Allied Nevada Achieves Net Income of $36.7 Million ($0.41/Share-Basic) in 2011
Solid Operating Performance With Adjusted Cash Cost(1) of $488 Per Ounce in 2011
(firmenpresse) - RENO, NEVADA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/27/12 -- Allied Nevada Gold Corp. ("Allied Nevada" or the "Company") (TSX: ANV)(NYSE Amex: ANV) is pleased to provide financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2011. The results presented in this press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's Form 10-K (annual report) filed on SEDAR and EDGAR and posted on Allied Nevada's website at . The financial results are based on United States GAAP and are expressed in U.S. dollars (with the exception of the non-GAAP measure adjusted cash costs).
2011 Highlights:
Operations Update
Key operating statistics for the years ended December 31, 2011, compared with the same period in 2010, are as follows:
In 2011, Hycroft successfully completed its third full year of operations. The mine moved 34.0 million tons of material, including 16.6 million tons of ore placed on the leach pad at average grades of 0.013 ounces per ton ("opt") gold and 0.34 opt silver. The Company sold 88,191 ounces of gold and 372,000 ounces of silver in 2011.
Production from Hycroft for 2011 was 104,002 ounces of gold and 479,440 ounces of silver. Gold production was in-line with previously stated guidance for 2011 of approximately 100,000 ounces. The silver to gold ounce production ratio of 4.6:1 was significantly above the expected 3:1 ratio. The adjusted cash cost(2) of approximately $488 per ounce for 2011 was in-line with previously stated guidance.
In 2011, the Company continued to focus on the implementation of the heap leach expansion. The mine completed a 3.2 million square foot expansion of the existing Brimstone leach pad and began preparing the Lewis leach pad, expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2012 which will add a further 3.0 million square feet of leach pad space. The mining fleet continued to expand and by year end 2011 was comprised of seven 320-ton haul trucks, six 200-ton haul trucks, two high capacity production drills, two EX5500 hydraulic shovels and two EX3500 shovels. Construction of a four bay truck shop was completed to service the larger mining equipment. The Merrill Crowe plant was expanded to increase the solution treatment capacity from 3,500 gallons per minute ("gpm") to 5,000 gpm and new booster pumps were installed to increase the flow rates to the pads to 8,500 gpm.
Mining costs on a unit basis continued to decline during the fourth quarter of 2011 as the positive impact of the larger mining equipment began to take effect at the end of 2011. The operation of the first shovel represented a 30% decrease in mining costs per ton in Q4. The second shovel became operational in December 2011 and is expected to continue reducing mining costs on a per ton basis. The mine encountered significant delays throughout 2011 with respect to delivery of critical mining and processing equipment. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan caused a seven month delay in the delivery of the first shovel and a three month delay for the second shovel. As such, it is expected that the third shovel should be operational late in the second quarter of 2012, approximately six months behind the original scheduled date.
Exploration and Mine Development Drilling Programs
In 2011, Allied Nevada successfully completed its Hycroft drill campaign (287 holes totaling 267,977 feet) with a focus on metallurgical and geotechnical samples at Central, Brimstone, and Vortex, geotechnical drilling on the October 2011 reserve pit, step out drilling at Central and Brimstone, and condemnation work at the proposed West and South Dump and South Leach pad areas.
The Company commenced drilling activities on Hasbrouck in 2010, and continued drilling until December of 2011, with the goal of further delineating the gold mineralization previously identified at the property and expanding the resource base.
Exploration activities at Hasbrouck in 2011 included drilling 29,454 feet in 43 diamond drill core holes (core holes or core drilling), and 63,925 feet in 73 reverse circulation rotary holes for a total of 93,379 feet. An additional 19 reverse circulation rotary holes totaling 31,940 feet were drilled south of the mountain within the larger Hasbrouck claim block. In 2011, 456 additional claims were located and acquired in the Hasbrouck area.
Recent Developments
Allied Nevada recently received regulatory approval to construct the gyratory crusher. Excavation of the crusher location is expected to begin immediately.
Gold and silver at Hycroft are recovered from solution from ore on leach pads through either the Merrill-Crowe process or carbon columns. Since the mine does not have onsite processing facilities to strip and regenerate carbon, approximately 25% of the mine's total production is sent to offsite processing facilities to produce a dore containing gold and silver which is then sent to the refiner. The Company recently received notification from the primary offsite company that processes carbon indicating that they would no longer be able to process the carbon from Hycroft. At the end of February, we estimate that there is approximately 13,000 ounces of gold on carbon awaiting processing. Management believes it will be able to locate an offsite plant to process the current metal-laden carbon, however, the option to purchase the necessary equipment required to process onsite is under consideration. The capital cost for a carbon processing plant is estimated to be in the range of $1.5-$2.0 million and will allow us to reduce the time delay between production and sales and our total in-process inventories.
2012 Outlook
Hycroft Operations
Gold and silver production at Hycroft is expected to increase significantly in 2012 with the continued benefit from the implementation of the heap leach expansion. Production is expected to be in the range of 180,000 to 220,000 ounces of gold and 750,000 to 850,000 ounces of silver. In 2012, 75 million tons of material is expected to be mined, including 37.5 million tons of ore at average grades of 0.014 ounces per ton gold and 0.255 opt silver. The wide range in the production forecast is based primarily on the actual timing of the delivery of equipment. If the ordered equipment is on schedule, the Company expects production to be closer to the high end of the forecast.
Adjusted cash cost(1) for 2012 is expected to be in the range of $475 to $495 per ounce (with silver as a byproduct credit), similar to 2011 adjusted cash cost(1). Cost efficiencies are expected to continue to improve throughout the year as additional equipment arrives and becomes operational. Production is expected to continue to ramp up through the year as the impact of mining more tons and placing more ore on leach pads continues to take effect. The overall strip ratio for 2012 is expected to be 1:1.
The assumptions used in determining the 2012 production and cost guidance: gold price of $1,400 per ounce, silver price of $25 per ounce, and costs associated with $100 per barrel fuel.
Exploration and Drilling Programs
Company-wide exploration expense is expected to be $6.9 million and will be directed toward expansion projects at Hycroft. Capital drilling is expected to be $9.0 million for reserve verification and condemnation drilling at Hycroft and development costs at Hasbrouck.
In 2012, a 120,000 foot development program has been designed for Hycroft with a focus on facility condemnation and core drilling in support of metallurgical and geotechnical studies in connection with the ongoing expansions. In addition, a 13,000 foot exploration program at the Oscar target will test this area for potential outside the current Hycroft mining footprint.
At Hasbrouck, subject to the positive outcome of a preliminary economic assessment expected by the end of the first quarter of 2012, additional drilling is planned to step-out on the hill and regionally with a goal of expanding the resource base.
The Company is developing exploration programs at other Advanced Exploration Properties for 2012 with the goal of confirming or establishing mineralization at these properties.
Major Capital Programs
Capital expenditures in 2012 are expected to total approximately $225 million. Significant capital projects include the following: ongoing condemnation and engineering drilling, permitting, ordering of long-lead fixed and mobile equipment, engineering for the mill and gyratory crushing projects and infrastructure improvements.
The Company is currently expanding Hycroft operations to include increasing the mining rate, improving the metal recovery potential with crushing and ultimately milling processes and adding the potential to process sulfide material. The expansion project is the combination of three previously related projects announced:
The current expansion project from this point forward is best described in four related activities:
The initial capital cost estimate for the expansion project is expected to be $1.2 billion. As of February 24, 2012, Allied Nevada had spent or committed $354.9 million, which is 2% below the feasibility estimate for this equipment and represents approximately 30% of the total capital estimate. All equipment pricing is firm and includes freight and taxes. In the case of the mining equipment, the pricing also includes on-site assembly and commissioning.
Conference Call Information
Allied Nevada will host a conference call to discuss these results on Monday, February 27, 2012, at 8:00 am ET, which will be followed by a question and answer session.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and the equivalent under Canadian securities laws), that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by such sections. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking language, such as the words "plan," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "project," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "seeks," or "scheduled to," or other similar words, or the negative of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable language, or by discussion of strategy or intentions. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the results and indications of exploration drilling currently underway at Hycroft; the potential for confirming, upgrading and expanding gold and silver mineralized material at Hycroft; resource estimates and the timing of the release of updated estimates; estimates of gold and silver grades; and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements address activities, events or developments that Allied Nevada expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, and are based on current expectations and assumptions. Although Allied Nevada management believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among others, risks that Allied Nevada's exploration and property advancement efforts will not be successful; risks relating to fluctuations in the price of gold and silver; the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities; uncertainties concerning reserve and resource estimates; uncertainties relating to obtaining approvals and permits from governmental regulatory authorities; and availability and timing of capital for financing the Company's exploration and development activities, including the uncertainty of being able to raise capital on favorable terms or at all; as well as those factors discussed in Allied Nevada's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") including Allied Nevada's latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and its other SEC filings (and Canadian filings) including, without limitation, its latest Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (which may be secured from us, either directly or from our website at or at the SEC website ). The Company does not intend to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
Mr. Scott E. Wilson, AIPG Certified Professional Geologist #10965, is Allied Nevada's Independent Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101. He has supervised the preparation of the technical information and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. Allied Nevada will file on a National Instrument 43-101 compliant technical report within the time required by National Instrument 43-101 guidelines encompassing the mineral reserve and resource discussed herein, which will include further details with respect to the feasibility study, including risks and uncertainties associated therewith.
Non-GAAP Measures
Adjusted cash costs is a non-GAAP measure, calculated on a per ounce of gold sold basis, and includes all normal direct and indirect operating cash costs related directly to the physical activities of producing gold, including mining, processing, third party refining expenses, on-site administrative and support costs, royalties, and mining production taxes, net of by-product revenue earned from silver sales. Adjusted cash cost provides management and investors with a measure to assess the Company's performance against other precious metals companies and performance of the mining operations over multiple periods. Non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by GAAP and, therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Accordingly, the above measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. For further information, see our audited financial statements filed with our annual report on Form 10-K.
The table below presents a reconciliation between non-GAAP adjusted cash costs to cost of sales (GAAP) for the year ended December 31, 2011, (in thousands, except ounces sold):
ALLIED NEVADA GOLD CORP.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(US dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
ALLIED NEVADA GOLD CORP.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(US dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
ALLIED NEVADA GOLD CORP.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
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Contacts:
Allied Nevada Gold Corp.
Scott Caldwell
President & CEO
(775) 358-4455
Allied Nevada Gold Corp.
Tracey Thom
Vice President, Investor Relations
(775) 789-0119
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Datum: 27.02.2012 - 10:00 Uhr
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News-ID 118594
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RENO, NEVADA
Kategorie:
Mining & Metals
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