Luna Gold Corp. Reports Operational And Financial Results For The Three And Nine Months Ended September 30, 2011
(expressed in United States dollars, unless otherwise noted)
Vancouver, November 10, 2011 - Luna Gold Corp. (TSXV-LGC) ("Luna" or the "Company") today announces its results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011. The complete financial statements and management discussions and analysis are available for review at www.lunagold.com and should be read in conjunction with this news release.
OVERVIEW
Luna Gold Corp. (the "Company") is a publicly listed company on the TSX Venture Exchange trading under the symbol "LGC". The Company is actively engaged in the operation, exploration, acquisition and development of gold properties in Brazil. The Company currently has one gold mining operation, one development project and one large greenfield exploration project located in northeast Brazil.
The Aurizona gold mining operation ("Aurizona") consists of an open pit mine and gold process plant. Aurizona consists of the Piaba and Tatajuba deposits and over 10 near mine exploration targets which are being actively explored by the Company. It covers approximately 15,500 hectares of land and includes a mining license and three exploration permits.
The Maranhao Greenfields exploration property ("Maranhao Greenfields") is located next to Aurizona and consists of an extensive landholding of exploration licenses totalling 190,000 hectares. This land holding is highly prospective due to its location in the southern extension of the Guyana Shield and displays strong geologic and structural similarities to major West African gold deposits. The area contains over 100 artisanal gold workings that are being explored by the Company.
The Cachoeira gold project ("Cachoeira") is a development gold project with a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource estimate in three gold deposits consisting of quartz vein systems, hydrothermally altered host rocks and stockworks within a north-south trending shear zone.
The Company's near term focus is to:
- Significantly increase the size of the Aurizona mineral resource and reserve; release an updated NI 43-101 resource and reserve estimate for the Piaba gold deposit and drill certain near mine exploration targets;
- Increase Aurizona gold production above current feasibility study levels through plant optimization and plant expansion;
- Complete a scoping study on the expansion options for the Aurizona mine;
- Complete a structural analysis at Aurizona and assess possible deep drill targets;
- Continue the exploration programs at Maranhao Greenfields to define drill targets for the 2012 exploration season; and
- Complete a scoping study on the Cachoeira resource and advance the project to a feasibility study.
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For further information on the Company, reference should be made to its public filings (including its most recently filed annual information form ("AIF")) which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Information is also available on the Company's website at www.lunagold.com. Information on risks associated with investing in the Company's securities and technical and scientific information under National Instrument 43-101 concerning the Company's material property, including information about mineral resources and reserves, are contained in the Company's most recently filed AIF.This Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") should be read in conjunction with the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2011, six months ended June 30, 2011and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and related notes thereto which have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.
The Company's longer term focus is to:
- Increase Aurizona gold production to greater than 100,000 ounces per annum;
- Continue to invest in brownfield exploration activities to attempt to increase the mineral resources and mineral reserves at Aurizona to replace production and provide a longer mine life;
- Develop Cachoeira as an organic growth pipeline project for the Company; and
- Identify new gold resources through the exploration of the 190,000 hectare Maranhao Greenfields property and business development programs.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Record quarterly gold production of 13,473 ounces was achieved in Q3 with feasibility study rates achieved in August and September. Gold production for the nine month period was 28,277 ounces;
- Net income was $2.7 million in Q3 and the net loss of the nine month period was $4.8 million;
- Operating cash inflow before working capital was $2.4 million in Q3 and operating cash outflow before working capital for the nine month period was $3.9 million;
- Q3 unit cash cost of production was $830 per ounce and for the nine month period was $1,117 per ounce;
- The Company successfully raised CA$42 million through a combination of a marketed public offering and private placement in Q3;
- Aurizona resource definition drilling continued with significant gold intercepts:
- 13.00 metres @ 33.63 g/t Au including 4.00 metres @ 104.83 g/t Au; and
- 13.50 metres @ 3.15 g/t Au including 3.00 metres @ 8.12 g/t Au;
- Priority gold target defined at Maranhao Greenfields with major gold in soil anomaly measuring 1.70 kilometre by 0.45 kilometre at a 50 ppb Au cut-off with maximum values of 8.97 g/t Au with garimpeiro workings, mineralized quartz vein sets and sulfidized felsic intrusives;
OUTLOOK
- Aurizona gold production target for the 2011 year revised to between 42,000 and 44,000 ounces for the 2011 year at a targeted unit cash cost of between $990 and $1,000 per ounce. The Q4 targeted unit cash cost(1) is between $750 and $780 per ounce of production;
- The Company remains on target to release an updated NI 43-101 compliant resource on Aurizona in Q4 2011; and
- Cachoeira and Aurizona Expansion scoping study to be completed and the results released in Q2 2012.
AURIZONA GOLD MINE - MARANHAO STATE, BRAZIL
The Aurizona gold mine is wholly-owned by the Company and is situated in the municipality of GodofredoViana in Maranh�o State, Brazil, near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Aurizona contains the Piaba and Tatajuba deposits and over 10 near mine exploration targets. The area is covered by a mining licence and three exploration permits. The Tatajuba deposit is located within an exploration permit which is in the application process to convert to a mine license.
Operating Data
Mining production
In July 2011, the Company began managing its own mining activitieswith the commencement of an interim rental mining fleetalongside the Company's own purchased equipment. The Company is currently in process of acquiring a full fleet of mining equipment to replace the interim rental fleet and deliveries are expected to arrive between Q4 2011 and Q2 2012.
During the quarter, the Company mined approximately 764,000 tonnes of material, of which, approximately 419,000 tonnes was ore at an average head grade of 1.18 grams per tonne. This represented an increase of 14% of total material mined versus the comparative quarter of 2010. The nine month period mining production in the current year was 20% lower than the prior year. These variances were due to the demobilization of the mining contractor on site earlier in the year, which resulted in lower production for the year to date due to the downtime in mining activities. However, Q3's mining production was higher than the comparative quarter of 2010 due to an increase in production efficiencies under the Company's own management.
Waste stripping has remained lower than planned due to the need to feed ore to the mill and the changeover from contractor mining to owner-operator mining. Mining activities are increasing as the new mining fleet is being mobilized in conjunction with the rental fleet. This will result in an increase in the run of mine stockpile for the upcoming wet season, continue ore feed to maintain production levels and increase waste removal to access future ore.
Mill Processing
Production in Q3 and the current year to date were significantly higher than the comparative periods of 2010 as the plant was commissioned in early 2010 and first gold production was achieved in Q2 2010. Subsequent to the completion of the strategic plant upgrades and improvementsin the prior quarter, the Company had record production of 13,473 ounces of gold in Q3. Feasibility targeted monthly production was achieved in August and September with gold production of 5,018 ounces and 5,075 ounces, respectively.
Ore throughput significantly improved this quarter due to the plant improvements. The hopper, apron feeder, SAG and pumps were all upgraded and maintenance planning and execution was improved in the current quarter, resulting in a significant decrease in plant downtime.
The following chart displays the monthly gold production subsequent to the plant shutdown and capital upgrades:
Recoveries are continuing to improve by minimizing carbon breakdown and loss to tails through optimizing grind and particle size classification fed to the carbon-in-leach ("CIL") circuit. Additional recovery improvements will be achieved with the installation of a carbon regeneration kiln, which is expected in the first half of 2012.
Q3 gold production met the requirements of the Completion Guarantee in the agreement with Sandstorm Gold exceeding the three month production minimum whereby the Company was required to produce 12,500 ounces of gold in a three month period before April 2012.
October 2011's monthly production was approximately 5,100 ounces of gold.
Cash Costs (1)
The unit cash cost of production for 2011 remained higher than target primarily due to low production and higher than planned employee and maintenance costs. Over 60% of operating costs are fixed through employee related costs. Employee costs were higher than planned due to high inflationary costs in Brazil and the competition for employee talent in the mining industry. The Company recruited and replaced a number of key employee positions during Q2 and Q3 that were key to the contribution of the production increases. Maintenance costs were higher than planned due to the plant shutdown and upgrades in Q2 and ongoing plant upgrades in Q3 to improve operating efficiencies. In addition, diesel consumption for the power generators was higher than planned due to the insufficient power supply from CEMAR, state utility company, which is targeted for completion in August 2012. Q3 unit cash cost of production was approximately $830 per ounce, which was lower than previous quarters due to the increase in gold production.
Cash cost in general were lower than the comparative 2010 periods because the operations were in its operational ramp up stage in 2010.
AURIZONA EXPLORATION
The Company's exploration team completed the 40,000 metre resource drill program and remains on target to deliver the resource upgrade in Q4 2011. SRK Denver has been retained to prepare the updated Aurizona resource and preliminary reserve estimate in conjunction with the Company. The NI 43-101 report will be delivered in Q1 2012. The Company's exploration strategy of surface exploration techniques combined with magnetic geophysical surveys continues to be very successful in defining the principal mineralized shear zones which host the near mine targets.
Diamond Drilling
The Company currently is currently demobilizing 6 drill rigs from the project. Two remaining drill rigs will commence drilling at the Boa Esperanca target in November. Assays from 72 Piaba holes totalling 19,490 metres have been received and samples from 43 additional holes are currently at the assay lab. Of particular significance is the recent definition of new eastern and western strike extensions to the Piaba orebody which will have a positive impact on the Q4 resource update. Geological modeling is well advanced and in house specific gravity data is being acquired to support the resource update. On completion of the Piaba drill program, certain rigs will be demobilized and the remaining rigs will focus on drilling the Boa Esperan�a near mine exploration target. Recent significant Diamond drill intercepts (not true widths) from the ongoing program are listed below:
- 68.00 metres @ 2.46 g/t Au including 11.00 metres @ 6.02 g/t Au and 3.00 metres @ 5.04 g/t Au;
- 50.00 metres @ 3.87 g/t Au including 7.00 metres @ 8.47 g/t Au and 1.00 metres @ 53.30 g/t Au;
- 13.00 metres @ 33.63 g/t Au including 4.00 metres @ 104.83 g/t Au;
- 13.50 metres @ 3.15 g/t Au including 3.00 metres @ 8.12 g/t Au;;
- 4.00 metres @ 9.46 g/t Au including 0.50 metres @ 59.10 g/t Au; and
- 36.00 metres @ 1.54 g/t Au including 1.00 metres @ 4.99 g/t Au and 1.00 metres @ 17.75 g/t Au..
Auger and Shallow Reverse Circulation (RC) Drilling
Exploration teams completed a significant number of shallow auger and RC drill holes targeting eastern and western extensions to the Piaba deposit in the quarter. 403 auger holes were completed totalling 3,109 metres and 73 RC holes were completed totalling 1,083 metres. These holes were drilled to a maximum depth of 15 metres on a 50 by 10 metre section spacing. The holes were planned to define new near surface zones of mineralization beyond the eastern and western boundaries of the current resource model prior to the siting of Diamond holes in these areas. This low cost program has been highly successful in the definition of new surface mineralization at Piaba from sections 1800W to 2000W and from sections 700E to 1300E. The total strike length of the Piaba deposit is now 3.30 kilometres. Diamond drill holes are currently being completed to test for fresh rock mineralization underneath these surface anomalies. These auger and RC data will also be utilized in the Q4 resource update.
A shallow auger drill program (1,365 metres in 141 holes) was also completed at the Tatajuba gold deposit. This follows a review of the 2008 Tatajuba resource estimate which identified a lack of near surface drill data. The samples are currently at the assay laboratory, though preliminary results confirm that the orebody is outcropping along the deposit strike and these holes should have a positive effect on future Tatajuba resource estimates.
A shallow auger drill program was also completed over the Pirocaua SE gold-in-soil anomaly with overall negative results. This data will be interpreted in conjunction with the ground magnetic data currently being acquired at Aurizona. Pirocaua SE could represent a transported (i.e. not in situ) gold-in-soil anomaly downslope from the main Piaba orebody.
Soil Surveys
Soil assay and geochemical data have been received for all soil samples collected in the unexplored western portion of the Aurizona area (LDW Grid) that was designed to target the discovery of new gold mineralization within extensions to the west-southwest trending structures that host the gold mineralization in the Aurizona area. Several cohesive gold-in-soil anomalies have been defined in this area associated with magnetic lineaments. Follow-up work on these targets will be determined at year end.
Trenching
Assay data were received for trench samples from the Ferradura and Conceicao near mine targets which will be reported in due course.
Ground Magnetic Geophysical Surveys
Ground magnetic surveying focused at Aurizona during the quarter and surveys were completed at the Micote, Pirocaua, S�o Louren�o and Barriguda gold targets. All these targets are located to the east of the Piaba deposit within the Aurizona mine licence area. The survey data will assist in vectoring into the main mineralized structures in this area.
Permitting
The process of converting the Tatajuba exploration licence, which hosts the Tatajuba deposit, to a mining license advanced during the quarter with the preparation of the mine application documentation due for submittal to the National Department of Mineral Production in Brazil in November.
CACHOEIRA GOLD PROJECT
The Cachoeira Gold Project is located in northern Brazil in the Gurupi Greenstone Belt, approximately 220 kilometres southeast of the Par� State capital of Bel�m and about 270 kilometres northwest of the port city of S�o Luis, Maranh�o State. Cachoeira comprises one contiguous block consisting of two mining and three exploration licenses covering approximately 4,742 hectares.
In October 2007, the Company announced that it had finalized an option agreement whereby it could earn a 100% interest in the property from a consortium of vendors. According to the terms of the agreement the Company can earn its interest by making a one-time cash payment and by incurring work expenditures of at least BRL 9.5 million over a 50 month period. As at the date of this MD&A, the Company had achieved this commitment. The Company's interest in the property is subject to a 4.0% net profits royalty with a provision for a partial buy-out of this royalty.
The major asset associated with Cachoeira is a series of shear zone hosted gold deposits consisting of quartz veins, stockworks and wall rock alteration. Three deposits, Tucano, Arara and Coruja, have been defined to date within the north-south trending Cachoeira Shear Zone. In December 2010, the Company released a maiden NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate at Cachoeira and filed the technical report on February 7th, 2011 on SEDAR.
Recent work at Cachoeira has included:
- Positive site visit by DNPM officials ahead of an official review to extend the date for the Company to commence mine construction, currently set for April 2012;
- Gazetting of new Cachoeira exploration licence which increases the project size from 3,826 hectares to 4,742 hectares;
- Finalization of the Cachoeira census and resettlement plan; and
- Community awareness programs in the municipal schools.
Cachoeira Regional
The Company completed an auger drill program at the Arara North target and samples are at the assay laboratory.
MARANHAO GREENFIELDS EXPLORATION PROPERTY - MARANHAO STATE, BRAZIL
The Maranhao Greenfields exploration property is located to the southwest and southeast of Aurizona and contains multiple shear zones and over 100 historic artisanal gold workings (garimpos). It consists of over 190,000 hectares of contiguous exploration licenses and is located within the S�o Luis Craton, southeast of the Guiana shield, which hosts several major gold deposits including Rosebel and Las Cristinas. Geologic reconstruction of the South American and African continents places the S�o Luis Craton in close proximity to the Birimian Gold Belt of West Africa. Strong geologic and structural similarities exist between the S�o Luis Craton, the Guiana shield and the West African Craton. The area is characterized by low relief and an extensive sedimentary cover sequence with deep weathering profiles. Historic exploration in the district was limited to soil and rock sampling, auger drilling, geophysical surveys and some shallow reconnaissance drill holes.
The Company currently has exploration teams working four targets simultaneously in the Maranhao Greenfields project area.
Two new Maranhao Greenfields exploration licences were gazetted in the quarter bringing the total landholding to 190,000 hectares.
Advanced Areal Gold Target
All exploration data (geochemical, geophysical and geological) were received and interpreted for Areal that have identified this as a highly prospective large-scale gold target which can be summarized as:
- Major gold in soil anomaly measuring 1.70 kilometre by 0.45 kilometre at a 50 ppb Au cut-off with maximum values of 8.97 g/t Au associated with garimpeiro workings, mineralized quartz vein sets and sulfurized felsic intrusives
- Gold anomaly is associated with elevated Bi and Mo values and is hosted within a major NW trending shear corridor with well-defined footwall mafic volcanics - prospective structural corridor
- Reconnaissance rock grab and channel sampling program returned gold values up to 1.60 g/t Au
An auger drill program was designed to test the Areal gold anomaly on a 200 metre by 20 metre grid. This program commenced in September and is 50% complete with 1,200 metres finalized in 187 holes. A topographic survey was also completed.
Nova Vida Grid Extension
The Nova Vida east extension soil sampling program was completed and samples are at the assay laboratory. Geologic mapping was also conducted. Nova Vida is a large low-grade gold-in-soil anomaly associated with recent and paleo-conglomerates and several alluvial gold garimpos. It will be reported when the field programs are completed.
JST Grid
Assay data for soil samples from the JST Grid have been received and have defined three discrete gold-in-soil anomalies centered on old garimpo pits. The JST targets are located in the far southwest of the Maranh�o Greenfields project area and are significant in that they extend surface gold mineralization in the project area to the extreme southwestern limit of the Company's claim boundaries. Geologic mapping and ground geophysical surveys will be conducted at JST and the targets will be reported on finalization of these programs.
PC, CPB, PJP, BML Grids
Work continued at these targets in the quarter and assay data are being uploaded to the databases. The results from these programs will be reported before year end. The Company is aggressively exploring its extensive and prospective landholding at Maranh�o Greenfields to deliver drill targets on 100% owned mineral rights in 2012.
SUMMARY OF OPERATING RESULTS
 (2) General and administration ("G&A") consists of general and administrative expenses, professional fees and stock based compensation charges.
Revenue increased over the comparative periods of 2010 due to the increase in gold production and the increase in the price of gold. The Company's average realized price of gold received was $1,590 for Q3 and $1,490 for the nine month period, excluding gold sales to Sandstorm and delivery of gold to RMB. The Company also achieved net positive operating profit for Q3 and the nine month period of 2011, which was driven by the lower unit cash cost of production and the increase in the price of gold.
G&A expense was significantly higher than comparative periods due to stock based compensation expense related to the hiring of new management. Excluding stock based compensation, the G&A was higher than comparative periods due to increases inmarketing and investor relations related costs.
The Company spent approximately $8.3 million in exploration related costs in Q3 of which, $7.1 million was on the Aurizona resource definition (capitalized in mineral properties for accounting purpose), $0.9 million at Cachoeira and $0.3 million at Maranhao Greenfields. The Company reclassed$1.2 million of exploration expense to mineral properties in Q3 as managementrevised its estimate of allocation of overhead between Maranhao Greenfields and Aurizona. This allocation in the current quarter resulted in an exploration cost recovery and an increase in the Aurizona mineral property asset. For the nine month period, the Company spent approximately $15.6 million in exploration of which, $12.2 million was capitalized as mineral property on the Aurizona resource definition, $2.4 million at Cachoiera and $1.0 million at Maranhao Greenfields. The increase in overall exploration expenditure in 2011 compared to 2010 is due to the Company focusing most of its resources on mine development and production in 2010 resulting in lower amounts spent on exploration activities.
Net financing cost was higher due to the non-cash $0.8 million accreted interest (for accounting purpose) from the settlement of RMB financing and $0.8 million of interest and penalties from accounts payable due to late payments from cash conservation efforts in the prior quarters.
Unrealized gains (losses) from derivative liability were due revaluation of the foreign exchange and interest rate foreign exchange contracts and warrants liability related to the transition to IFRS, whereby the warrants outstanding were reclassified as a derivative liability on the balance sheet and subject to mark-to-market adjustments through the profit and loss statement.
Foreign exchange gain was unrealized and the result of currency movements and the US dollar on itsWestLB revolving credit facility, accounts payable and funds held in foreign currencies.
Operating results - 2 year historic trend
 (3) The quarterly comparatives from 2009 are presented under Canadian GAAP. IFRS transition began on January 1, 2010.
(4) General and administration consists of general and administrative expenses, professional fees and stock based compensation charges.
Revenue's began in Q2 2010 with the Company's first ounce of gold produced and increased up to Q4 2010 due to higher production output and rising gold prices. However, production decreased in Q1 2011 and Q2 2011 due to the planned shutdown and plant upgrade and was re-commissionedresulting in production increases from Q2 to Q3 in 2011. Operating expenses followed the same trend as gold sales with movements in quarterly operating expense directly related to the number of ounces of gold sold within that period. In addition, operating expenses on a unit cash cost basis were directly impacted by the number of ounces produced in each quarter, resulting in lower unit cash cost related to increases in production. General and administration expense remained consistent quarter on quarter since production began in Q2 2010, except for Q2 2011 and Q3 2011, which was impacted by an increase in stock based compensation expense related to the hiring of new management and increases in marketing and investor relations related costs.
Exploration expense was related to the Cachoeira and Maranhao Greenfield exploration programs which began in Q2 2010. Variances between quarters were due to the timing of executing the planned exploration programs and the weather.
Net financing costs were directly related to the interest expense on the outstanding loan balance and interest income on the cash balance of the Company.
Unrealized derivative gains and losses quarter on quarter was mainly driven by the volatility in the Company's share price and its relation to the outstanding warrants.
Foreign exchange movements each quarter are related to changes in the USD:BRL exchange rate in relation to the Company's working capital accounts in Brazil and its WestLB revolving credit facility which is denominated in BRL.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
At September 30, 2011, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $41.4 million and finished gold bullion inventory of approximately 3,800 ounces.
The Company achieved its first positive operating cash inflow before working capital on record and positive cash inflow after working capital movements. This was the direct result of the net income realized for the quarter. Cash outflow from operations for the nine month period in 2011 was due to the net loss for the period. The variance against the comparative periods of 2010 was due to the change in net income (loss) between the periods.
Cash inflow from financing activities in Q3 included $30.0 millionfrom the WestLB debt facility which was partially used to repay the remaining $10.0 million outstanding on the RMB debt facility, $4.9 million of the prepaid gold facility and the balance was used for capital upgrades. The Company also closed an equity financing for net proceeds of approximately $36.0 million. Cash inflow for the nine months ended in 2011 also include $5.5 million received on a prepaid gold facility and an additional $3.3 million paid on the RMB debt facility. The prior year's cash inflow was from the drawdown of the RMB debt facility and the 2010 equity issuance.
Cash outflow from investing activities in Q3 consisted of $7.8 million on payments to further define the Aurizona resource and $2.7 million on capital items at the Aurizona plant. The nine month period consisted of $12.2 million on payments related to the Aurizona resource definition and $7.8 million on capital items at Aurizona, which included the plant upgrades.
As at September 30, 2011, the Company had the following contractual obligations outstanding:
Senior secured credit facility with WestLB AG ("WestLB")
In July 2011, the Company closed a senior secured credit facility with WestLB. This facility is comprised of a $20.0 million senior secured term loan (the "Term Loan") and a 15.6 million BRL senior secured revolving loan (the "Revolving Facility"). The Term Loan also has a cash sweep provision, which has no material impact to the Company's cash position or financial statements as at September 30, 2011. The purpose of the Facility was to refinance the Company's existing debt with RMB Resources and to fund additional capital expenditures and working capital needs at the Aurizona gold mine.
The Term Loan is a 5 year loan with semi-annual instalments commencing on July 1, 2012 and bears interest at LIBOR plus 3.625%. The Revolving Facility is denominated in Brazilian Reais, matures on July 1, 2014 and bears interest at CDI plus 3.25%. Any outstanding commitments under the Revolving Facility shall be repaid in full on the final maturity date.
The Company has provided security on the facility in the form of a first fixed floating charge over the Aurizona operation, a first mortgage over the shares of Mineracao Aurizona S.A. ("MASA") and of the rights, title and licenses associated with the operation and a general security agreement by the Company in favour of WestLB AG.
The Company shall maintain a debt service coverage ratio ("DSCR") to be greater than 1.35, a loan life coverage ratio ("LLCR") to be less than 1.35and a reserve tail ratio ("RTR") to be greater than 30% over the life of the loan.
Aurizona Project Debt Facility
In December 2009, the Company entered into a senior secured, project debt facility (the "RMB Facility") in the amount of up to $15.0 million with RMB Resources Inc. ("RMB") to assist in the completion of the Aurizona processing plant. The RMB Facility was comprised of two tranches in the amount of $7.5 million eachthat bore interest at LIBOR plus 7.5% and was to be fully repaid by December 31, 2012.
As at September 30, this RMB Facility was repaid in full with the proceeds from the West LB Term Loan.
RMB $5.5 million prepaid gold agreement
On May 25, 2011, the Company entered into a $5.5 million prepaid gold agreement with RMB. In exchange for the upfront cash received by the Company, the Company was required to deliver a total of 3,880 ounces of gold to RMB. As at September 30, the Company had fulfilled this obligation.
Commitment from Acquisition of Aurizona Goldfields Corporation
In January 2007, the Company acquired the Aurizona property from Brascan Brasil("Brascan") and Eldorado Gold Corporation ("Eldorado") in exchange for a series of staged payments (the "Purchase Agreement"), some of which were conditional upon the project reaching commercial production, as defined in the Purchase Agreement. The Company has repaid all outstanding amounts in relation to this agreement but remained liable for payments of $1.0 million payable to each party on the first, second and third anniversary of the commencement of commercial production of Aurizona. As defined under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the Company achieved commercial production on December 2, 2010 resulting in the first payment becoming due and payable on December 2, 2011.
In July 2011, the Company entered into an agreement with Brascan and Eldorado to amend the outstanding debt of $6.0 million of the Company to Brascan and Eldorado. The Company issued promissory notes in the aggregate amount of $3.0 millionto each of Eldorado and Brascan in connection with the Purchase Agreement. In satisfaction of the aforementioned promissory notes, Brascan and Eldorado will each receive $1.5 million in cash on or before December 2, 2011, and has received2,417,949common shares of the Company.
FINAME Equipment Purchase Financing ("FINAME")
In February 2011, the Company entered into debt financing in the amount of 4.0 million Brazilian Reais ("BRL") to purchase mining equipment through the FINAME financing program, which is administered through the Brazilian Development Bank ("BNDES"). Interest is calculated at 5.5% per annum and the FINAME is repayable in equal monthly instalments beginning September 15, 2011 and ending February 15, 2016.
Derivative Contracts
Subsequent to quarter end, the Company entered into the following derivative contracts as required under the terms of the WestLB Facility:
BRL / USD Forward Contracts
The Company sells US dollars and buys Brazilian Real as follows:
Floating to Fixed Interest Rate Swap Contracts
The Company pays a fixed annual interest rate of 1.495% and receives 6 month US Libor rate as follows:
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Shareholders' equity increased over the prior year due to the Company's equity financing activities during the period, which was partially offset by an increase in the deficit.
In Q3, the Company closed a marketed public offering and concurrent private placement of units of the Company for total gross proceeds of approximately CA$39.4 million and subsequent to the quarter end, an additional CA$2.6 million was received on the exercise of the over-allotment option. Each unit consisted of one common share of the Company plus one half common share purchase warrant at a price of CA$0.52 per unit. The Company intends to use the proceeds as follows:
- Aurizona expansion scoping study / pre-feasibility / feasibility study;
- Aurizona resource definition expansion;
- Aurizona plant expansion;
- Maranhao Greenfield discovery exploration;
- Cachoeira social impact study;
- Reduction of debt;
- Corporate development; and
- General corporate purposes and working capital.
Each full warrant is exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company at a price of CA$0.70 for a period of 24 months from the closing of the offering, which was September 30, 2011.
As at the date of this report the Company had 522,550,895 shares outstanding, 26,140,000 share purchase options and 47,459,503 common share warrants outstanding.
The following is a summary of stock options outstanding as at the date of this report:
The following is a summary of warrants outstanding as at the date of this report:
OUTLOOK AND STRATEGY
Aurizona Gold Mine
The Company's 2011 full year production target is estimated between 42,000 and 44,000 ounces of gold, up from the Q2 estimate of 40,000 ounces of gold. Cash costs for Q4 are targeted between $750 and $780 per ounce of gold produced with an estimated cash cost for the 2011 year between $990 and $1,000 per ounce of production. The increase is targeted cash costs for 2011 is due to higher employment costs, power and a planned increase in waste stripping.
The Aurizona NI 43-101 resource upgrade remains on target for release in early December of 2011.
Cachoeira Gold Property
The Company has extended its target to complete the Cachoeira scoping study (the "Scoping Study") to Q2 2012 that will deliver the path forward to developing Cachoeira into a mining project feasibility study. This has been delayed to allow management to focus on the Aurizona resource upgrade and production planning and completion of Cachoeira census study.
Maranhao Greenfields Property
The Company continues to aggressively explore the extensive Maranhao Greenfields property to discover new gold deposits and will maintain exploration crews working four targets simultaneously throughout 2011. Regional scale exploration is underway designed to generate large gold-in-soil anomalies consistent with the Aurizona mineralization style. Through these programs the Company intends to define between six and nine new target areas, several of which will be brought to drill ready stage in 2012.
Interim Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) and Comprehensive Income (Loss)
(expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except where indicated)
Interim Consolidated Statements of Financial Position
(expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except where indicated)
Interim Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders' Equity and Deficit
(expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except where indicated)
Interim Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders' Equity and Deficit
(expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except where indicated)
On behalf of the Board of Directors
LUNA GOLD CORP.
John Blake - President and CEO
Website: www.lunagold.com
For further information contact Investor Relations at (604) 558-0560.
NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Forward Looking Statements
This MD&A includes certain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements", and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" are collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements", unless otherwise stated). These statements appear in a number of places in this MD&A and include statements regarding our intent, or the beliefs or current expectations of our officers and directors. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. When used in this MD&A, words such as "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "project", "intend", "expect", "may", "will", "plan", "should", "would", "contemplate", "possible", "attempts", "seeks" and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may relate to the Company's future outlook and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the Aurizona property and other development projects of the Company's future financial position, business strategy, budgets, litigation, projected costs, financial results, taxes, plans and objectives. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition of our business. These forward-looking statements were derived utilizing numerous assumptions regarding expected growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results. To the extent any forward-looking statements constitute future-oriented financial information or financial outlooks, as those terms are defined under applicable Canadian securities laws, such statements are being provided to describe the current anticipated potential of the Company and readers are cautioned that these statements may not be appropriate for any other purpose, including investment decisions.
Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. These statements are based on a number of assumptions, including, but not limited to, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, interest rates, the supply and demand for, deliveries of, and the level and volatility of prices of gold and other primary metals and minerals as well as oil, and related products, the timing of the receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals of our producing and development projects and other operations, our costs of production and production and productivity levels, as well as those of our competitors, power prices, continuing availability of water and power resources for our operations, market competition, the accuracy of our reserve estimates (including with respect to size, grade and recoverability) and the geological, operational and price assumptions on which these are based, conditions in financial markets, the future financial performance of the company, our ability to attract and retain skilled staff, our ability to procure equipment and operating supplies, positive results from the studies on our producing and development projects, our gold and other product inventories, our ability to secure adequate transportation for our products, our ability to obtain permits for our operations and expansions, and our ongoing relations with our employees and business partners. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Events or circumstances could cause actual results to vary materially.
Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, changes in commodity and power prices, changes in interest and currency exchange rates, acts of foreign governments, inaccurate geological and metallurgical assumptions (including with respect to the size, grade and recoverability of mineral reserves and resources), unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, adverse weather conditions and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters), union labour disputes, political risk, social unrest, failure of customers or counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, changes in our credit ratings and changes or further deterioration in general economic conditions.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. Except as required by applicable law, we assume no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If we update any one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. You should not place undue importance on forward-looking statements and should not rely upon these statements as of any other date. All forward-looking statements contained in this MD&A are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Other Technical Information
Peter Mah, P.Eng., Certified Mining Engineer, the Company's Vice President Operations is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the scientific and technical work on the development programs and has reviewed and approved the corresponding technical disclosure throughout this MD&A. Titus Haggan Ph.D., EurGeol Certified Professional Geologist #746, the Company's Vice President of Exploration, is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the scientific and technical work on the exploration programs and has reviewed and approved the corresponding technical disclosure throughout this MD&A.
You can also view this News Release on our website at:
http://www.lunagold.com/s/NewsReleases.asp?ReportID=490148
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