Anaconda Mining sells 4,508 ounces and generates $1.9M of Point Rousse Project EBITDA for Q3 fiscal 2015

TORONTO, April 9, 2015 /CNW/ - Anaconda Mining Inc. ("Anaconda" or the "Company") – (TSX: ANX) is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015. The Company generated Point Rousse Project EBITDA (see Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures) for the three months ended February 28, 2015 of $1,897,185. The Company sold 4,508 ounces of gold resulting in $6,266,754 in revenue at an average sales price of $1,390 per ounce. Cash cost per ounce sold at the Point Rousse Project was $969 and all-in sustaining cash cost was $1,226 (see Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures). Adjusted net earnings for the three months ended February 28, 2015 was $187,524. As at February 28, 2015, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $1,657,027 and net working capital of $1,707,397.

The Company generated Point Rousse Project EBITDA for the nine months ended February 28, 2015 of $3,574,869. The Company sold 11,872 ounces of gold resulting in $16,576,545 in revenue at an average sales price of $1,396 per ounce. Cash cost per ounce sold at the Point Rousse Project was $1,095 and all-in sustaining cash cost was $1,466. Adjusted net loss for the nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $827,154, which excluded the write down of the Chilean assets.

President and CEO, Dustin Angelo, stated, "The third quarter of fiscal 2015 was a noteworthy period as record mill throughput translated into record sales volume. The weather proofing initiatives and preventative maintenance program at the Pine Cove mill paid dividends as we experienced a 38% increase in throughput and an 8% rise in availability compared to the same quarter in fiscal 2014. The increased gold volume resulted in a cash cost per ounce at the project level of $969. Our financial and operating results illustrate the potential that comes with leveraging the highly fixed nature of our cost structure and driving down unit costs. Hence, we continue to execute on our strategy to double the production at the Point Rousse Project through the extension of base load production and layering high-grade ore to deliver a higher grade, blended feed to the mill."

Highlights for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 

OPERATING PERFORMANCE

• As at February 28, 2015, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $1,657,027 and net working capital of $1,707,397.
• For the three months ended February 28, 2015, the Company sold 4,508 ounces of gold and generated $6,266,754 in revenue at an average sales price of $1,390 per ounce.
• For the nine months ended February 28, 2015, the Company sold 11,872 ounces of gold and generated $16,576,545 in revenue at an average sales price of $1,396 per ounce.
• The mill processed 1,053 tonnes of ore per operating day for the three months ended February 28, 2015.
• The overall recovery in the mill for the three months and nine ended February 28, 2015 was 83% and 84% respectively.
• Mill availability was 92% for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015.
• Cash flow from operations was $2,307,684 for the nine months ended February 28, 2015.
• Cash cost per ounce sold at the Point Rousse Project for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $969 and $1,095 per ounce respectively.
• All-in sustaining cash cost per ounce sold ("AISC") (see Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures), including corporate administration, capital expenditures and exploration costs for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $1,226 and $1,466 per ounce respectively.
• At the Point Rousse Project, EBITDA for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $1,897,185 and $3,574,869 respectively.
• On a consolidated basis, EBITDA for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $1,419,660 and $140,332. EBITDA for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $1,422,885 and $2,123,743, respectively, excluding the impact of Chilean assets.
• Net loss for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $114,122 and $3,460,106 respectively.
• Adjusted net earnings for the three months ended February 28, 2015 was $187,524 and adjusted net loss for the nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $827,154, which excluded the write down of the Chilean assets.
• Purchase of property, mill and equipment for the nine months ended February 28, 2015 was $1,539,422. Key items included tailing expansion costs of $782,000, dry stacking of $138,000, blast monitoring of $113,000, a compressor of $100,000, waste dump development of $79,000, men's dry upgrades of $54,000, a forklift of $45,000 and survey equipment of $38,000.
• Production stripping assets for the nine months ended February 28, 2015 included additions of $353,988 and depreciation of $153,421.

GROWTH INITIATIVES

• Approximately $1,451,000 was spent at the Point Rousse Project on exploration for the nine months ended February 28, 2015. The Company's exploration initiatives included Diamond drill programs at the Stog'er Tight and Pine Cove deposits and trenching and soil sampling at various locations around the Ming's Bight Peninsula including the Goldenville Trend and the Ming's West area.

Operations overview

During the three months ended February 28, 2015, the gold sales volume of 4,508 ounces represented a 59% increase over the same period in fiscal 2014 largely due to increased mill availability, throughput and grade. Mill availability increased from 84% to 92%, an additional 7 operating days for the three month period year over year. Ore tonnes processed increased from 63,123 ore tonnes to 87,386, a 38% increase compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Grade also increased from 1.79 g/t for the three months ended February 28, 2014 to 1.84 g/t for the three months ended February 28, 2015. Average sales price for the three months ended February 28, 2015 was $1,390 per ounce versus $1,365 per ounce for the same period in fiscal 2014. As a result of the higher sales volume, gross revenue for the three months ended February 28, 2015 of $6,266,754 was higher than the same period of fiscal 2014 by $2,401,544 or 62%.

The following table summarizes the key operating metrics for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 and 2014:

 

MILLING OPERATIONS
The mill operated for 83 days during the third quarter of fiscal 2015 and processed 87,386 dry tonnes of ore resulting in a record average run rate of 1,053 tonnes per operating day. Tonnes processed in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 were a 38% increase from the similar period in fiscal 2014. Mill availability was 92%, eight percentage points higher than the third quarter of fiscal 2014. Recovery remained consistent at 83%. The Company modified its schedule and approach to crushing ore, introduced new reagents to control dust, prevent freezing and managed well the overall impact of winter weather at the crusher and on stockpiles. Also, an improved preventative maintenance program contributed to lower maintenance costs and significantly higher availability.

MINING OPERATIONS
The mine operated for 59 days in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 and produced 81,459 tonnes of ore and 370,209 tonnes of waste. Mining production decreased in the third quarter of fiscal 2015 as planned since stacking of waste material for the tailings dam expansion project was completed in the second quarter. The final liner of the tailings expansion will be installed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. Grade increased in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, per the mine plan, compared to the first half of fiscal 2015. Blast movement monitoring technology and a GPS system installed on the excavator have maximized head grade and reduced dilution from 20% to less than 10%.

EXPLORATION
The Company is pursuing a strategy to leverage the existing infrastructure at the Point Rousse Project by exploring and developing its mineral licenses and mining leases in search of two general mineralization styles: Pine Cove like, quartz-carbonate-pyrite hosted (2+ g/t) mineralization (base load production sources) and higher grade (5+ g/t) quartz vein ± carbonate ± pyrite mineralization. The Company is working on expanding the current Pine Cove pit resource and bringing the Stog'er Tight deposit into production to extend the life of the Point Rousse Project. Anaconda is also exploring and delineating potentially higher-grade deposits such as Deer Cove and Romeo & Juliet to blend with relatively lower grade, Pine Cove and Stog'er Tight ore. With the high grade "layer" and a marginal increase to throughput, the Company expects to increase annual production to approximately 30,000 ounces. The Company envisions creating an operating complex on the Ming's Bight Peninsula with multiple pits and trucking the ore back to the Pine Cove mill.

Consistent with this strategy, in the nine months ended February 28, 2015, the Company has made the following advances in exploration:

• Conducted Diamond drill programs at the Deer Cove, Stog'er Tight and Pine Cove deposits to outline resources.
• Conducted trenching at two locations within the Point Rousse Project resulting in the discovery of the Argyle zone.
• Conducted mapping and soil sampling along the Goldenville trend resulting in the identification of new drill targets.

During the course of Anaconda's exploration and development efforts, three primary gold trends have been identified within the Point Rousse Project area, with a cumulative prospective strike length of approximately 20 kilometres. The Company's recent exploration work, combined with historical results, has brought more clarity, understanding and confidence to the Company's geological interpretations and models. The Company believes it has the potential to discover and develop multiple deposits on the Ming's Bight Peninsula. As a result, Anaconda believes that the Point Rousse Project area could double production and continue for 10 years or more. Exploration and development efforts during the past nine months have focused entirely on implementing this strategy by focusing on extending the base load production centered on Pine Cove and Stog'er Tight as well as evaluating a potential high-grade gold source at Deer Cove and Romeo & Juliette and advancing grass roots projects at Goldenville and Argyle.

Below is a brief overview of the gold trends on the Ming's Bight Peninsula and Anaconda's exploration efforts within them with specific reference to the Pine Cove and Stog'er Tight deposits.

The Scrape Trend
The Scrape Trend consists of a belt of highly prospective rocks approximately 7 kilometres long and approximately 1 to 2 kilometres wide. It begins southwest of the Pine Cove mine site and continues eastward to the community of Ming's Bight. The Scrape Trend includes the Pine Cove, Stog'er Tight and Romeo & Juliet deposits, the Anaroc and Animal Pond prospects and a new discovery referred to as the Argyle zone.  These gold occurrences align with a fault delineated by a topographic lineament coincident with an airbourne EM conductor. The Scrape Trend hosts both base load and high-grade styles of mineralization.

The Pine Cove Deposit
The purpose of the drill program at Pine Cove was to ultimately achieve the following three goals - to increase total resources/reserves, which will extend the Pine Cove mine life, to reduce the stripping ratio by outlining near surface mineral resources/reserves, and to reduce the haul distance of waste-rock material by placing a waste storage facility near the northern margin of the pit design. The drill program identified shallow mineralization within the Pine Cove Pond and Northwestern Extension areas and continuity of the main deposit down dip, immediately adjacent to current mineral reserves. Further north, around the proposed waste rock storage area, two holes intersected several broad zones of low-grade mineralization at depths in excess of 200 metres. These results will be used to modify the current resource model and a new estimate will be calculated with the aim of bringing more resources into the mine plan and determine the feasibility of establishing a waste rock facility north of the pit.

The Stog'er Tight Deposit
Development work at the Stog'er Tight deposit included drilling and geological mapping. The goals of the drill program were - to intersect shallow mineralization, to intersect down-dip mineralization in areas where gold is anticipated, but not previously intersected, and to verify historical drilling programs by twinning existing drill holes in anticipation of publishing an NI 43-101 compliant resource. The results from the drill program were positive (see press release dated December 16, 2014) and will be used to assess the current resource and ultimately the feasibility of advancing the Stog'er Tight deposit to production. The next phase of work will include testing the limits of the deposit. 

The Argyle Zone
With the goal of discovering another source of base load production along the Scrape Trend, Anaconda conducted a trenching program in the fall of 2014 to follow up on anomalous gold-in-soil values, which resulted in the discovery of the Argyle zone. The new discovery is located approximately 5 kilometres from the Pine Cove mill and consists of two areas of mineralization located approximately 200 metres apart (see press release dated January 8, 2015). The Argyle zone is a significant discovery because it extends the length of the Scrape Trend and demonstrates that new discoveries can be made near the Pine Cove mill using the Company's geological understanding and exploration model. The Company plans to conduct geophysical and geological mapping to test the surface extent of the Argyle zone, prior to drilling.

The Goldenville Trend
The Goldenville Trend is an 8-kilometre long trend of highly prospective rocks centered on an iron stone unit referred to as the Goldenville horizon. The Company believes the trend to be highly prospective because the trend is thought to contain ironstone hosted gold deposits.  This is a well-established geological model and the region is known to host these deposits. The Goldenville Trend has numerous gold prospects including four small historical, hand-dug shafts, which were developed to mine visible gold. Anaconda is exploring the Goldenville Trend for high-grade deposits on the order of approximately 250,000 ounces of gold at 5 g/t or more (based on similar deposits and historical production within the region). If the Company is successful, it will have a longstanding high grade feed source for the Pine Cove mill to layer on top of the base load production from other sources like Pine Cove or Stog'er Tight.

In the past six months, Anaconda has conducted geological mapping, prospecting and soil sampling along the eastern portion of the Goldenville Trend, specifically concentrating on the historical workings. Geological mapping identified several veins adjacent to the Goldenville horizon that should intersect the horizon at depth. The intersection of quartz-carbonate veins and the ironstone is a key target for mineralization within ironstone hosted gold deposits. To better delineate potential deposits exposed at surface, the Company conducted a detailed soil sampling program and identified several zones with anomalous gold-in-soil values, which are coincident with quartz veins. These samples have recently been analysed with final results expected in the fourth quarter.

The Deer Cove Trend
The Deer Cove Trend is located in the northern part of the Ming's Bight Peninsula and consists of a belt of prospective rocks approximately 3.5 kilometres in strike length. It is associated with the Deer Cove thrust fault and includes the Deer Cove deposit as well as various other showings and prospects.

Historical drill results suggested that the Deer Cove deposit could be a source of high-grade feed for the Pine Cove mill. In the summer of 2014, Anaconda carried out a drill program on the Deer Cove deposit to better outline the distribution of high-grade gold within the vein and to test the down dip of the vein. The program consisted of 2,090 metres of Diamond drilling in 20 holes (see press release dated February 27, 2015).

Highlights of the Diamond drill program included several high grade intercepts and all drill holes intersected mineralization. The data gathered during this program will be assessed in conjunction with historical data to ascertain the potential for a small, shallow, high-grade resource at the Deer Cove deposit that can be mined and layered onto the existing production at the Pine Cove mill.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company has included certain non-GAAP financial measures in this document. These measures are not defined under IFRS and should not be considered in isolation. The Company believes that these measures, together with measures determined in accordance with IFRS, provide investors with an improved ability to evaluate the underlying performance of the Company. The inclusion of these measures is meant to provide additional information and should not be used as a substitute for performance measures prepared in accordance with IFRS. These measures are not necessarily standard and therefore may not be comparable to other issuers.

Adjusted net earnings measures the performance of the Company, excluding certain impacts which the Company believes are not reflective of the Company's underlying performance for the reporting period, such as the impact of foreign exchange gains and losses, impairment charges, and non--hedge derivative gains and losses. Although some of the items are recurring, the Company believes that they are not reflective of the underlying operating performance of its current business and are not necessarily indicative of future operating results.

The following table provides a reconciliation of adjusted net earnings for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 and 2014:

 

Cash cost per ounce sold is cost of sales before depreciation divided by gold ounces sold. All-in sustaining cash cost per ounce sold is cash cost, corporate administration, purchase of property, mill and equipment and purchase of exploration and evaluation assets divided by gold ounces sold.

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash cost per ounce sold and all-in sustaining cash cost per ounce sold for the three and six months ended February 28, 2015 and 2014:

 

EBITDA is earnings before finance expense, foreign exchange loss (gain), unrealized gain on forward sales contract derivative, share based payments, income tax recovery and depreciation and depletion.

Point Rousse Project EBITDA is EBITDA before corporate administration, other revenues and expenses and write down of Chilean assets.

The following table provides a reconciliation of EBITDA for the three and nine months ended February 28, 2015 and 2014:

 

ABOUT ANACONDA
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Anaconda is a growth oriented, gold mining and exploration company with a producing mine and approximately 6,000 hectares of exploration property on the Ming's Bight Peninsula, called the Point Rousse Project, located in the Baie Verte Mining District in Newfoundland, Canada. Since 2012, Anaconda has increased its property control by nine-fold. It is currently exploring three primary, prospective gold trends, which have approximately 20 kilometres of cumulative strike length and include four deposits and numerous prospects and showings, all within 8 km of the Pine Cove mill. The Company's plan is to discover and develop more resources within the project area and double annual production from approximately 15,000 ounces to 30,000 ounces.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This document contains or refers to forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements regarding targets, estimates and/or assumptions in respect of future production, mine development costs, unit costs, capital costs, timing of commencement of operations and future economic, market and other conditions, and is based on current expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to: the final approval of the private placement by the Toronto Stock Exchange; the grade and recovery of ore which is mined varying from estimates; capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates; inflation; changes in exchange rates; fluctuations in commodity prices; delays in the development of the any project caused by unavailability of equipment, labour or supplies, climatic conditions or otherwise; termination or revision of any debt financing; failure to raise additional funds required to finance the completion of a project; and other factors. Additionally, forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "plans," "may," "estimates," "expects," "indicates," "targeting," "potential" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Anaconda's beliefs in the potential mineralization, are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no responsibility to update them or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

SOURCE Anaconda Mining Inc.

For further information: Anaconda Mining Inc., Dustin Angelo, President and CEO, (647) 260-1248, dangelo@anacondamining.com; or, ProConsul Capital Ltd., Andreas Curkovic, Investor Relations, (416) 577-9927, acurkovic@proconsulcapital.com; www.anacondamining.com; Company website: www.anacondamining.com