The Company expects to file its first quarter financial statements and management discussion and analysis by May 6, 2021.
“Anaconda had a challenging first quarter at its Point Rousse operation, whereby better than plan ore tonnage was significantly offset by lower than plan mined grade, resulting in gold production of 2,540 ounces of gold and 3,119 ounces of gold sold.
The Company still anticipates grade to increase towards the end of 2021 at Argyle which, along with a decrease in the stripping ratio, will lead to a marked decrease in operating cash costs per ounce sold.
The Company now expects to incur approximately $5,500,000 of sustaining capital expenditures for the mine and mill operations in 2021, a decrease from $6,600,000, as accelerated development in Q2 2021 results in a lower allocation of mining costs to capital in the second half of the year.
Anaconda sold 3,119 ounces of gold during the first quarter of 2021, generating gold revenue of $7.4 million at an average realized gold price1 of $2,358 per ounce sold.
The strip ratio of 9.3 waste tonnes to ore tonnes was lower than planned for the first quarter, due to a combination of earlier development in Q4 2020 and an expected acceleration of mine development in Q2 2021, when the strip ratio will increase to provide increased access to ore in Q3 and Q4 of 2021.
Point Rousse has also revised its top-cut parameter downward to better reflect the actual results from mining and the resulting mill reconciliation to provide a better prediction of grade in the mine plan.
The average grade during Q1 2021 of 1.01 g/t reflected the mining challenges noted above, which had an attendant impact on the average recovery rate of 84.9%, reflecting a decrease of 3% compared to the first quarter of 2020.
Kevin Bullock, P.
Anaconda also operates mining and milling operations in the prolific Baie Verte Mining District of Newfoundland which includes the fully-permitted Pine Cove Mill, tailings facility and deep-water port, as well as ~15,000 hectares of highly prospective mineral property, including those adjacent to the past producing, high-grade Nugget Pond Mine at its Tilt Cove Gold Project.
The Company believes that, in addition to conventional measures prepared in accordance with IFRS, certain investors use this information to evaluate the Company’s performance and ability to generate cash flow.
Average Realized Gold Price per Ounce Sold – In the gold mining industry, average realized gold price per ounce sold is a common performance measure that does not have any standardized meaning.
Operating Cash Costs per Ounce of Gold – Anaconda calculates operating cash costs per ounce by dividing operating expenses per the consolidated statement of operations, net of silver sales by-product revenue, by the gold ounces sold during the applicable period.
Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is made, and is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Anaconda to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the exploration, development and mining such as economic factors as they effect exploration, future commodity prices, changes in foreign exchange and interest rates, actual results of current production, development and exploration activities, government regulation, political or economic developments, environmental risks, permitting timelines, capital expenditures, operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities, employee relations, the speculative nature of gold exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of resources, contests over title to properties, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as those risk factors discussed in Anaconda’s annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2020, available on www.sedar.com.