Alacer Gold files first quarter financial results and related management's discussion and analysis

TORONTO, May 15, 2012 /CNW/ - Alacer Gold Corp ("Alacer" or the "Company") [TSX: ASR and ASX: AQG] today announced that it has filed its first quarter 2012 financial results and related management discussion and analysis ("MD&A"). The complete financial statements and MD&A can be found at www.AlacerGold.com and on www.SEDAR.com.  The Company will host a conference call to discuss the results. The conference call details can be found later in this press release.

First Quarter 2012 Key Points

• Gold production totaled 100,290 ounces during Q1 2012, an increase of 10% over Q1 2011.  Attributable production during the same period increased 2% to 91,377 ounces.
• Gold sales totaled 107,835 ounces during Q1 2012, an increase of 20% over Q1 2011. Attributable sales during the same period increased 10% to 97,857 ounces.
• Attributable Total Cash Cost/ounce¹ was $759/ounce compared to $711/ounce for Q1 2011.
• Attributable net profit rose to $53.9 million compared to a loss of $92.0 million for Q1 2011.
• Adjusted net profit² was $27.0 million compared to $13.6 million for Q1 2011.
• Cash and cash equivalents increased to $329.1 million as of March 31, 2012, up from $249.6 million as of December 31, 2011.
• Lidya Mining increased its interest in Çöpler from 5% to 20% in January 2012 upon payment of $37.8 million.
• Alacer recently announced two leadership transitions:
• David F. Quinlivan will assume the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2012, from Edward C. Dowling, Jr. Both Messrs. Quinlivan and Dowling will remain on the Board of Directors.
• Rod Antal has agreed to join Alacer as Chief Financial Officer, effective May 21, 2012. Douglas Tobler, Alacer's current Chief Financial Officer, will provide transition services.
• On April 30, 2012, the Company's C$100 million convertible debentures matured. C$53.6 million converted to 6,695,750 common shares prior to maturity. Alacer settled the balance of the debentures in cash.
• Production outlook for 2012 has been increased to a range of 396,000 to 410,000 attributable gold ounces. The range for attributable Total Cash Costs per ounce¹ is revised to $745 to $770 per ounce, up from $690 to $715 per ounce.
• The Company's $18 million 2012 exploration program for its South Kalgoorlie Operations is progressing.  Management continues to collect and analyze the data required to make a decision on whether to proceed with the South Kalgoorlie Operations expansion project ("SKOEP"), including the construction of a new 2.5 Mtpa processing facility. Management may be in a position to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors with respect to SKOEP in late 2012.

Mr. Edward Dowling, CEO of Alacer stated, "Despite some operating challenges during the quarter, the Company generated attributable net profit after tax of $53.9 million for the quarter and ended the period with a cash balance of $329.1 million.  Attributable mining gross profit totaled $56.4 million for the quarter, which represents an attributable margin of $576 per ounce sold.

Management remains confident we will meet our recently increased 2012 gold production guidance of 396,000-410,000 attributable ounces during 2012. Today we announced revised 2012 cost guidance with increased attributable Cash Operating Costs of $645 to $670 per ounce and Total Cash Costs of $745 to $770 per ounce."

Conference Call Details

The Company will host a conference call on Tuesday, May 15 at 6.00 pm (North American Eastern Daylight Time) and Wednesday, May 16 at 8.00am (Australian Eastern Standard time). The presentation for the conference call is available at www.AlacerGold.com. To participate in the conference call, please dial

A recording of the call will be available on Alacer's website at www.AlacerGold.com or through replay until May 29, 2012 by calling:

About Alacer

Alacer Gold Corp is a leading intermediate gold mining company with interests in multiple mines which provide ore to three processing facilities in Australia and Turkey:

• 80% interest in the Çöpler Gold Mine;
• 100% interest in the Higginsville Gold Operations;
• 100% interest in the South Kalgoorlie Gold Operations; and
• 49% interest in the Frog's Leg Gold Mine.

Alacer's operations produced a total of 421,204 ounces of gold during 2011.

Alacer is pursuing a rapid growth strategy. The primary focus is organic growth from current operations and the Company's extensive gold and copper exploration properties in Australia and Turkey.

Cautionary Statements

Except for statements of historical fact relating to Alacer, certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information, future oriented financial information, or financial outlooks (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may be contained in this document and other public filings of Alacer. Forward-looking information often relates to statements concerning Alacer's future outlook and anticipated events or results and, in some cases, can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "projects", "predict", "potential", "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.

Forward-looking information includes statements concerning, among other things, matters relating to proposed exploration, communications with local stakeholders and community relations, status of negotiations of joint ventures, weather conditions at our operations, commodity prices, mineral resources, mineral reserves, realization of mineral reserves, existence or realization of mineral resource estimates, the development approach, the timing and amount of future production, timing of studies and analyses, the timing of construction of proposed mines and process facilities, capital and operating expenditures, economic conditions, availability of sufficient financing, exploration plans and any and all other timing, exploration, development, operational, financial, budgetary, economic, legal, social, regulatory and political factors that may influence future events or conditions. Such forward-looking information and statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions, including, but not limited in any manner to, those disclosed in any other of Alacer's filings, and include exploration results and the ability to explore, the ultimate determination of mineral reserves, availability and final receipt of required approvals, titles, licenses and permits, sufficient working capital to develop and operate the mines, access to adequate services and supplies, commodity prices, ability to meet production targets, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates, access to capital markets and associated cost of funds, availability of a qualified work force, ability to negotiate, finalize and execute relevant agreements, lack of social opposition to the mines, lack of legal challenges with respect to the property of Alacer and the ultimate ability to mine, process and sell mineral products on economically favorable terms. While we consider these factors and assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to us, they may prove to be incorrect.

You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information and statements.  Forward-looking information and statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and our projections about future events.  Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties disclosed in Alacer's filings at www.sedar.com and other unforeseen events or circumstances. Other than as required by law, Alacer does not intend, and undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information to reflect, among other things, new information or future events.

¹ Total Cash Cost/ounce is a non-IFRS financial performance measure with no standardized definition under IFRS. For further information and detailed reconciliations, see the "non-IFRS Measures" section of the MD&A.

² Adjusted net profit is a non-IFRS financial performance measure with no standardized definition under IFRS. For further information and detailed reconciliations, see the "non-IFRS Measures" section of the MD&A.

SOURCE ALACER GOLD CORP.