LA MANCHA REPORTS ANOTHER STRONG QUARTER
All amounts are expressed in CA dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Unaudited
THIRD 2009 QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS � Production of 24,439 ounces of gold, up 59% over last year � Cash costs per ounce falls to US $422 per ounce, down 20% from last year � Net earnings of $3.0 million � Cash flow from operating activities of $8.8 million � Cash and short term investments grow to $21.5 million � Company reaffirms its 2009 gold production target of up to 100,000 ounces
MONTREAL, QC, November 10, 2009 - La Mancha Resources Inc. (TSX: LMA, hereinafter �La Mancha� or the �Company�) is pleased to report that its third quarter 2009 production totalled 24,439 ounces of gold at an average cash cost of US $422 per ounce, compared to 15,390 ounces of gold at an average cash cost of US $529 per ounce for the same quarter last year. This represents a 59% increase in gold production, with the bulk of the increase coming from a production ramp-up at the Australian Frog�s Leg mine, which was inaugurated in May of 2008, coupled with a strong increase at the Ity mine, which more than compensated for the lower Hassa� mine production.
Consolidated cash costs per ounce for the third quarter of 2009 were down 20% from the same quarter of 2008, due to the positive influence of the lower cash costs at the Frog�s Leg mine and a strong improvement at the Ity mine, which more than offset a rise in the Hassa� mine cash cost.
The table below tracks La Mancha�s operational and financial improvement from last year.
|
Three-month period ended Sept. 30, |
Nine-month period ended Sept. 30, |
2009 |
2008 |
? |
2009 |
2008 |
? |
Attributable production (in oz) |
24,439 |
15,390 |
+59% |
70,710 |
50,565 |
+40% |
Revenues ($�000) |
28,162 |
12,151 |
+131% |
81,187 |
38,704 |
+110% |
Realized sales price (USD/oz) |
960 |
863 |
+11% |
927 |
897 |
+3% |
Cash cost (USD/oz) |
422 |
529 |
-20% |
454 |
557 |
-18% |
Operating income ($�000) |
6,018 |
(423) |
+ |
20,696 |
(1,336) |
+ |
Net earnings ($�000) |
3,045 |
(1,638) |
+ |
12,622 |
(6,596) |
+ |
Operating cash flow ($�000) |
8,829 |
1,821 |
+385% |
26,466 |
986 |
+ |
Dominique Delorme, President and CEO of La Mancha, stated: �While many other gold producers also benefited from the improved market conditions arising from the higher gold prices, our much improved performance is more so related to our ability to constantly increase production while improving our processes and reducing our costs. It is relevant to note that while our realized gold sales price increased by 11%, during the third quarter compared to last year, our operating cash flow increased by 385%.�
La Mancha�s third quarter revenues rose to $28.1 million this year from $12.1 million last year, due mainly to significantly stronger production and, to a lesser degree, favourable changes in the gold price and exchange rates.
With significantly increased production and improved margins due to higher gold prices and lower cash costs per ounce, La Mancha generated $8.8 million in cash flow from operating activities in the third quarter of 2009, compared to $1.8 million in the corresponding quarter of 2008.
Boosted by stronger cash flow, La Mancha recorded net earnings of $3.0 million for the third quarter of 2009, which included a net loss of $1.3 million from the disposition of financial securities. This compares to a net loss of $1.6 million registered in the third quarter of 2008. The significant improvement is mainly due to the higher operating margin this year, while last year�s net loss also included a $0.76 million non-cash adjustment related to the write-down of the Company�s Asset Backed Commercial Paper (�ABCP�) taken in the third quarter.
As of September 30, 2009, the Company�s cash and short-term investments stood at $21.5 million, while its corporate debt stood at $13.3 million.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, La Mancha posted net earnings of $12.6 million while its attributable gold production totalled 70,710 ounces of gold. This compares to a net loss of $6.6 million and gold production of 50,565 ounces in the same period of 2008.
Mr. Delorme also noted, �Looking back over the past nine months, we can proudly analyze our scorecard and observe that we are on track to accomplishing our objectives. We have delivered growth both in terms of production and resources. On a year-to-date basis, we have increased production by 40% while reducing our cash costs per ounce by 18%. We have also added over 2.1 million ounces of gold and gold equivalent to our inferred resource, based on the newly published 43-101 VMS resource estimate. Our improved operational results have also transferred to our bottom line, as we can now boast net earnings of $12.6 million and cash flow from operating activities of $26.5 million after nine months.�
OPERATIONS The Frog�s Leg mine generated 12,283 ounces of gold net to La Mancha at an average cash cost of US $358 per ounce in the third quarter of 2009, compared to 3,630 ounces generated in the corresponding period of 2008. This represents a 23% reduction in cash costs per ounce over the previous quarter, with the significant increase in gold grades more than offsetting an unfavourable change in the currency exchange rate.
As shown in the following table, underground ore production steadily continues to gain pace, with a record performance once again recorded in the last quarter.
Data provided for 100% of the mine |
Three-month
period ended
Dec. 31, 2008 |
Three-month
period ended
March 31, 2009 |
Three-month
period ended
June 30, 2009 |
Three-month
period ended
Sept. 30, 2009 |
Underground ore mined (t) |
116,861 |
142,834 |
149,764 |
169,400 |
Apparent grade mined (g Au/t) |
4.46 |
4.23 |
4.22 |
5.16 |
Apparent gold content of ore mined (oz) |
16,753 |
19,403 |
20,348 |
27,609 |
A total of 67,530 tonnes were processed during the quarter, in line with the toll-milling agreement, while La Mancha�s share of underground ore mined was 86,390 tonnes. Consequently, as at quarter-end, the La Mancha stockpile had grown to 57,800 tonnes of ore at 4.95 g/t Au. The next toll-milling campaign of 85,000 tonnes is set to start on November 22, at the nearby Greenfields plant.
In line with production targets, the Frog�s Leg mine generated 34,330 ounces of gold for La Mancha in the nine months ended September 30, 2009, at a cash cost of US $414 per ounce, compared to 9,905 ounces generated during the period from May 2008 (its inauguration) until September 30, 2008.
During the third quarter, operations at the Hassa� mine were affected by 1) lower than expected average tonnage milled per day of operation and 2) a mechanical failure that forced a 15-day shutdown of the ball mill. Difficulties associated with the operations of a dry line are once again the source of problems. A new vacuum system aiming at reducing the current level of dust is being implemented. As a consequence, the Hassa� mine produced a total of 12,435 ounces of gold (4,974 ounces attributable to La Mancha) at an average cash cost of US $750 per ounce for the third quarter of 2009. This compares to a production of 13,900 ounces of gold (5,560 ounces attributable to La Mancha) at an average cash cost of US $677 per ounce in the third quarter of 2008.
Cash costs per ounce increased 11% in the third quarter of 2009 over the same period of 2008 due to diseconomies of scale effect and a higher stripping ratio, which together outweighed the advantage gained by the slightly higher processed gold grades and the favourable change in currency exchange rates.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, the Hassai mine generated 17,975 ounces of gold for La Mancha at a cash cost of US $627 per ounce, compared to 22,280 ounces of gold at a cash cost of US $629 per ounce for the first nine months of 2008.
The Ity mine produced a total of 15,647 ounces of gold (7,182 ounces attributable to La Mancha) at an average cash cost of US $303 per ounce for the third quarter of 2009. This compares to a production of 13,505 ounces of gold (6,200 ounces attributable to La Mancha) at an average cash cost of US $396 per ounce in the third quarter of 2008. This significant increase in production is the result of the higher grades, obtained from the Mount Ity pit, which more than compensated for the lower tonnage milled over the quarter.
Cash costs per ounce during the third quarter of 2009 decreased 23% compared to the same period of 2008, as a result of the higher efficiency associated with the greater production volume and, to a much lesser degree, a favourable change in currency exchange rates.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, the Ity mine generated 18,405 ounces of gold for La Mancha at a cash cost of US $358 per ounce, in line with production targets, compared to 16,470 ounces of gold at a cash cost of US $462 per ounce for the first nine months of 2008.
VMS EXPLORATION PROGRAM On September 10 and November 4, 2009, La Mancha reported its first 43-101-compliant resource estimate for the first two VMS targets, the Hassa� pit and the Hadal Awatib pits, on its Hassa� property in Northeast Sudan. The cumulative inferred VMS resource, for the first two of six targets, now exceeds 2 million ounces of gold and 575,000 tonnes of copper. The gold equivalent of the cumulative copper resource represents 3,369,500 ounces of gold (1,347,800 ounces attributable to La Mancha) using a long-term gold price of US $750/oz and a long term copper price of US $2/lb.
A summary of the cumulative VMS resource estimate is presented below.
43-101 resource as of November 3, 2009 |
Ore (t) |
Au (g/t) |
Total Au (in oz) |
Au attributable to LMA (in oz) |
Cu% |
Total Cu (t) |
Cu attributable to LMA (in t) |
Hassa� pit (target #1) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Supergene inferred resource |
1,530,000 |
2.29 |
112,000 |
44,800 |
2.75 |
42,000 |
16,800 |
Primary zone inferred resource |
18,620,000 |
1.49 |
894,000 |
357,600 |
1.37 |
255,000 |
102,000 |
Subtotal inferred resource |
20,150,000 |
1.55 |
1,006,000 |
402,400 |
1.48 |
297,000 |
118,800 |
Hadal Awatib (target #2) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indicated resource |
2,898,000 |
0.93 |
86,700 |
34,680 |
1.27 |
36,800 |
14,720 |
Inferred resource |
28,330,000 |
1.18 |
1,072,000 |
428,800 |
0.99 |
279,000 |
111,600 |
Total (targets 1 & 2) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indicated resource* |
2,898,000 |
0.93 |
86,700 |
34,680 |
1.27 |
36,800 |
14,720 |
Inferred resource* |
48,480,000 |
1.33 |
2,078,000 |
831,200 |
1.23 |
576,000 |
230,400 |
* Indicated resource is not included into the inferred resource
Reported resource figures were calculated using a cutoff grade of 0.8% Cu Eq, a long time copper price of $4,409/t ($2/lb), and a long term gold price of US$750/oz. This resource estimate is based on the result of the 109 holes drilled (18,602 meters) from the bottom and the surface of the Hassa� and Hadal Awatib pits.
The Company intends to table a scoping study by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT As of September 1st, La Mancha�s main place of business is now located in Paris, France, at the following address: 1 Tour Areva, BFI Business Center, Place Jean Millier, F-92084 Paris � La Defense Cedex, France.
North American investors, however, still have the option to address their questions or comments to the Company�s contact point in the Montreal area at (514) 987-5115 or by email at info@lamancha.ca.
Investor Relations Calendar La Mancha will be present at the San Francisco Hard Assets Investment Conference held on November 21 and 22, 2009, at the San Francisco Marriot Hotel. La Mancha will also be hosting corporate presentation seminars in the following locations:
Vancouver on November 18, 2009 Calgary on November 19, 2009
These presentation seminars are open to the public, and La Mancha invites all investors to attend. For event details and reservations, please contact John Boidman from Renmark at (514) 939-3989 or at jboidman@renmarkfinancial.com.
Consolidated Financial Statements The management discussion and analysis and unaudited consolidated financial statements with explanatory notes for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, are available in PDF format on La Mancha�s website at www.lamancha.ca and through SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
THIS PRESS RELEASE CONTAINS TABLES, CLICK HERE TO VIEW FULL DOCUMENT IN PDF FORMAT.
Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain �forward-looking statements�, including, but not limited to, the statements regarding the Company�s strategic plans, future commercial production, production targets and timetables. Forward-looking statements express, as at the date of this press release, the Company�s plans, estimates, forecasts, projections, expectations or beliefs as to future events and results. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Therefore, actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results or future events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, factors associated with fluctuations in the market price of precious metals, mining industry risks, exploration risks, risks associated with foreign operations, environmental risks and hazards, uncertainty as to calculation of mineral reserves, requirement of additional financing or additional permits, authorizations or licenses, risks of delays in construction and production and other risks referred to in La Mancha�s 2008 Annual Information Form filed with the Securities Commissions, as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange. |
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