold Mine and Higginsville Gold Operations ("HGO") in Western Australia. The Higginsville treatment facility is a low-cost 1.4 Mtpa processing plant which is fed at capacity from Karora's underground Beta Hunt mine and open pit Higginsville mine. At Beta Hunt, a robust gold mineral resource and reserve is hosted in multiple gold shears, with gold intersections along a 4 km strike length remaining open in multiple directions. HGO has a substantial historical gold resource and highly prospective land package totaling approximately 1,800 square kilometers. Karora has a strong Board and management team focused on delivering shareholder value. Karora's common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol KRR. Karora shares also trade on the OTCQX market under the symbol KRRGF.